Photographer Honors Tabla Legend with 40-Year Visual Journey

A photographer spent 43 years documenting one of the world's greatest musicians, and the result is a love letter to mentorship, music, and friendship.

Dayanita Singh's exhibition "Zakir Hussain: Learning to Learn" opened at Mumbai's National Centre for Performing Arts last month, displaying 300 photographs of the tabla virtuoso who passed away in December 2024. The images span four decades, capturing not concert halls and standing ovations, but the in-between moments that make a life.

Singh first met Hussain in the 1980s when she was just 18, an aspiring photography student who fell on her backside trying to shoot a concert. Instead of dismissing the young woman, Hussain invited her to photograph his practice session the next day.

That invitation changed everything. Singh became part of Hussain's traveling entourage, documenting his daily rituals with unprecedented access to his Mumbai home at Simla House.

The photographs show Hussain eating breakfast, holding his daughter, working with his tabla maker, and sweating through hours of practice. They capture him sleeping on tour buses, talking on the phone, and sharing tender moments with his parents.

Why This Inspires

This wasn't just documentation. Hussain became Singh's teacher, creating what she calls the "Zakir Hussain Academy of Focus" where a musician mentored a photographer in discipline and dedication.

He taught her to work without flash, never stand in front of the stage, and most importantly, to give her craft the same 18 hours of daily focus he gave his music. When Singh wanted to learn flute, Hussain redirected her: commit fully to photography or don't waste anyone's time.

Singh honored that mentorship by knowing when not to photograph. During family tragedies and private grief, she put the camera down out of respect.

Going through the contact sheets after his death proved heartbreaking for the 65-year-old photographer. Two boxes filled with hundreds of images brought decades of memories flooding back.

But she persevered, guided by the same discipline Hussain had instilled. The exhibition reveals something rare: time itself, held still through one person's lens trained on another person's life.

Singh believes photography captures time like no other medium. Watching 40 years unfold through these images shows not just a musician's journey, but the evolution of seeing itself.

The show runs through February 3, bringing Hussain back into the room through the eyes of someone who learned not just to photograph, but to truly see.