"The Fewer Fences To Climb, The Better"

An excerpt from "Zakir Hussain: A Life in Music" in conversation with Nasreen Munni Kabir:

NMK: Are you a religious person?

ZH: What is a religious person? I am a Muslim; my wife, Toni, is a Catholic; my daughters, Anisa and Isabella, were baptized; Taufiq's wife, Geetika Varde, is a Konkan Maharashtrian; Fazal's wife, Birwa, is a Gujarati from Ahmedabad - our family is a beautiful mix of universal oneness.

The fewer fences there are to climb, the better. I believe in the universality of humanity and that we are all one. None of the prophets, the Zoroastrians, Buddha, Mahavir or Guru Nanak have said anything different. They have all spoken of loving one another and striving for peace.