Ustad Fazal Qureshi & Advaita Mane pay homage to tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain on the inaugural day of Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest

Quote: While talking about the legendary maestro to the young audience, Ustad Fazal Qureshi said, “With Zakir Bhai, everything was so on the spot. He would play anything and everything, everywhere and all the time. He played all sorts of percussion instruments - the dhol, the tabla, the kanjira, and even the piano and the guitar - everything he could get his hands on. He was a born musician that way.”

He further added, “All this starts with listening carefully and being attentive. If you listen carefully, then you can pick this up. And this knowledge will help you know how this little kid became the Ustad. So, listen carefully, be attentive during the classes, and you can also become a maestro like him one day.”

Summary

The first day of the Little Festival at the 16th edition of Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest hosted the “Dha Dhin Dhin Dha” session. In this special tribute, Ustad Fazal Qureshi celebrated the life of his brother and tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain by sharing personal anecdotes from the legend’s extraordinary life and musical journey to the beats of his tabla. Complementing this was Advaita Mane’s evocative performance reading of Zakir and his Tabla: Dha Dhin Na, written by Sandhya Rao and illustrated by Priya Kuriyan. 

The session started with Fazal Qureshi saying, “sound can happen everywhere,” following which he conducted an exercise with his disciples, where they created a mesmerising jugalbandi with rhythmic clapping, snapping and bol between the three. The children in the audience enthusiastically joined them.  After this, Advaita Mane read excerpts from the book, highlighting moments that shaped the life of Ustad Zakir Hussain. As Ustad Fazal Qureshi said during the session that tabla is a language for us, he re-enacted those moments through the tabla. 

From the moment Ustad Zakir was born, the first time he played the dhol, learning tabla from his father, Ustad Alla Rakha, at 3a.m. in the veranda, to playing his first concert at the age of 9, as well as accompanying the renowned sarod player Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar — it was a musical journey in the form of interactive storytelling which drew the audience into the warmth, nostalgia, and the enduring rhythm of a life lived in music. 

The session ended with a Q&A between the children and the Ustad. One of the impish questions from a child in the audience was, “Can you play as fast as your brother?” to which Ustad Fazal Qureshi replied, “No one can play the tabla as fast as him!”

The Little Festival at Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest, presented in collaboration with the HT Parekh Foundation, actively promotes joyful reading among children aged 8 to 13 through its Doorbeen initiative via workshops, trails, tree walks, performances, and other hands-on activities. This year, the festival places special focus on inclusion and accessibility, continuing to nurture the timeless love of stories for all young readers.

Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest, presented by Godrej Industries Group, in association with NCPA and powered by Florintree, returned for its 16th edition this year at the NCPA. Recognised as one of the most iconic literature festivals in India, the much-loved event is a celebration of literary excellence each year.