How Ustad Zakir Hussain’s daughter Anisa Qureshi is keeping his memory alive

In many ways, Anisa Qureshi has spent her life at the intersection of rhythm and storytelling — two worlds shaped profoundly by her father, tabla maestro Zakir Hussain. Now 50, and preparing to be part of a special festival in Delhi celebrating his life and legacy, Anisa stands not just as his daughter, but as a creative force in her own right — one who is carrying his ethos into new artistic frontiers.

A producer, director, and creative strategist, Anisa’s career has unfolded across film, music, gaming and interactive entertainment. She has held influential roles at major global companies such as 2K Games and Electronic Arts, where she worked on cross-platform storytelling and audience engagement — blending narrative with emerging technology long before it became industry shorthand. Her early producing work began with Waterborne, a project that found a home on the Sundance Channel, setting the tone for a career that would fluidly move between independent storytelling and large-scale production.

As a director, her documentary Zakir Hussain – Sessions premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival in 2014 — a deeply personal project that offered audiences an intimate window into her father’s artistry.

Yet, for all her professional accomplishments, it is her bond with her father that forms the emotional core of her story. “The memories of him are all like shining stars. He was so intuitive — he could feel all of our moods and just wanted to care for us,” says Anisa, whose mother is Italian-American Kathak dancer and record label owner, Antonia Minnecola.

Those memories are not grand, distant recollections of a global icon, but deeply human, tender moments. She recalls a night when her infant daughter Zara wouldn’t sleep. Exhausted, Anisa had drifted off, only to wake up and find her father gently holding and rocking the baby in the stillness of the night. “I walked out into the living room and there was dad holding her. He looked at me and silently gestured for me to go back to bed.”

Anisa is spearheading the Zakir Hussain Institute of Music
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Special Arrangement

That presence — so often described by those who knew him — was as defining as his virtuosity. “He was always flying in and out,” she adds, “but when he was with us, he was all ours.”

Unlike many children of legends, she was never pressured to follow in his footsteps. “My father never pushed me to play the tabla,” she says. “He knew the road would be very tough and felt it had to be a calling.” When she did express interest, he embraced it fully. “When I was ready, he was incredibly generous in teaching me. We had beautiful sessions together.”

Ultimately, her calling led her elsewhere. “I was not called to be a professional musician,” she reflects, “but I have a deep love for music, dance and theatre. Choosing film and entertainment strategy felt natural and he was very supportive of that.”

That path, though not musical in the traditional sense, has always been infused with sound. “Music is part of my DNA,” she says. “I grew up in recording studios and soundchecks, exposed to so many styles because of him.” That immersion shaped her instincts. “For my work, my father would say, ‘Anisa, you know what it’s supposed to sound like.’ That stayed with me. Learning to ‘talk music’ and become friends with it was different for me — but it was always there.”

Her childhood reads like a tapestry of artistic immersion. She and her sister spent their early years backstage at concerts, often left to explore freely while their father performed. On Mount Tamalpais in California, they would lie in the grass listening to music drift through open-air venues, or invent playful schemes such as selling band merchandise with made-up slogans for his fusion group, Rhythm Experience. “We got completely into it —making up songs and slogans to sell the shirts,” she recalls with a smile. “At the end of the night, he came to check on us and we were still at it. We all had a good laugh.”

Even now, as she navigates life after his passing, those memories remain vivid anchors. Earlier this year, Anisa attended the Grammy Awards, an event her father had graced many times and for which he had received multiple nominations. “He was nominated for three Grammys this year, and we went in his honour,” she says. “To be there without him was so strange.” The absence was deeply felt. “His family and friends, along with so many artistes and producers miss him so much.”

And yet, she is clear: his legacy is far from static. “Though there are albums, recordings and teachings still to be released, his passing left a void in the music world, and of course, in his family,” she says. “But he lives on in us, in so many musicians he mentored, in the music he created and in that smile that made everyone feel like they mattered.”

Her current work reflects that belief. She is wrapping up Zakir Hussain Eternal at Carnegie Hall, a landmark tribute concert featuring 30 artistes, timed to what would have been his 75th birthday. “It was an incredibly special show,” she says.

More significantly, she is spearheading the Zakir Hussain Institute of Music, a non-profit initiative dedicated to preserving and evolving his artistic vision. “Through music education, mentorship, events such as Carnegie Hall, and the archives, we continue his mission,” she explains. “He believed in the transcendent power of music to unite people — and wow, did he prove it.”

That mission will come alive at ’Ustad Zakir Hussain: The Way Forward’, a three-day homage organised by Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, at Sunder Nursery, in New Delhi from March 27 to 29, marking his 75th birth anniversary, an event Anisa will be an integral part of. More than a tribute, the festival seeks to celebrate his pioneering contributions to rhythm by bringing together master percussionists and admirers from around the world. The festival will also showcase screenings of Anisa’s films.

Published – March 24, 2026 06:25 pm IST