New Delhi: Tabla player Zakir Hussain has been admitted to the ICU of a San Francisco hospital due to heart problems, his family and friends said on Sunday. Zakir Hussain, a 73-year-old musician living in America, has taken the tabla. Hussain’s manager Nirmala Bachani said that blood pressure is a problem on the global stage.
Amid reports claiming that Hussain had died, his sister Khurshid told PTI that her brother was “very serious” but “breathing heavily now”.
“My brother is seriously ill right now. We are asking all his fans in India and around the world to pray for his health, pray for him. But as India’s biggest export, don’t finish him off now,” she said. said
“I would like to request all the media not to follow false information about Zakir’s demise. He is breathing heavily at the moment. He is very serious, but he is still with us. He is not gone yet. So, I would request. (Media) that he has passed away. Not spreading this rumor by writing, seeing all this information on Facebook makes me feel very bad,” she added.
Hussain’s publicist also confirmed to PTI that the percussionist is undergoing treatment at a San Francisco hospital and is “unhurt”.
Earlier, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced Hussain’s death on its page on X, but later removed the post.
Hussain’s friend and flute player Rakesh Chaurasia told PTI, “He is unwell and is now admitted in the ICU. We are all worried about the situation.”
Hussain, the eldest son of legendary tabla player Allah Rakha, is following in his father’s footsteps and is known in India and around the world. Hussain has received five Grammy Awards in his career, including three at the 66th Grammy Awards earlier this year.
In his career spanning six decades, the musician has worked with many renowned international and Indian artists, but it was his musical project with English guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist L Shankar, and percussionist TH ‘Vikku’ Vinayakram that brought together Indian classical and elements. Until now unknown in jazz fusion.
As concerns grew about Hussain’s health, senior broadcast journalist Pervez Alam also took to X to share the news, quoting the musician’s son-in-law Ayub Auliya.
“Ustad Zakir Hussain, tabla player, percussionist, composer, former actor and son of veteran tabla player Ustad Allah Rakha is not in good health condition, he is being treated in a hospital in San Francisco, USA due to a serious illness, his brother Ayub informed. Auliya Sahab in London called me to tell his followers of Zakir. Asking for prayers for a speedy recovery,” he wrote in the post.
The percussionist, one of India’s most celebrated classical musicians, received the Padma Shri in 1988, the Padma Bhushan in 2002 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2023.