Ustad Alla Rakha The Man Who Woodstock Roared For

Ustad Allarakha Khan Qureshi was born to a Muslim Dogra family in Jammu in 1919. He is known in history as the man who introduced tabla to large swathes of Westerners. At a young age, he ran away from home to pursue music. He found refuge with head of the Punjab gharana, Mian Kader Baksh who later adopted him.

Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan of the Patiala gharana vocally trained Alla Rakha while Mian Kader took charge of his tabla training. Alla Rakha said once that Mian Kader made him riyaz at 5 AM in winter and play tabla till his vest dripped with sweat.

Amidst this musical intensity, Alla Rakha managed to support himself by working in a small dhaba as a cook. Alla Rakha worked in Lahore and Delhi before moving to Bombay to try his luck in Bombay’s burgeoning film industry. He composed tracks for a few films like the Raj Kapoor – Nargis starrers Bewafa and Maa-Baap.

He was integral to ensuring tabla’s place in films but became disenchanted with the scene a decade after. It was then that Alla Rakha actively began wanting tabla to be internationally recognized.

While his concerts with Ravi Shankar are legendary, he also played besides Ustads like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Allauddin Khan, Vilayat Khan, and Hafiz Ali Khan.

Ali Akbar Khan, son of Ustad Allauddin, and Alla Rakha became popular for their tabla-sarod jugalbandis, a trend Alla Rakha started with Ravi Shankar. The sawal-jawab dynamic between two instrumentalists was not a concert feature before ‘Abba Jee’ as Alla Rakha is known to his students and admirers.

Abba Jee influenced musicians across the world by performing at Woodstock,
Monterey, and other venues. George Harrison, The Grateful Dead’s Mickey Heart, American violinist Yehudi Menuhin and many others have spoken about his influence on their music. Abba Jee also collaborated with international stars like Buddy Rich.

The buck didn’t stop with him. His sons, Zakir and Fazal Khan continue his legacy.

Zakir is an inventive tabla performer, and Fazal manages the musical institute Abba Jee built in Bombay in 1985 to enrich the tabla in India.

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