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Cinema’s loss was music’s gain, Zakir Hussain’s tryst with rhythm

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By Saket Suman
Jaipur, Jan 25 (IANS) Ustad Zakir Hussain is well-known as a table maestro but very few are aware that he was once being considered to play the role of the young Salim in yesteryears movie “Mughal-e-Azam”.

“I was actually being looked upon, under the microscope, to play the role of young Salim in ‘Mughal-e-Azam’, he revealed at a session at the Zee Jaipur Literature Festival, here Hussain providing a rare peak into his past.

“My father (the legendary tabla player Alla Rakha) was working at the Mohan Studio during those days and they were shooting for the song ‘Pyar Kia Toh Darna Kya’ and I was there. At that time the possibility of me playing the role of young Salim in the movie was explored.

“I was presented to Dilip Kumar and he looked at me, then said ‘thik hai kal baat karte hain’ (Ok, we’ll discuss it tomorrow). But before that my father found out and became very angry. He said I was meant to play tabla and thus, I never played the role of Salim,” the 66-year-old Hussain told a packed audience on the first day of JLF 2018.

“It was a blessing in disguise,” maintained Hussain. And why not, if you look at the long way that he has come ever since. Cinema’s loss was music’s gain. Starting out at an early age, Hussain rose to global acclaim and is today regarded among the top musicians across the world. Every story has a beginning and the stories of an artist’s realisation of his craft are often captivating. So it is with Zakir Hussain.

He recalled during the session “A Life in Music” (titled after the similarly titled book by Nasreen Munni Kabir) that it is customary for Indian fathers to say a little prayer in the ear of their just-born children. When Hussain was presented to his father, “he stuck his lips to my ear” and instead of the prayer, he played a rhythm.

A frequent accompanist of sitar player Ravi Shankar, Alla Rakha had blessed his just born son with an instant rhythm. When his mother complained, saying that it would be a sign of ill-luck and demanded that he say a prayer instead, Alla Rakha humbly responded: “Yahi toh meri prarthna hai, yahi toh meri dua hai” (This is my prayer, this is my blessing).

He also recalled that his upbringing was a journey through many faiths and it is perhaps because of that, that he said: “Yes, I am a Muslim but through my music, I am offering my prayers to Saraswati and to Ganesha.”

By the time, Hussain turned three, his father set him free and, in his own words, “just let me go”. The idea was “to let me find my calling”, he said. Quite naturally, he chose the tabla. In the self-leaning mode, by the time he was nine-years-old, he was playing in school concerts. “It was then my father asked me if I wanted to (formally) learn the tabla. I said yes and then the practise began, next day at three in the morning,” he recalled.

“And there he was, Mr God himself, my father. When the rest of the world was sleeping, I and my father would be practising early in the morning from three to six. Who wouldn’t want that kind of a conversation with his father,” he asked the audience.

As per his usual routine, he would practise and then go to play cricket with his friends, return and listen to the radio and then practise again. “It was like reading a book, totally out of passion and according to my convenience,” he maintained.

He would go to a madrasa to learn the Quran and then cross the road to a nearby church to sing hymns. “But never at any point, neither the mulla or the priest impressed upon me that what they were preaching was the sole truth. Those were very different times,” he quipped.

Zakir Hussain was joined by author and documentary-maker Nasreen Munni Kabir and JLF producer Sanjoy Roy during the session.

(Saket Suman is in Jaipur at the invitation of the organisers of the Zee Jaipur Literature Festival. He can be contacted at [email protected])

–IANS
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Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok

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Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.

The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.

Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.

Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.

For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.

During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.

Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.

Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .

Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.

In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.

In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.

He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.

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