Shaukat Hussain
Performing at Alhamra Arts Council, Lahore, Pakistan
Born
Mian Shaukat Hussain

1930[1]
Phagwara, Jalandhar, Punjab, British India[1]
Died25 January 1996 at age 66
OccupationTabla maestro
Years active1945 - 1992
AwardsPride of Performance by the President of Pakistan (1985)

Mian Shaukat Hussain (1930 – 25 January 1996) was a Pakistani tabla player who belonged to the Punjab gharana of tabla-playing music artists.[2][3][4]

Early life

He was born to a family of professional musicians. His father, Mian Maula Bakhsh, was a professional singer. But young Shaukat was drawn to percussion instruments from an early age. He began his career from All India Radio, Delhi in 1945. At this radio station, he was very much influenced by the then tabla maestros Ahmed Jan Thirakwa's and Alla Rakha's performances. His family migrated to Pakistan after its independence in 1947. In Pakistan, he was employed by Radio Pakistan, Lahore as a staff artist for 43 years.[2]

Career

He was a disciple or student of renowned tabla maestro Mian Qadir Baksh, founder of the Punjab gharana of tabla players who also was the teacher of many tabla players that later gained international recognition.[2][3] Mian Qadir Baksh was known throughout the world for his skill and mastery of tabla.[5] After learning the art of tabla playing from Mian Qadir Baksh, Mian Shaukat Hussain soon started gaining recognition in the music circles in Pakistan and was the music group accompanist of choice for Pakistan's great classical music vocalists and instrumentalists including Salamat Ali Khan, Amanat Ali Khan-Bade Fateh Ali Khan (classical-music-singing-duo), Roshan Ara Begum, Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali and many others during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. It requires intellect and sensitivity from the tabla player to figure out what the classical music vocalists expect from the accompanying tabla player as the singers go about their singing. He has to have the ability to read the minds of the singers.[2][4] When these artists performed on Pakistan Television shows, they frequently selected Mian Shaukat Hussain as tabla player to accompany them on stage. Also riding on a wave of success, Mian Shaukat Hussain toured Europe, Africa, India and Bangladesh with these artists.[2] Another contemporary famous tabla player in Pakistan is Tari Khan, who is now known as the Prince of Tabla of Pakistan, was also a disciple of Mian Shaukat Hussain, "who is said to be a 'ditto copy' of the great ustad" – according to a major newspaper of Pakistan, The Friday Times.[2][4]

The same newspaper also states, "In the early 1990s, Ustad Zakir Hussain (musician), India's famous young tabla player, paid a visit to Pakistan and was performing at Lahore's Pearl Continental Hotel. When Ustad Shaukat Hussain walked in, Zakir stopped playing, came down from the stage, stooped before Shaukat and presented him with 'nazrana', declaring that while his own father, the great Ustad Alla Rakha, was in India at present, his musical father was right here in front of him."[2]

Awards and recognition

Death

Mian Shaukat Hussain retired in 1992 and died 4 years later on 25 January 1996 of kidney failure. His on-stage tabla performances showed his high level of skills.[2] According to a major Pakistani newspaper, Ustad Shaukat Hussain has been ranked amongst the finest tabla players of Pakistan.[2]

See also

Here are some other prominent tabla players:

References

  1. 1 2 Mian Shaukat Hussain's birth place info on rateyourmusic.com website Retrieved 15 July 2019
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ally Adnan (23 January 2015). "The Ustad of Ustaads - Profile of Mian Shaukat Hussain". The Friday Times (newspaper). Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  3. 1 2 Majid Sheikh (24 October 2015). "Harking back: Story of a 'classical music' corner of old Lahore". Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 NCA pays homage to Ustad Mian Shaukat Hussain Associated Press of Pakistan website, Published 25 January 2022, Retrieved 29 October 2022
  5. ↑ "Kultur-Mix - A concert by sarangi player Sultan Khan (India) and tabla player Shaukat Hussain (Pakistan) in Oslo, Norway". deeyahpoint.co.uk website. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  6. ↑ Tributes paid: Tabla maestro Shaukat Hussain remembered The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 28 January 2017, Retrieved 15 July 2019
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