Ustad Alla Rakha dedicated a Google doodle on his 95th birth anniversary
Today’s Google doodle pays homage to Ustad Alla Rakha, considered to be the greatest tabla player in Indian musical history. The doodle dedicated on his 95th birthday, shows the two ‘O’s as a tabla, and Ustad Alla Rakha is seen playing them with his trademark smile.
Born on April 29, 1919 in Phagwal, Jammu as Allarakha Qureshi Khansaheb, he is credited to have made tablas popular around the globe. At the age of 12, he left home to learn tabla and in 1936 he joined the All India Radio. A few years later, he joined the Bollywood industry as a music composer under the name AR Qureshi.
Reverently called ‘Abbaji’, he was an accompanist to Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Allauddin Khan, Vilayat Khan, Vasant Rai, Ali Akbar Khan and sitar player Ravi Shankar. They would travel the world to create an awareness of Indian music around the world.
In 1977 he was awarded the Padma Shri and in 1982 he was honored with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. His three sons Zakir Hussain, Fazal Qureshi, and Taufiq Qureshi too are tabla players.
Abbaji died in Mumbai of a heart attack on February 3, 2000.
Ustad Alla Rakha dedicated a Google doodle on his 95th birth anniversary