Melody and memory

Hussain is busy preparing for the annual barsi,memoriam,for his maestro father,Ustad Allarakha. The concert as homage started 10 years ago and was suggested by his father’s students. “It was just meant to be a way of remembering my father and we hadn’t planned anything elaborate. But as word about it spread,more and more musicians told us that they wanted to play too.” The event,which is one of the most awaited concerts in the country,almost didn’t happen this year because Hussain and his brothers had another bereavement in October 2009. “Our mother passed away and we were not in a state of mind to organise another concert this year,but here again,it was Abbaji’s students who insisted,” says Hussain,between sips of masala tea. “Since Ammaji had touched the lives of everyone who came to our house just as much as our father had,we decided that this year,it’ll be dedicated to both our parents.”

The barsi,which starts at 6:30 am on February 3 at the Shanmukhananda Hall in Sion,is usually a dawn-to-dusk event and sees India’s most celebrated musicians perform. This year has singer Shankar Mahadevan,tabla artistes Vijay Ghate,Subhankar Bannerjee and Nayan Ghosh,followed by Turkish percussion group Taksim Trio and drummer Billy Cobham perform with Hussain himself.

As one of the country’s busiest musicians,59-year-old Hussain has performed over 30 concerts in three months. Moreover,his new album,The Melody of Rhythm has received a Grammy nomination in the Best Classical Crossover album category,while last year he won the award for the Global Drum Project.