Allah Rakha: Birth, Death, Career, More

Notably, Allah Rakha was a well-known Tabla player who popularised the art of tabla playing all over the world. Since he was a kid, it was clear that he was special. He was a brilliant and very talented person. His full name was Allah Rakha Qureshi and was born to a soldier. Moreover, you might want to know more about this amazing and legendary personality in depth. Right? Well, in this blog, you will be provided with all the relevant and sufficient information about this topic. You just need to stick around with this blog till the end of the discussion. This blog is all about Allah Rakha.

About Allah Rakha

Without a doubt, Allah Rakha was one of the most legendary personalities of Indian history. Since the age of 12, he was fascinated with the sound of tabla. During that time, he used to stay at Gurdaspur with his uncle. He ran away from the house and became the shishya or student of Mian Qader Baksh of the Punjab Gharana. He was the one who initiated Allah Rakha into the world of music. In addition to this, he also learnt “Raag Vidya” from Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan of Patiala Gharana. Moreover, he used to spend hours and his discipline and hard work eventually paid off. 

Early life and background 

Talking about his early life, Allah Rakha was born 29th of April, 1919. Moreover, his place of birth is Phagwal village of Jammu, which is situated 80 kms from Lahore. Allah Rakha Qureshi was born to a soldier and was one of the 7 childrens. He was different from everyone. Moreover, he was the eldest son and still decided to learn music. He became interested in Indian classical music and the performing arts made him run away to Lahore for further learning. Talking about his education, he studied at the Punjab School of Classical Music (gharana). There, he became a student of Ustad Mian Khadarbaksh Pakhawaji. Under Ustad Ali Khan, he was trained to be a singer for ten years. However, his love for playing tabla since teenage years made him grow up to be a great tabla player. 

Overview: Allah Rakha

Career of Allah Rakha

Allah Rakha started his career by learning the basics of music under his guru Mian Kader Baksh. Soon after, Allah Rakha became the toast of every musical gathering in the city. Not only this, he was offered a post at All India Radio, Lahore, where he worked for six years. After this, he was transferred to Delhi and then to Bombay. Moreover, Allah Rakha had also received extensive vocal training from the legendary Patiala guru, Ustad Aashiq Ali Khan. He came to Bombay prepared in both the rhythmic and melodic aspects of music.

Evidently, in Bombay, his talent as a composer brought him in touch with the film world where he scored music for over twenty-five films with great success. In addition, he had several silver jubilee hits like “Maa Baap”,

“Ghar Ki Laaj”, “Sabak”, “Sati Anusuya”, “Khandan”, “Madari”, “Alam Ara”, “Jagga”, “Bewafa” and more. However, this did not take him away from his tabla. Allah Rakha continued performing in major festivals all across the country. 

Additionally, he eventually chose to give up films and exclusively pursue his classical career. Moreover, as an accompanist, he enjoyed a rare versatility, being equally at home with vocal music, instrumental music, Kathak dance, and as a soloist. Notably, his thirty-year association with Pandit Ravi Shankar was well recognised for its hallmark accomplishment of bringing Hindustani music to the corners of the world. It is widely known for receiving the highest accolades from audiences and critics abroad. In addition to this, his consistently brilliant performances made the tabla a familiar percussion instrument across the world.

Allah Rakha Awards 

Allah Rakha was the recipient of several awards and titles. This included Padmashree, the Sangeet Natak Academy Award, the Indo-American Achievement Award, the Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar and the first ever gold disc for a classical recording. 

Institute

Notably, in 1985, Allah Rakha founded the Ustad Allah Rakha Institute of Music to train young tabla players in the tradition of the Punjab gharana. In addition, during this time, his duet performance, always popular in India, with son and chief disciple, Zakir Hussain, grew to international prominence with regular world tours. Moreover, he toured all across the world with Zakir, and also in trio with his younger son Fazal Qureshi. However, in 1996, he decided to limit his touring to India. Evidently, for the last four years of his life, he concentrated on teaching and travelled often in India. Also, he was respected with so many awards at major classical festivals. Without a doubt, his tabla solo performances are still in demand as he continued to perform until the end of his life.

Death of Allah Rakha

According to the sources, he died on 3rd of February, 2000 in Mumbai. He died at the age of 80. In addition to this, the cause of his death was a heart attack. Without a doubt, he was one of the most pivotal and legendary figures born in our country. 

Allah Rakha

Trivia

• BIO: Allah Rakha’s full name was Allah Rakha Qureshi Khansaheb. 
• He was the eldest son. They were 7 brothers. 
• Since his childhood, he was interested in learning the basics and playing tabla. He took the instrument to another level. 
• Khansaheb founded the Ustad Allah Rakha Institute of Music in 1985. The main aim of this institute was to teach tabla to the young musicians. 
• In addition to this, he was a trained Kathak dancer. 
• He had so many silver jubilee hits such as Bewafa, Sabak, Khandan, Madari, Alam Ara, Jagga and more. 
• Khansaheb received extensive vocal training from the legendary guru Ustad Aashiq Ali Khan.