World mourns death of a musical genius

Zakir Hussain, whose "dancing fingers" made him one of the greatest players of the table, died on Sunday from complications of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, prompting an outpouring of grief from across the globe as people mourned the loss of the musical genius.

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The eldest son of legendary tabla player Ustad Alla Rakha Khan, Hussain was a child prodigy, beginning his professional career at the age of 12 accompanying Indian classical musicians.

Violin maestro L Subramaniam, a long-time collaborator of Hussain, said the late tabla maestro was one of those rarest of rare musicians who was at home with every genre of music. "In fact, I don't consider Zakir an Indian musician, he was a global artiste. His musicianship is unparalleled and he will be missed, for it is not possible to replace an artiste of that stature," Subramaniam said.

President Droupadi Murmu said the passing away of Hussain was a "great loss" to the world of music and conveyed her deepest condolences to his family and countless admirers.

"He was known for his extraordinary creativity and inventiveness. He mesmerised generations of music lovers across the world. He was a bridge between the musical traditions of India and the West. I had the privilege of conferring the Padma Vibhushan upon him," she wrote in a post on X.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to the iconic tabla player, saying he will be remembered as a true genius who revolutionised the world of Indian classical music.