Inarguably the greatest tabla player, some would say percussionist of the 21^st century, Zakir was born to Alla Rakha Qureshi in Mumbai. Alla Rakha did not belong to a family of musicians: he ran away from his home in Jammu to learn music; and then tabla from ustads in Punjab, which was then the centre of music in North India. Alla Rakha made Punjab his home for a few decades, till he shifted to Mumbai in 1940 looking out for opportunities. In Mumbai, under the name of A.R. Qureshi, he made music for Bollywood. So, when his eldest son Zakir was born in 1951, though acknowledged as an innovative tabla player, fame and accolades had not yet come to Alla Rakha. But even then, his stature as a performer was recognised. Apparently, Vilayat Khan was amongst the first to visit the Alla Rakha home to congratulate the proud parents, and gifted the baby with a tiny pair of silver tablas.

Growing up, despite going to an English-medium school, Zakir trained for more than eight hours on the tabla— starting from 3.00 a.m., non-stop for three hours. He came home and continued practice. The young Zakir realised that his future as a tabla player would be difficult. Apparently, his mother did not want him to be a professional tabla player and insisted on his Western education. The tabla had not yet got stature as a solo instrument. As accompanists, tabla players were socially not accepted in the society. Despite his extraordinary talent, the first two decades of his life were not marked with public recognition. Though a child prodigy, who had been playing concerts from the tender age of two years (he had accompanied all the maestros in his teens—including Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan), he remained as Zakir Hussain, tabla player. In a poignant interview, he mentioned once how at a private concert (at home), he had to enter the house where he was performing from the staffs’ entrance; and eat with them after the concert.