Editing Alla Rakha

{{short description|Indian tabla player (1919-2000)}}
{{other uses|Allah Rakha (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix   = [[Ustad]]
| name               = Alla Rakha
| image              = Alla Rakha 1988.jpg
| alt                = 
| caption            = Alla Rakha, 1988
| image_size         = 
| birth_name         = Allah Rakha Qureshi
| alias              = 
| birth_place        = [[Ghagwal]], Jammu Province, [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Kingdom of Jammu and Kashmir]], British Raj (now in [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]], India)
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1919|04|29|df=yes}}
| death_place        = [[Mumbai]], [[Maharashtra]], [[India]]
| death_date         = {{death date and age|2000|02|03|1919|04|29|df=y}}
| origin             = 
| occupation         = [[Tabla]], [[Pakhawaj]] player
| known_for          = [[Hindustani classical music]]
| years_active       = 
| label              = 
| credits            = Performed with [[Ravi Shankar]], [[Zakir Hussain (musician)|Zakir Hussain]], [[Aditya Kalyanpur]]
| children           = {{unbulletedlist|[[Zakir Hussain (musician)|Zakir Hussain]]| [[Fazal Qureshi]]|[[Taufiq Qureshi]]}}
| awards             = [[Padma Shri]] Award by the [[Government of India]] in 1977<br />[[Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]] in 1982
| website            = {{URL|allarakhafoundation.org}}
}}

'''Alla Rakha Qureshi''' (29 April 1919 – 3 February 2000) was an Indian [[tabla]] player who specialised in [[Hindustani classical music]]. Widely revered as one of history's most iconic players of the tabla,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zakir Hussain: Obituary of Grammy-winning tabla player |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwype77kwyjo |access-date=2024-12-21 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> he was a frequent accompanist of [[sitar]] player Pandit [[Ravi Shankar]] and was largely responsible for introducing [[tabla]] to the Western audience.<ref name=EB>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alla-Rakha|archive-date=21 May 2023|title=Alla Rakha - Indian musician|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|url-status=dead|access-date=11 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230521040740/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alla-Rakha}}</ref>

==Personal life and education==
Allah Rakha Qureshi<ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-04-30 |title=Lesser known facts about Ustad Allah Rakha |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/music/photo-features/lesser-known-facts-about-ustad-allah-rakha/photostory/34414234.cms |access-date=2024-12-16 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> was born on 29 April 1919 in [[Ghagwal]] village in the [[Jammu (province)|Jammu Province]] of the princely kingdom of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] under [[British Raj]]; today located in the [[Samba District]] of the [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|union territory of the same name]] in India. His mother tongue was [[Dogri language|Dogri]] and his family were [[Muslim Dogra]]s, although most of the Dogra clan around them were Hindus.<ref name="ar"/> Growing up on a farm, Ustad Alla Rakha was always in awe of music, praising the travelling musicians he would occasionally have the opportunity to witness. His father, at that time, looked down upon singing or learning to play a musical instrument as a profession for his boy, due to his family's origins as [[Dogras]] of Jammu.<ref name=EB/><ref name="ar"/><ref name=NYT/>

At the age of 12, Ustad Alla Rakha ran away from home to stay with his uncle in the nearby [[Gurdaspur]] city to pursue his passion for music.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2dE8RM-ysQ&list=FL9PcXrT5iTyDSreYOQ5962Q&index=1 Alla Rakha's performance on tabla on YouTube] Retrirved 18 October 2020</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2014-04-30|title=Lesser known facts about Ustad Allah Rakha|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/music/photo-features/lesser-known-facts-about-ustad-allah-rakha/photostory/34414234.cms|access-date=2021-02-02|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> Finding little chances for grooming and appreciation, the determined young lad 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 [[Punjab gharana]] of tabla players (a 'gharana' is a community of musicians sharing a distinctive musical style).<ref name=EB/><ref name="NYT" /><ref name="ar" /><ref name="GoogleDoodle" />

Alla Rakha also took vocal training in classical music and ''[[Indian musical scale|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 performed at [[All India Radio]] in [[Lahore]] as a staff artist in 1936 and was later transferred to All India Radio in Bombay in 1938.<ref name=EB/> In 1943, he quit that job and started working for the Bombay film industry, also known as [[Bollywood]] these days, and composed music for nearly two dozen Urdu/Hindi and Punjabi films.<ref name="NYT" /><ref name=EB/> By 1958, he had become disillusioned with the film industry and started focusing more on classical music.<ref name=EB/>

He was married to his cousin Bavi Begum and the couple had three sons, [[Zakir Hussain (musician)|Zakir Hussain]], [[Fazal Qureshi]] and [[Taufiq Qureshi]];<ref name=EB/> two daughters, Khurshid Aulia née Qureshi and Razia; and nine grandchildren. They all survived him except Razia; it was the news of her death a day earlier that is thought to have caused his fatal heart attack.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3494700060.html|title=Qureshi, Ustad Alla Rakha - Dictionary definition of Qureshi, Ustad Alla Rakha - Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary|website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref><ref name="ar">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2000/feb/05/guardianobituaries1|title=Alla Rakha obituary (with Ravi Shankar, he took Indian music to the world)|author=Reginald Massey|date=4 February 2000|newspaper=The Guardian (newspaper)|access-date=18 October 2020}}</ref>

Allah Rakha had a third daughter named [[Roohi Bano]] (1951–2019) who was born in [[Pakistan]] and achieved a "legendary" status in television and film acting in that country.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/music/news/Roohi-Bano-lives-a-life-of-recluse-wreck-Lahore/articleshow/21327410.cms|title=Roohi Bano lives a life of recluse wreck Lahore - Times of India|newspaper=The Times of India|access-date=18 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/world/pakistan/story/ustad-alla-rakhas-daughter-is-broken-and-alone-in-pakistan-171585-2013-07-25|title=Ustad Alla Rakha's daughter Roohi Bano is broken and alone in Pakistan|date=July 25, 2013|website=India Today|access-date=18 October 2020}}</ref>

==Career==
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. Soon after, he also started composing music [[Hindi|for Hindi]] films under the name A. R. Qureshi. He composed for a total of 23 films between 1943 and 1964.<ref name=NYT/>

[[File:Ravi Shankar flier back.jpg|thumb|190px|right|Flyer for an October 1967 concert by Shankar and Rakha (left), held four months after their performance at the [[Monterey Pop Festival]]]]
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]].<ref name=NYT/> 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.<ref name=EB/>

Alla Rakha also was a devoted music teacher. He founded 'Alla Rakha Institute of Music' in [[Mumbai]] in 1985.<ref name=EB/>

==Global influence==
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.<ref name="ar"/>

Leading American percussionists in [[rock n' roll]], such as the [[Grateful Dead]]'s [[Mickey Hart]], admired him and studied his technique, benefiting greatly even from single meetings. Hart, a published authority on percussion in [[world music]], said: "Allah Rakha is the Einstein, the Picasso; he is the highest form of rhythmic development on this planet." Rakha also collaborated with jazz drummer [[Buddy Rich]] on their 1968 album ''[[Rich à la Rakha]]''.<ref name=EB/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/63qv|title=BBC - Music - Review of Buddy Rich & Allah Rakha - Rich a la Rakha|first=Liz|last=Mundler}}</ref>

Alla Rakha's partnership with [[Ravi Shankar]] began in the early 1950s.<ref name="ar"/> He was part of the ensemble accompanying [[Ravi Shankar]] during [[George Harrison]]'s [[Concert for Bangladesh]] shows, held in [[New York City]] in August 1971. The success of the live album and concert film from this event presented Indian classical music to a wide audience in the West. He also collaborated and shared the stage with many leading figures in Indian music like sitar player [[Vilayat Khan]] and [[sarod]] player [[Ali Akbar Khan]].<ref name=NYT/>

He was also featured in a [[Google Doodle|Google doodle]] on 29 April 2014, on the occasion of his 95th birthday.<ref name=GoogleDoodle>{{cite web |title=Google doodle marks Ustad Alla Rakha's 95th birthday | website=NDTV Gadgets 360 | date=29 April 2014 |url=https://gadgets.ndtv.com/others/news/ustad-alla-rakhas-95th-birth-anniversary-commemorated-by-google-doodle-515504 |access-date=18 October 2020}}</ref>

==Awards and recognition==
* [[Padma Shri]] in 1977<ref>{{cite web|title=Padma Awards list (1954 - 2013) (scroll down to find 1977 for Alla Rakha's award)|publisher=Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (India)|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf|access-date=18 October 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf| archive-date=15 October 2015|url-status=dead|date=2 September 2014}}</ref><ref name=EB/>
* [[Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]] in 1982<ref>{{cite web|title=Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards – Hindustani Music – Instrumental |publisher=Sangeet Natak Academy website|url=http://www.sangeetnatak.com/programmes_recognition&honours_music_hindustani_instrumenta.html |access-date=18 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519200834/http://www.sangeetnatak.com/programmes_recognition%26honours_music_hindustani_instrumenta.html |date=16 August 2007|archive-date=19 May 2009 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref><ref name=EB/>
* T. Chowdiah Award in 2000<ref>{{cite news |title=State's honour of Allahrakha: Maya Rao bags Shantala Award |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2000/01/05/stories/0405210c.htm |access-date=20 May 2025 |work=The Hindu |date=5 January 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041112231911/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2000/01/05/stories/0405210c.htm |archive-date=12 November 2004}}</ref>

==Death and legacy==
Qureshi died on 3 February 2000 at his Simla House residence on [[Nepean Sea Road]] following a heart attack, which he suffered on learning of the death of his daughter, Razia, the previous evening during cataract surgery.<ref name=NYT>{{cite news|title=Ustad Alla Rakha, 80, Master Of Hindustani Classical Music |author=Jon Pareles|newspaper=The New York Times|date=6 February 2000| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/06/nyregion/ustad-alla-rakha-80-master-of-hindustani-classical-music.html|access-date=18 October 2020}}</ref><ref name="ar"/>

In his obituary, [[The New York Times]] called him "the most important tabla drummer of his generation". The newspaper further stated that Alla Rakha was given the title Ustad or master musician and teacher of the art of tabla playing. Alla Rakha... "used his skill to invigorate every musician who shared the stage with him."<ref name=NYT/>

The Then-[[Prime Minister of India]] [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]] also issued a formal statement regretting the loss in his death.<ref name="NYT" />

==See also==<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦--->
* [[Zakir Hussain (musician)|Zakir Hussain]]
* [[Kishan Maharaj]]
* [[Anokhelal Mishra]]
* [[Samta Prasad]]
* [[Yogesh Samsi]]
* [[Peter Szalai]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
# Inlay notes to ''A Life Story of a Genius'' compilation CD set (Saregama India Ltd, 2006)

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p172410|label=Alla Rakha}}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Art}}
{{Ravi Shankar}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rakha, Alla}}
[[Category:1919 births]]
[[Category:2000 deaths]]
[[Category:Punjab gharana]]
[[Category:Hindustani instrumentalists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]]
[[Category:Tabla players]]
[[Category:Musicians from Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:People from Jammu district]]
[[Category:Dogra people]]
[[Category:All India Radio people]]
[[Category:Indian male classical musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male singers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian singers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian drummers]]