When Ustad Zakir Hussain recreated the sound of damru, shankha on his tabla
Famous tabla player Zakir Hussain passed away in San Francisco at the age of 73. In the video now going viral, the maestro can be seen replicating the sound of damru and shankh on the tabla.

Famous tabla player Zakir Hussain passed away on 16 December. A video of the musician has surfaced online, showcasing his extraordinary skill in recreating the sounds. Damru (a small hand drum) and shell (A conch) on the tabla.
In the video, Hussain explains the story and context behind these recreations. He explained, “The words that came out of Shivji’s Damru on Mount Kailash were taken by Ganesh ji and put into the language of Taal, and we, the Taal players, play the same words because Ganesh ji is our Gurudev. ” So what he had written for Pakhawaj, now plays in the table also. One imagination was that Shivji’s drum was playing on Mount Kailash and his disciples were blowing conch shells. What sound will that sound be? Damru Interpreted and transformed into the language of rhythm by Lord Ganesha on Mount Kailash. These are the same sounds that we, as percussionists, play today because Lord Ganesha is our Gurudevcompositions created for Pakhawaj Now it is also played on the tabla. There was a vision of Shiva on Mount Kailash. Damru was resounding, while his disciples were playing ShankhaImagine the atmosphere created by the sounds of both instruments.)
The sound of the conch can also be recreated with the tabla, it does not seem that many would have seen this happening.
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– Rahul Roshan (@rahulroushan) 16 December 2024
The technical aspect of this performance involves tightening the skin of the tabla to produce a high-pitched sound imitating the tonal quality of a conch shell (shell),
Ustad Zakir Hussain also performed on the tabla in Dev Patel’s Monkey Man, while Dev’s character practiced boxing. This scene was designed to showcase a unique Jugalbandi (A kind of fusion) between the rhythm of boxing movements and the rhythm of percussion.
Check out the video here:
This tabla x boxing jugalbandi in Monkey Man was absolutely genius.
Even at the age of 73 he was hitting it out of the park, he kept his art alive till his last breath. rest in peace legend #zakirhussain pic.twitter.com/82H2ixXpnw
– Ø (@hmmbly) 15 December 2024
Hussain died at a hospital in San Francisco, US, his family said on Monday. He was 73 years old.
The family said in a statement that Hussain died from complications arising from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He was in the hospital for the last two weeks and was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after his condition deteriorated.