Talib Hussain was one of the last surviving pakhavaj players in Pakistan, and to make a living he also had to play tabla (which he did with equal aplomb). Fortunately for us, he was interviewed and filmed playing Punjabi-style pakhavaj by Lok Virsa (the photo at left is a still from that film). He was a disciple of Miyan Qader Bakhsh II, and along with Shaukat Hussain he was one of the most popular and widely heard tabla accompanists. Sadly, he was murdered in a mosque in Lahore in 1993 in a drive-by attack by Sunni militants (nearly all traditional musicians in Lahore are Shia). This wonderful, energetic clip is from a jhaptal performance (counted like the tabla and not the pakhavaj version as 2+3+2+3).

Visit Saqib Razaq's page on Allah Lok for information and audio on Pakistan's last pakhavaj player. Allah Lok took up the pakhavaj in response to the tragic death of Talib Hussain.