MUMBAI: Our memory of Zakir Hussain is that while he was eloquent, he preferred to let his tabla do the talking. Whenever he stepped on stage, sat down in front of his tabla, the audience would go silent, in awe of a maestro. His endearing smile before every performance, spoke of his humility, building his connect with those who had come to hear his tabla talk. Yes, they clung on to every word he spoke too.
Sadly, we will not be able to hear him speak any more. Zakir Hussain passed away on 15 December in a hospital in San Francisco of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a condition that develops following a scarring of the lung tissue. He had been hospitalised for the past two weeks. He was only 73.
What the advertising industry and lay consumers will remember him for is his tabla playing skills during his mesmerising performances as well as for the Brooke Bond Taj Mahal TV commercial which sprang him into the homes of all of India. And it is still etched in many of our minds from that era.
Forbes, a few years ago gave us an insight into what went into the making of the TVC and how it chose the tabla magician to endorse the brand.
Th tea brand was launched in 1966 and was seen as catering to upmarket “western” consumers. Research had revealed the even the aspirational middle class had started to take to Taj Mahal tea. The company decided to relaunch it in the eighties and broad base its appeal.
Connoisseurs of tea, research suggested, put colour, smell and taste as criteria for choosing a tea brand. The tea leaves used in the Taj Mahal had a distinctive brown colour and an intoxicating aroma. They also had a flavour which could only come after the meticulous vetting process done by the tea master, a task that requireds immense effort and dedication.
The relaunch therefore had to bring in Indianness into the communication. Added to the western perception of Taj Mahal tea, it would be the perfect blend to broad base the messaging and communication.
HTA was the advertising agency and it hired film maker Sumantra Ghoshal to make the TVC. KS Chakravarthy, yes our very own Chax , and KV Pops Sridhar were at the agency then. Chaks was the copywriter then and his love for musical instruments, especially the tabla, thought Zakir Hussain would be the perfect choice as he reflected both western and Indian values. He lived in the US, yet he played the tabla – an Indian instrument -the world over, and with the best of musicians globally.
It was decided that the backdrop would be the iconic Taj Mahal in Agra and the film would portray Zakir practising on his musical instrument with his long locks of hair flying as he was immersed in his riyaaz. His dedication to riyaaz would be akin to the hours in the lab that a tea master would take to come up with the perfect blend.
Taking a break, Zakir was seen sipping a cup of tea. And a female voice stated “Wah Ustaad wah!” Zakir in turn replied: “Arre Huzoor, wah Taj boliye” in his inimitable style. The voice over for the commercial was given by the famed Harish Bhimani.
The TVC ran on state-owned broadcaster Doordarshan and it struck a chord with the masses. Not only did Zakir’s tabla playing equate the idea of perfection, the Taj Mahal monument was also rated as amongst the wonders of the world. And the rest, as they say, is history.
The brand later used other musicians like Niladri Kumar on the sitar and Rahul Sharma on the santoor in its TVCs and Zakir, himself appeared with other celebs like Ruby Bhatia and Alisha Chinai, but what we recall even to this day is the first TVC which featured him. Such was the power of the first ad.
Zakir would also be involved in Hollywood either making an appearance or composing music for films like Apocalypse Now, The Second Best exotic Marigold Hotel, and Monkey Man, according to ImDb.
The son of tabla legend, Ustad Allahrakha Khan, Zakir Hussain Allaraka Qureshi is survived by his wife Antonia Minnecola and two daughters Anisa and Isabella Querishi. He will be sorely missed by them and his two brothers Taufique and Fazal Querishi – both tabla players of renown. And of course he will be missed by millions of fans of classical Indian music and the art and style of the tabla as performed by Zakir Hussain.
