Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain in critical condition; admitted to ICU in ...
NEW DELHI: Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain has been admitted to the ICU of a San Francisco hospital with heart related problems, his friend and flautist Rakesh Chaurasia said on Sunday.
The 73-year-old US-based musician, who has taken the tabla to the global stage, had been having blood pressure issues, added Hussain's manager Nirmala Bachani.
"He has been admitted to a hospital in San Francisco for a heart related problem for the last two weeks," Bachani said.
"He is unwell and admitted in the ICU right now. We all are worried about the situation," Chaurasia told PTI.
After multiple reports of his death surfaced online Hussain’s sister Khurshid Aulia said that her brother is "very very critical" but is "very much breathing at the moment".
"My brother is deeply ill at this time. We are asking for all his fans around India and around the world to pray for him, to pray for his health. But as India's greatest ever exports, do not finish him off just yet," she said.
"I just want to request all the media not to follow wrong information about Zakir's passing. He is very much breathing at the moment.
He is very very critical, but he's still with us. He has not yet gone. So, I will request (the media) not to spread this rumour by writing or saying that he has passed away. I feel so bad watching all this information on Facebook which is very wrong," she added.
News of his passing away had broken late Sunday evening, with even the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting posting a tribute to the maestro. The ministry has since deleted its post.
The eldest son of legendary tabla player Allah Rakha, Hussain has followed in the footsteps of his father, becoming a marquee name in India and across the world.
Hussain has received four Grammy Awards in his career, including three at the 66th Grammy Awards earlier this year.
In his career spanning six decades, the musician has worked with several renowned international and Indian artistes, but it was his 1973 musical project with English guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist L Shankar, and percussionist TH 'Vikku' Vinayakram that brought together Indian classical and elements of jazz in a fusion hitherto unknown.
