Ustad Allah Rakha
Encyclopedia
Qureshi Alla Rakha Khan (Dogri
: क़ुरैशी अल्ला रखा ख़ान) popularly known as Alla Rakha (29 April 1919 – 3 February 2000) was an India
n tabla
player. He was a frequent accompanist of Ravi Shankar
.
. His mother tongue was Dogri. He became fascinated with the sound and rhythm of the tabla at the age of 12, while staying with his uncle in Gurdaspur
. The determined young lad ran away from home, became a disciple of and began studying tabla with Mian Kader Baksh of the Punjab gharana
. He studied voice and Raag Vidya under Ashiq Ali Khan of the Patiala gharana
. His regimen of practice and dedication were legendary: hours upon hours of hard, disciplined practice, that would later pay off.
He was married to Bavi Begum, and has three sons, Zakir Hussain
, Fazal Qureshi and Taufiq Qureshi
, a daughter Khurshid Aulia née Qureshi, and nine grandchildren. Alla Rakha had another daughter, Razia, whose death preceded his by less than 24 hours.
and then as an All India Radio
staffer in Bombay in 1940, playing the station's first ever tabla solo and elevating the instrument's position in the process. Soon after, he composed music for a couple of Hindi
films from 1943-48.
However, he still played as an accompanist, for soloists like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Allauddin Khan
, Vilayat Khan
, Ali Akbar Khan
and most notably, Ravi Shankar
. The venerable master achieved world renown as Ravi Shankar's chief accompanist during his apex in the 1960s, delighting audiences in the West with his percussive wizardry, not only as an uncanny accompanist with flawless timing and sensitivity but also as a soloist where he was a master of improvisation, a prolific composer and an electric showman. The partnership was particularly successful, and his legendary and spellbinding performances with Shankar at the Monterey Pop Festival
in 1967 and the Woodstock Festival
in 1969 served to introduce classical Indian music to general Western audiences.
He became a Guru
(or teacher) to Yogesh Samsi
, Prafulla Athalye, Aditya Kalyanpur
, Anuradha Pal
, Uday Ramdas, Shyam Kane
, and his sons Taufiq Qureshi
and Fazal Qureshi. His eldest son, Zakir Hussain
is also an accomplished tabla virtuoso.
and Hindustani music by playing with both renowned Carnatic musicians and other Hindustani stalwarts.
Leading American percussionists in Rock n' Roll, such as the Grateful Dead
's Mickey Hart
, admired him and studied his technique, benefiting greatly even from single meetings. Hart, a published authority on percussion in world music
, said "Alla Rakha is the Einstein, the Picasso; he is the highest form of rhythmic development on this planet." Alla Rakha also collaborated with jazz drummer Buddy Rich
, on their 1968 album Rich à la Rakha.
Ustad Alla Rakha Khan was awarded the Padma Shri
in 1977 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
in 1982.
following a heart attack, which he suffered on learning of the death of his daughter, Razia, the previous evening.
Dogri language
Dogri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about five million people in Pakistan and India, chiefly in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, but also in northern Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, other parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and elsewhere. Dogri speakers are called Dogras, and the Dogri-speaking...
: क़ुरैशी अल्ला रखा ख़ान) popularly known as Alla Rakha (29 April 1919 – 3 February 2000) was an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
player. He was a frequent accompanist of Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
.
Personal life and education
Alla Rakha was born in Paghwal, Jammu, British IndiaBritish Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
. His mother tongue was Dogri. He became fascinated with the sound and rhythm of the tabla at the age of 12, while staying with his uncle in Gurdaspur
Gurdaspur
Gurdaspur is a city in the state of Punjab, situated in the northwest part of the Republic of India. It is located in the center of and is the administrative head of Gurdaspur District. It was the location of a fort which was famous for the siege it sustained in 1712 from the Mughals...
. The determined young lad ran away from home, became a disciple of and began studying tabla with Mian Kader Baksh of the Punjab gharana
Punjab gharana
Punjab Gharānā , is a style and technique of Tabla playing that originated in the Punjab region of what is now split in present day Pakistan and India. The Punjab Gharana is possibly the oldest of the six Tabla Gharanas...
. He studied voice and Raag Vidya under Ashiq Ali Khan of the Patiala gharana
Patiala Gharana
The Patiala gharana is one of the most prominent gharanas of vocal Hindustani classical music. It was initially sponsored by the Maharaja of Patiala, Punjab, which was famous for ghazal, thumri, and khyal.-History:...
. His regimen of practice and dedication were legendary: hours upon hours of hard, disciplined practice, that would later pay off.
He was married to Bavi Begum, and has three sons, Zakir Hussain
Zakir Hussain (musician)
Zakir Hussain , , is an Indian tabla player, musical producer, film actor and composer.-Early life:Hussain was born in Mumbai, India to the legendary tabla player Alla Rakha. He attended St...
, Fazal Qureshi and Taufiq Qureshi
Taufiq Qureshi
Taufiq Qureshi is an Indian classical musician. He is a percussionist and an composer.-Early life:Born in Mumbai, to legendary tabla player, Ustad Alla Rakha. His eldest brother is tabla player, Ustad Zakir Hussain. He received guidance from Ghatam Vidhwan, Pandit Vikku Vinayakram.-Career:Taufiq...
, a daughter Khurshid Aulia née Qureshi, and nine grandchildren. Alla Rakha had another daughter, Razia, whose death preceded his by less than 24 hours.
Career
Alla Rakha began his career as an accompanist in LahoreLahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
and then as an All India Radio
All India Radio
All India Radio , officially known since 1956 as Akashvani , is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1936, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks...
staffer in Bombay in 1940, playing the station's first ever tabla solo and elevating the instrument's position in the process. Soon after, he composed music for a couple of Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
films from 1943-48.
However, he still played as an accompanist, for soloists like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Allauddin Khan
Allauddin Khan
Allauddin Khan , was a Bengali sarodiya and multi-instrumentalist, composer and one of the most renowned music teachers of the 20th Century in Indian classical music.In 1935, he toured Europe, along with Uday Shankar's ballet troupe, and later also worked at his...
, Vilayat Khan
Vilayat Khan
Ustad Vilayat Khan was one of India's well known sitar maestros, born in Gauripur in Mymensingh, Bengal...
, Ali Akbar Khan
Ali Akbar Khan
Ali Akbar Khan , often referred to as Khansahib or by the title Ustad , was a Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod...
and most notably, Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
. The venerable master achieved world renown as Ravi Shankar's chief accompanist during his apex in the 1960s, delighting audiences in the West with his percussive wizardry, not only as an uncanny accompanist with flawless timing and sensitivity but also as a soloist where he was a master of improvisation, a prolific composer and an electric showman. The partnership was particularly successful, and his legendary and spellbinding performances with Shankar at the Monterey Pop Festival
Monterey Pop Festival
The Monterey International Pop Music Festival was a three-day concert event held June 16 to June 18, 1967 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California...
in 1967 and the Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
in 1969 served to introduce classical Indian music to general Western audiences.
He became a Guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
(or teacher) to Yogesh Samsi
Yogesh Samsi
-Early life:Yogesh Samsi born to renowned vocalist Pandit Dinkar Kaikini. His father the eminent vocalist Dinkar Kaikini initiated Yogesh at the age of six. At the age of four he started learning the tabla from Pandit H. Taranth Rao. Later, he sought the guidance of Ustad Allarakha Khan, one of the...
, Prafulla Athalye, Aditya Kalyanpur
Aditya Kalyanpur
Aditya Kalyanpur is an Indian Tabla player. He belongs to the Punjab gharana.-Early life and background:Aditya Kalyanpur was born in Mumbai, India....
, Anuradha Pal
Anuradha Pal
Anuradha Pal is an Indian tabla player. She is considered as the first professional female tabla player to do performances at international level and is acclaimed as an accomplished soloist and a versatile accompanist...
, Uday Ramdas, Shyam Kane
Shyam Kane
Pandit Shyam Kane is an Indian Tabla player of the Punjab Gharana. Pt. Kane is most recognized for being the first and foremost disciple and colleague of Utd. Zakir Hussain.-Personal life and education:...
, and his sons Taufiq Qureshi
Taufiq Qureshi
Taufiq Qureshi is an Indian classical musician. He is a percussionist and an composer.-Early life:Born in Mumbai, to legendary tabla player, Ustad Alla Rakha. His eldest brother is tabla player, Ustad Zakir Hussain. He received guidance from Ghatam Vidhwan, Pandit Vikku Vinayakram.-Career:Taufiq...
and Fazal Qureshi. His eldest son, Zakir Hussain
Zakir Hussain (musician)
Zakir Hussain , , is an Indian tabla player, musical producer, film actor and composer.-Early life:Hussain was born in Mumbai, India to the legendary tabla player Alla Rakha. He attended St...
is also an accomplished tabla virtuoso.
Global influence
Ustad Alla Rakha Khan popularized the art of tabla, playing across the globe, elevating the status and respect of his instrument. Abbaji (as he was affectionately known by his disciples) also bridged the gap between Carnatic musicCarnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
and Hindustani music by playing with both renowned Carnatic musicians and other Hindustani stalwarts.
Leading American percussionists in Rock n' Roll, such as the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
's Mickey Hart
Mickey Hart
Mickey Hart is an American percussionist and musicologist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band the Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 to February 1971, and from October 1974 to August 1995...
, admired him and studied his technique, benefiting greatly even from single meetings. Hart, a published authority on percussion in world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
, said "Alla Rakha is the Einstein, the Picasso; he is the highest form of rhythmic development on this planet." Alla Rakha also collaborated with jazz drummer Buddy Rich
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
, on their 1968 album Rich à la Rakha.
Ustad Alla Rakha Khan was awarded the Padma Shri
Padma Shri
Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
in 1977 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists. The award consists since 2003 of Rs. 50,000, a citation, an angavastram , and a tamrapatra...
in 1982.
Death
Alla Rakha died on 3 February 2000 at his Simla House residence on Nepean Sea RoadNepean Sea Road
Nepean Sea Road is an upmarket neighbourhood near Malabar Hill in South Mumbai. The area is named after Sir Evan Nepean, 1st Baronet, a British politician and administrator, and the Governor of Bombay ....
following a heart attack, which he suffered on learning of the death of his daughter, Razia, the previous evening.
Sources
- Inlay notes to A Life Story of a Genius compilation CD set (Saregama India Ltd, 2006)