Zakir Hussain and His Wife Had a Somewhat Scandalous Start to Their Love Story

Zakkir Hussain was known as one of India's finest tabla players, and he spent decades introducing Indian music to the masses. Sitar and fellow tabla player Nayan Ghosh told the BBC that he transcended boundaries of genre and inspired generations of artists. As much as Zakir gave to the world through his music, privately he was giving just as much to his wife.

The classical music icon was married to a woman who fully understood what it meant to bring joy to others. He and American Kathak dancer Antonia Minnecola were married for 45 years when he died. Something they both had in common, other than their love, was their commitment to sharing the Indian culture. Here is what we know about Zakkir and his wife.

Zakkir and Antonia met in the late 1970s when she was visiting California on a quest to learn more about Indian dance. In an interview with Simi Garewal, the Italian-American dancer said she had previously studied at the Manhattan School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music but wanted to learn more. "I wanted to round off my education because I was pretty much a scholar and a seeker."

Antonia was visiting Indian Hindustani classical musician Ali Akbar Khan to tell him her intention to study dance when she met Zakkir. "I thought he was very sweet. I thought I knew him very well right away," she told Simi. "It was one of those things where you think 'Oh, it's so nice to see you again.'" They actually began as friends which in the interview, Zakkir described as "hesitant" on her part.

She was studying dance while he was already an established musician, so Zakkir "had more time" to court her. He would often wait for Antonia outside of her dance classes or "maneuver himself" to run into her on occasion. Within a few months, the couple was in love but they had one thing standing in their way: Zakkir was Muslim and Antonia was not. "In my family, this was the first mixed marriage," he said. His mother had a difficult time with their relationship, so they kept the marriage a secret.

Although the two wed seven years after they met, it was still a tough time for Zakkir's family. "I think (my father) took on the responsibility of explaining (about my marriage) to my mother," he said. "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."

Obviously things worked out as they were married up until Zakkir's death. The couple had two daughters, Anisa Qureshi and Isabella Qureshi, and performed together many times throughout their marriage. In fact, Zakkir joked that Antonia always had the best backing band and she agreed.

Zakkir died on Dec. 15, 2024, at the age of 73. In a statement released to the press, his family said he died of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease, at a hospital in San Francisco. After the news of his death broke, people took to social media to express their love for the late musician.

Actor Shekhar Suman wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "Zakir Hussain was one of the brightest musical talents, a rare phenomenon who took tabla to a world stage blending with world music to create a cultural ethos. More than that he was a humble human being." Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was a "true genius who revolutionized the world of Indian classical music." Our thoughts are with his family at this time.