Kolkata to pay homage to Zakir Hussain through music & memories

KOLKATA: Ustad Zakir Hussain, who passed away in Dec, shared a profound bond with the city. To commemorate this bond, Dover Lane Music Conference and Behala Classical Festival will pay homage to the maestro at their annual events. On Jan 14, a complimentary event, titled ‘Dha Forever', is being organised at Nazrul Manch, featuring screenings of Zakir's notable Kolkata performances at Swara Samrat Festival.
The Jan 14 Shradhanjali will also include reminiscences by Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt Swapan Chaudhuri, Pt Ajoy Chakraborty, Pt Kumar Bose, Pt Anindo Chatterjee, Ustad Sabir Khan, Pt Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, Pt Bickram Ghosh and Pt Tanmoy Bose. A Taalvadya tribute by the late maestro's brother, Ustad Fazal Qureshi, along with Pt Yogesh Samsi and Sabir Khan, will also be part of the event.
Some of Zakir's unforgettable Kolkata concerts were held at Nazrul Mancha. He passed away in San Francisco on the day he was scheduled to perform at Swara Samrat Festival 12th season at this very Nazrul Mancha. Every year, the Kolkata audience would witness him perform there for two to three hours.
"We have at least 30 hours of footage with us. I am now personally reviewing that footage to compile a 60-75-minute-long recording of his. We have decided to install a big screen on stage and the audience can watch his archival footage for more than an hour. People can bring in flowers that they can place in front of his photographs on the Nazrul Manch premises," said sarod player Indrayuddh Majumder, a trustee of Shree Ranjani Foundation Trust that organises the Swara Samrat Festival.
Exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, candid moments of the maestro speaking on stage, and recordings of his unforgettable performances will be incorporated in the video. In Jan 2016, Zakir played Punjabi dhamar at his solo performance and a jugalbandi where he played adi tala in a duet with Vidwan Karaikuri Mani on mridangam. Many still remember his Dec 2016 concert, where he accompanied Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma.
"The clipping of the maestro accompanying the santoor legend on raag Rageshri will be used. From the Dec 2017 concert, I will use footage of him accompanying flautist Rakesh Chaurasia who played raag Chandrakauns," Majumder added. In Dec 2018, Zakir was part of a percussion ensemble with Navin Sharma on dholak, Anantha R Krishnan on mridangam, and Sabir Khan on sarangi.