Alla Rakha
Alla Rakha (born April 29, 1919, Ghagwal, Jammu, India—died February 3, 2000, Mumbai) was an Indian tabla player, widely acknowledged as one of the finest artists in India. Alla Rakha was a leading figure of the Punjab gharana (Hindi: community of musicians sharing a distinctive musical style) and was honored with the title ustad, a distinction reserved for master musicians of Hindustani classical music. He was known for his knowledge and control of rhythm and technical expertise on the tabla. He popularized it as a solo instrument not only in India but also around the world.
Early life and training
Born into a Muslim Dogra family (a minority subgroup of the Dogra community, originating from the Jammu region) in Ghagwal village, Alla Rakha was the eldest of seven sons. When he was eight years old, he heard a tabla player and was captivated by the instrument. His fascination grew, but his father, a former soldier, expected him to join the army and opposed his interest in pursuing music. However, Alla Rakha left home when he was 12 to learn the tabla under Mian Qadir Baksh of Lahore, who belonged to the Punjab gharana. He also trained in raga vidya (Sanskrit: knowledge of the melodic framework) under Ashiq Ali Khan, a vocalist from the Patiala gharana.
Career and collaborations
Alla Rakha joined All India Radio (AIR) at Lahore (now in Pakistan) as a staff artist in 1936 and was transferred to Bombay (now Mumbai) as a senior percussionist in 1938. In 1943 he left AIR to work in film music. Using the name A.R. Qureshi, he composed soundtracks and worked as a music director for numerous movies. He worked on Hindi films such as Bewafa (1952; “Unfaithful”) and Maa Baap (1960; “Mother and Father”) and Punjabi films including Madari (1950; “Juggler”) and Jagga (1964).
By the late 1960s Alla Rakha moved away from the film industry to devote himself entirely to classical music. About that time he began a musical partnership with sitar player Ravi Shankar, which would last about three decades. As Shankar’s counterpart, Alla Rakha played a key role in raising worldwide awareness of the tabla and Hindustani classical music. Their performances captivated listeners with their saval-javab (Hindi: “question-answer”) exchanges and larant (Hindi: “competitive”) passages, in which musicians engage in improvised rhythmic dialogue with one another using their instruments. Their collaboration began when Shankar suggested that Alla Rakha join him on a cultural delegation to Japan sent by the government of India. Reflecting on their partnership, Alla Rakha said, “He is a great artist and is like a brother to me.”
Performances at landmark events such as the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, Woodstock (1969), and the Concert for Bangladesh (1971) introduced Western audiences to the rhythms of the tabla. At Monterey, during a jhala (Hindi: the fast-paced climax of a raga), Ravi Shankar paused to let Alla Rakha’s tabla take center stage—a gesture that was rare at the time.
Alla Rakha collaborated with other renowned musicians, including sarod master Ali Akbar Khan, engaging in jugalbandis (Hindi: “musical duets”). Aside from his work with Indian classical musicians, Alla Rakha notably collaborated with American jazz drummer Buddy Rich to create the album Rich à la Rakha (1968), a pioneering experiment in the type of cross-cultural musical fusion that became increasingly popular later in the 20th century.
Abbaji (Urdu: “father”), as Alla Rakha was known to his admirers, was also a devoted teacher. In 1985 he founded the Alla Rakha Institute of Music in Bombay, which further helped to elevate and popularize the tabla. Alla Rakha’s three sons—Zakir Hussain, Fazal Qureshi, and Taufiq Qureshi—all became tabla players, with Hussain acquiring the most international recognition and Fazal Qureshi eventually managing and expanding the work of their father’s institute.
Final years
In honor of his contribution in the field of performing arts, Alla Rakha received two of India’s most prestigious awards: the Padma Shri (1977) and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1982). In the last two decades of his life he performed less frequently, focusing on teaching and mentoring younger musicians. In February 2000 his daughter Razia died following a cataract operation. Deeply affected, he suffered a heart attack and died a day later.