As we await their arrival at a South Mumbai theatre, there's sufficient chatter about how tabla maestro Zakir Hussain and American drummer Marcus Gilmore's pairing is unusual, since they "come from different worlds". Questioning this ambiguity is only fitting when one considers the mammoth scale on which the Rolex Mentor and Protégée Arts Initiative is held. When you consider the scale of investment this now 17-year old programme demands, it could seem obvious that the organisers would like to "keep it safe" with the pairings — a dancer for a dancer; and author for a writer. But Hussain finds it unusual for people to assume that his experience could be employed to train only a tabla player.

There's enough and more about deciphering musical notes that he can assist with, he says. "When you play [an instrument], there are certain grace notes that creep in. How one proceeds from one note to another [can be taught]," says Hussain, asserting that there was nothing about the art of drumming that he could have taught the Latin Grammy Award-winner, also the grandson of veteran American jazz drummer, Roy Haynes. "He already knows everything there is to know about the instrument, and creating perfect rhythms. If I change [his music sensibility], I will hurt it. His musicality is already unique; why should I change that? The only way I could mentor him was as a musician with more experience. As someone who is closer towards the front seat of the bus, because I got in earlier, I could tell him what he will see later [in his life], because I've already seen it."