Zakir Hussain, the exuberant maestro of tabla who once called the instrument his 'mate, brother and friend' and embodied the universality of music in his 60-year career, died in a San Francisco hospital early Monday.

Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, who passed away due to complications arising from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis at 73, has been laid to rest in San Francisco.

Zakir Hussain, whose "dancing fingers" made him one of the greatest players of the tabla or Indian drums and who became a major force in contemporary world music, has died.

Hussain, one of the world's most accomplished percussionists, died at a San Francisco hospital on Monday due to complications arising from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease. He was 73.

Indian musician Zakir Hussain, a four-time Grammy award winner credited with turning tabla drums into an instrument loved globally, has died at the age of 73, officials said Monday.