Penury, though, didn’t haunt Zarin, whose early phase of life had, in fact, earned her the reputation of being a prodigy. She was only four when she began learning the harmonium, after elders noticed her flair in playing the instrument. (As for Suguna, she has also been a veena exponent.) Then, at age six, she stumbled upon a jugalbandi that made her obsessed with the sarod. The artiste of that evening was Ali Akbar Khan (1922-2009) who was seated alongside sitarist Ravi Shankar, also from the Maihar gharana (founded in its modern sense by all-rounder Baba Alauddin Khan). Zarin had the fortune later to be tutored under masters such as Haripada Ghosh V.G. Jog, besides, vocalists S.C.R. Bhat, Laxmanprasad Jaipurwale, S.N. Ratanjankar who she acknowledge as “important influences”.