Ustad Allarakha (1919-2000)

Alla Rakha Khan Qureshi was born on 29 April 1919 in Ghagwal, a village in the Jammu Province  His mother tongue was Dogri and his family were Muslim Dogras, although most of the Dogra clan around them were Hindus. At the age of 12, Ustad Alla Rakha ran away from home and began his training in tabla with Mian Kader Baksh of the Punjab gharana of tabla players. Mian Kadir Bakhsh, who had no sons, formally adopted Alla Rakha and called him the next head of the . Alla Rakha also took vocal training in classical music and Raag Vidya under Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan of the Patiala gharana. His regimen of practice and dedication were legendary hours upon hours of hard, disciplined practice, that would later pay off. He was married to his cousin Bavi Begum and the couple had three sons, Zakir Hussain, Fazal Qureshi and Taufiq Qureshi; two daughters, Khurshid Aulia née Qureshi and Razia; and nine grandchildren. Allah Rakha had a third daughter named Roohi Bano who was born in Pakistan and achieved a "legendary" status in television and film acting.^[

Ustad Alla Rakha began his career as an accompanist in Lahore and then as an All India Radio, Delhi staffer in 1936 but later moved to Bombay in 1940, playing the station's first ever tabla solo and elevating the instrument's position in the process.

However, he still played as an accompanist, for soloists like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Allauddin Khan, Vilayat Khan, Vasant Rai, Ali Akbar Khan, and Ravi Shankar. The venerable master achieved world renown as Shankar's chief accompanist during his apex in the 1960s, delighting audiences in the West with his percussive wizardry, not only as an uncanny accompanist with flawless timing and sensitivity but also as a soloist where he was a master of improvisation, a prolific composer and an electric showman. His musical partnership with Ravi Shankar was particularly successful and lasted nearly three decades, and their legendary and spellbinding performances at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and the Woodstock Festival in 1969 served to introduce classical Indian music to general worldwide audiences.^[1]

Alla Rakha also was a devoted music teacher. He founded 'Alla Rakha Institute of Music' in Mumbai in 1985.^[1]

Alla Rakha popularised the art of tabla, playing across the globe, elevating the status and respect of this instrument. "Abbaji" (as he was affectionately known by his disciples) also bridged the gap between Carnatic music and Hindustani music by playing with both renowned Carnatic musicians and other Hindustani stalwarts. Ravi Shankar and Alla Rakha duo represented India at several international music festivals.^[2]

·        Alla Rakha was awarded the Padma Shri in 1977

·        Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1982.