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Zakir Hussain died on Demceber 15 in the US. He was married to Antonia Minnecola.
Zakir Hussain with his wife, Antonia Minnecola.
Zakir Hussain passed away on December 15, Sunday, in the US. The legendary tabla artist is survived by his wife, Antonia Minnecola, and their daughters Anisa Qureshi and Isabella Qureshi. Zakir and Antonia fell in love when he was exploring his musical career in the US. In an episode of Rendezvous with Simi Garewal, Zakir revealed he and Antonia began dating months after they met and eventually got married seven years later. However, he married her without his mother’s approval.
“In my family, this was the first mixed marriage. So more than my father, it was my mother who had a tough time with it. It was very difficult for her (to accept the marriage). We didn’t tell her (about our marriage) until I was already married. But my father was there, he married us off in a Muslim ceremony. But the civil ceremony, which was the first one, no one knew. We just went and did it,” Zakir revealed.
“I think (my father) took on the responsibility of explaining (about my marriage) to my mother. I think the way he explained it was, he came and said, ‘Well, it’s done, just live with it’ (laughs). Over the years, my mother met her, understood her, and liked the person, and she worked her way beyond those ways of traditions and religions and found that the person was the most important aspect of the relationship. She loves Toni and thinks the world of her,” the musician added.
How Did Zakir Hussain and Antonia Minnecola Meet?
Antonia, who was also seen in the episode, revealed that they met courtesy of Ali Akbar Khan. “I wanted to round off my education because I was pretty much a scholar and a seeker. I thought I don’t know anything about Indian classical music. I went to visit Ali Akbar Khan sahab to tell him that I wanted to study dance and that’s when I met Zakir. He happened to be there that night. I thought he was very sweet, I thought I knew him very well right away,” she said.
The couple celebrated their wedding anniversary in September this year.
