Zakir Hussain downplays ‘Padmaavat’ controversy, urges more focus on health and hygiene

Jaipur, Jan 25 : Acclaimed tabla maestro Zakir Hussain on Thursday underplayed the "Padmaavat" controversy, dubbing it is as media hype, over-emphasised for "TRPs and to sell the newspapers".

"There are more important issues at hand like environment that deserve more coverage," he said on the sidelines of Zee Jaipur Literature Festival, while also urging people to concentrate on the issues of hygiene and healthcare.

Hussain participated in a session titled "A life In Music" where he spoke at length about his early days as well as his tryst with music and the core values that have gone into shaping his perspectives on life as well as music.

He said that the "Padmaavat" controversy will die down in once the film goes out of the theatres but crying issues of environment, health and hygiene are not receiving the emphasis from the media that they should.

"If we believe in ‘Saare jahan se acha Hindustan hamara’, we should keep our homes and our country clean. We must keep our entire country clean because it is our home. We should ensure that when our children go out, they are not infected by germs and this can only happen when the country is clean," he maintained.

He also cited several examples from his own life to stress that the practitioners of arts and culture should not be distracted by financial issues. "There will be ups and downs but ultimately he (God) will provide," the 66-year-old Hussain said.

"Musicians cannot change the world but once you go to a concert, you forget all the worldly tensions. You are at peace. Music is the connecting dot between the aatma and the parmatma (the soul and the god)," he said.

"It doesn’t matter what is happening around, no matter what chaos we are living in, but there is no place more serene and peaceful than the world of arts and culture. We should all uphold it," he added.

He also urged the people to enjoy everyone’s success as their own. "Only then can there be joy for everyone," he concluded.