My association with Ustad Zakir Hussain ji began in 1998 when I first crafted a tabla set for him at my Mahim workshop. Every year around August, I would keep an eye out for the announcement of his show dates to predict what kind of tabla sets I would be entrusted with making that season. I last met Ustad-ji in August this year at Shimla House—his Nepean Sea Road residence —where he asked me to work on five new tablas that would accompany him on stage starting November.” 

Vhatkar continued, “Losing him feels like a part of me has died with him. Ustad-ji loved to share bits of wisdom between discussions about tabla. “Treat anyone who walks through your door like they’re Zakir Hussain,” he would say. Many years ago, he silently gifted me his Toyota Corolla that he held dear without any fanfare. Through these gestures and essons in humility, he will continue to live among us.