Tabla maestro’s music school set to reopen

Tabla legend Ustad Alla Rakha Khan’s school, which started on the premises of the Shivaji Park swimming pool in 1986, is all set to begin classes again at its revamped original space. Thanks to the efforts of his sons — Zakir Hussain and Fazal Qureshi — who too are tabla legends.

The duo will lead a group of 14 students in a special composition to mark the occasion on Saturday.  The students have been practicing the composition at the Los Angeles municipal school in Matunga. “When the old space was pulled down to be re-built, we were given this alternative space,” said Qureshi.

According to him, by 1986, the number of students who came to their Hyderabad Estate home seeking to learn from Ustad Khan had grown. “My father asked the government to help him out with space for a school. The then BMC commissioner, DM Sukhthankar, himself a great lover of Indian classical music in general and the tabla in particular, helped in arranging for space,” added Qureshi.

“It was a small room in a corner and deputy municipal commissioner GR Khairnar would often come over to listen to abbaji train the students.”

 According to him, though the world knows of his father because of the way he elevated the tabla from being a mere accompaniment to a solo instrument, many are not aware of how multifaceted his sense of music was.

“Abbaji had learnt the basics of singing dhrupad and dhamar from Pandit Vir Chand very early. This, to the accompaniment of pakhavaj, was of great advantage to him,” he said.
Qureshi added that Ustad Khan could sing through three octaves effortlessly and had composed music for many films too. This was why he could easily adapt to working closely with musicians like Yehudi Menuhin or the Beatles.

Fazal says he and his brother Zakir want to revive that holistic approach to music through the school. “I know that not everyone will get to play at concerts, but such training will create trained, appreciative listeners. This is also something we are losing out in today’s times.” 

He ended by saying that the fees will be nominal, and his brother Zakir Hussain will be conducting guest lectures once in every three months.