Thread by @veejaysai

Remembering the inimitable Tabla maestro Ustad Allah Rakha Qureshi saab (Abbaji) on his 100th birthday today! 🙏

A short thread. 😊

The below video was one of the last interviews he gave.

@ZakirHtabla @sangeetnatak @AAKSarod @niladri_kumar @AyaanAliBangash @kalaramnath

Born in 1919 in Jammu to a conservative Dogra muslim family, Abbaji got attracted to music, particularly drumming, watching traveling theatre companies. He began as a vocalist and went on to learn Dhrupad and Pakhawaj. Check this rare image from his early vocal concerts. 😊

He began training in Tabla in Jammu from Ustad Lal Mohammad of the Punjab Gharana.

Later he ran away from home to Lahore to become a student of the revered Ustad Kader Baksh, another stalwart of the Tabla and Pakhawaj. In 1936, Abbaji joined the AIR in Lahore. He was 17. 😊

After starting as an accompanying artiste, he migrated to Delhi and then to Bombay in 1938.

He was the first ever Tabla soloist of the AIR station in Bombay.

Very few know he also composed music for over thirty films. Some of them include 'Bewafa' (1947), Laila (1954),

'Khandaan' (1955), Alam Ara (1956). He worked closely with music director Naushad saab.

Abbaji's name appears on the screen as 'A R Qureshi', hence easily missed by many film historians.

He played many solo concerts and accompanied all the classical music stalwarts of that era.

Between 1962 to 1985, his international tours with Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar @ragaravishankar gave him an unprecedented global recognition. 😊

His association with Panditji made him a household name. He also had a busy musical career as a soloist.

Seen here in good times with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan saab, Ustad Bismillah Khan saab, Pandit ji and George Harrison. 🙂

This could easily pass off for being an early selife.

He was the main performer in all of Panditji's seminal records of that era. Check this image from the famous 'Shankar Family & Friends'.

Check him out along with Mridangam vidwan Guru T V Gopalakrishnan, Violin maestro @Drlsubramaniam, Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma and others.

He also accompanied several Carnatic musicians!

Check this one where he accompanies Vidwan K V Narayanaswamy and Vidwan Palghat Raghu! 🙂

And who doesn't remember this wonderful album 'MAGIC FINGERS' he did with his longtime friend and collaborator violin maestro @Drlsubramaniam. 🙂

But before all that was this wonderful album he performed along with the Jazz legend Buddy Rich in 1968. It was titled 'Rich a la Rakha'...lovely play of words from both their names....🙂

Abbaji also influenced world music.

The other contribution Abbaji made to the world of classical music, his prodigious son Ustad @ZakirHtabla.

Like his father, Zakir was also a child prodigy who went on to make history in the world of music!

Check this image from a family outing to the Taj Mahal. 🙂

Like his illustrious father, @ZakirHtabla too gave music for several films. Noteworthy among them are the Merchant-Ivory Films like 'Heat And Dust', 'In Custody', 'Mystic Masseur' and international cinema like Coppola's 'Apocalypse Now' and Bertolucci's 'Little Buddha'. 🙂

Abbaji became a great devotee of Satya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi. Seen here is an older image with Baba and Panditji. Till date Zakir continues to perform in Baba's ashram for important festivals.

Abbaji trained a number of students along with his three sons. 😊

Among the famous students are Yogesh Samsi, Aditya Kalyanpur, Anuradha Pal, Nishikant, Prafulla Athalye and others.

Check this lovely candid shot of Abbaji with Pt Dinkar Kaikini, another stalwart Hindustani vocalist and the father of Yogesh Samsi. 😊

That is Abbaji training little Aditya Kalyanpur. 😊

Who can forget the wonderful doodle created by @Google for his 95th birthday.😊🙏

Check this wonderful old image of Abbaji with the great Sarod maestro Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan saab and a young @AAKSarod. 😊

A wonderful image from today in Bombay. Abbaji's friends, fellow-artistes and students took out a little procession. Seen here are @ZakirHtabla, Faisal Qureshi, Santoor maestro Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma ji, other Tabla artistes like Akram Khan, Shubhankar Bannerjee, Yogesh Samsi. 🙏