For Zakir Hussain, the tabla is more than a percussion instrument with an extraordinary range of tones, timbres, and pitches. The Indian maestro regards the paired hand drums as faithful, lifelong companions. He’s never so much as thought of playing anything else.

“There’s an intimacy between me and the tabla that’s ordained,” says the 57-year-old Hussain, on the line from a tour stop in Chicago. “It’s my soul mate, my brother, my twin. I feel I can express myself totally with it.”

Born in India, Hussain inherited his devotion from his father and guru, Alla Rakha, for many years the world’s foremost tabla player. The apprenticeship was long and arduous, though not harsh or competitive. “My father’s most important advice to me and to others was ‘Don’t try to become a master—just be a great student and you’ll get by fine.’ I feel he was trying to say that it’s not about the goal but the journey—learning something from every musical encounter and constantly working to refine your art.”

On his own journey Hussain has played with many western artists—most famously with the pioneering Indo-jazz fusion band Shakti and the world-music outfit Planet Drum. At the same time, however, he’s remained close to his roots. For the past two decades Hussain has led the multifaceted, drum-based Indian ensemble Masters of Percussion, which comes to the Chan Centre on Tuesday (May 6).

“It [the group] showcases the finest musicians from a range of traditions—folk, religious, and classical,” he explains. “We perform individually, in duos, trios, as a group—a variety of configurations. The core has always been myself and my brothers—Fazal [Qureshi], who’s also a tabla player, and Taufiq [Qureshi], who plays frame and hand drums from central India. And we always have one or two players of melodic instruments. This time it’s Niladri Kumar, in my estimation the next genius sitar virtuoso, and Dilshad Khan, a brilliant player of the [violinlike] sarangi.”

In addition, the current lineup of Masters of Percussion comprises Vijay Chauhan from Maharashtra on the double-headed dholki; Ram Kishan, from Rajasthan, on the nagada, a kettle drum; Uzbek musician Abbos Kosimov, who juggles several doyras (frame drums) while maintaining complex rhythms; and the athletic and colourful Meitei Pung Cholom Performing Troupe from Manipur, in India’s northeast corner.

“All Indian traditions are closely tied to divinity,“ says Hussain. “The Manipur drummers believe that Lord Shiva has blessed theirs. If you look at statues of him, he’s in a dance posture and has several arms and hands, one of which holds a small drum. So in his honour, the members of the troupe combine both skills, performing acrobatic dance movements, flips, and spins as they drum.”

Anyone who has seen Hussain’s radiant expression as his fingers fly over his own drums knows that he, too, is dancing ecstatically within. “Truly I can say that I love tabla—and tabla loves me, I think,” he confides. “We will always be as one.”