The man who made the world listen
For decades, Ustad Zakir Hussain completely controlled how the world understood Indian classical music. He played with a raw complexity that connected continents. He marked generations permanently. Now, that immense weight of silence rests over Sunder Nursery in New Delhi. The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art launched ‘The Way Forward’. Over three days, the entire event settled into a deep, quiet space of memory.
MT Aditya Srinivasan conceptualised this gathering. He worked for years as the live sound engineer for Shakti, so he understood the man behind the music better than most. That sense of direct connection runs through the entire programme. Crowds spend their time standing in silence before Dayanita Singh’s photography. Her images strip away the fame to reveal a tired, laughing, hardworking artist in his green room. Over the last two evenings, Pt Yogesh Samsi and Ranjit Barot brought a fierce energy to the stage that left the ground beneath the audience humming.
Today, the festival moves towards its final, quiet conclusion. Visitors gather this afternoon to watch Sumantra Ghosal’s documentary, The Speaking Hand, which offers a rare glimpse into the maestro’s journey. Later this evening, Anantha R Krishnan leads the ‘Mellow Rhythms’ performance. He steers a soft, careful musical exchange alongside Charumathi Raghuraman and Ramana Balachandhran.
Shobana Chandrakumar eventually takes the stage to shut down the festival. Her closing Bharatanatyam piece exists solely as a final nod to the maestro.
The maestro is gone. But that restless, brilliant timing pushes through the air with every strike of the drum. If the music still moves like he did, is he really gone at all? Or is the whole gathering just part of a pulse that started decades ago and refuses to end?
