 Singh's first foray into photography and bookmaking came through a chance encounter with tabla player Zakir Hussain, when he invited her to photograph him in rehearsal after she was shoved by an aggressive official while attempting to shoot him in concert.For six winters following this, Singh documented several Hussain tours and, in 1986, finally published the images in her first book, "Zakir Hussain".Referring to him as her first "true guru", Singh believes that Hussain taught her the most important of all skills