Poem: Ode to the Vertical Drum ( Tabla)

Zakir Hussain, the tabla maestro passed away yesterday, aged 73. This poem is in his Memorium.

Poem: Ode to the Vertical Drum (Tabla)

Your fingers fly fast
Faster than the wings
Wings of the hummingbird
If music had wings
Strumming a percussion
a nod of the head —
a tell for a pivot
a crescendo or a decrescendo
the rollercoaster ride
on musical waves
the present never is the past
for time stands still
yet in the music it flows
a conjured contrast
‘wah taj, boliye’ (Awesome Taj, you say)
the pinnacle of performance
the master of the vertical drum
we shall covet, janab (Sir), forever.

- In memory of Zakir Hussain

- Ashok Subramanian © 2024