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Zakir Akhtar was born in a musicians’ family and hails from the famous lineage of "Farrukhabad Gharana". He started his initial training in tabla from his grandfather Late. Ustad Mehdi hussain khan , who was a renowned tabla player of the country , and later on continued pursuing his training under the guidance of his father Ustad Akhtar Hasan , a renowned Tabla player and top artist of All India Radio, New Delhi.

Zakir Akhtar gave his first solo performance at the age of eight, organised by Sangeet Natak Academy (Lucknow). After that his musical journey began and he keeps giving performances and sharing stage with his father regularly.

Some of his remarkable solo performances are , in "Aamad Festival" organised by New Kathak Dance Society (Delhi), "Rajendra Prasad Academy" and "Ustad Amaan Ali Khan Memorial Society (Delhi),"Yuva Sangeet Sabha (Bhopal)", " Pandit Nikhil Ghosh Memorial, NCPA theatre (Mumbai) and in "Sankalp" society in (Ahmdabad), He also got the opportunity to represent the Farukkhabad Gharana among the other Gharana's tabla players in " Saptak Festival" (Ahmdabad) in the presence of the living legend of Tabla Maestro Pandit Kishen Maharaj ji , and it is an honour for Zakir to have received his appreciation and blessings for his bright future.

Besides these achievements , he has also performed at the international level. In 1999 he performed in "JAK-FEST" (Jakarta International Festival) Indonesia, and after that Festival of "India-Indonesia" called "Budaya India Oleh Remaja Indonesia" (Jakarta). He also performed with his father in the school of Russian Embassy and British International School (BIS) Indonesia.

Alongwith 'Sangeet Prabhakar', Zakir is also a graduate of Kirorimal College, Delhi University. He was awarded by Silver Medal in A.I.R competition from Akashvani lucknow in 2003. He was also awarded by ' Taal Mani' in 2006. ***