Zila Khan’s OneZone Festivals

The objective of the event is to weave a fabric, which mirrors the unparalleled cultural equity of India and will showcase the finest of creative expression in all genres including music, in both traditional and contemporary art forms. Our endeavor is to cut across all boundaries of age, borders, language, religions and to portray the world as a ‘OneZone’ enhancing No borders, barriers and needs no language to be understood. Integration of love and compassion is the theme of the festival. We plan to have it four times a year (every quarterly) in different parts of India and simultaneously abroad. In today’s economic, social and political environment Delhi is the ideal hub where the eyes of the world are focused, this is why we have chosen to do our first festival in Delhi on Human Rights day.

Being a commercial venture, OneZone festivals will present commercial concerts of Indian and international musical artists like Bob Marley’s sons Ziggy and Stefen Marley’s performances. OneZone Festivals also binds the world together through Art Exhibitions, Seminars, Craft and Cultural shows by showcasing on a common platform. The audiences will get a flavour to versatile musical genres from the maestro’s of the Western, Asian and Arab world. The festival will be charged with rare artistic fervour created out of the coming together of sound and music of different parts of India and the world.

The OneZone Festivals is a global initiative, which will span different cities and countries each year. To build a bridge between the east and the west will be the aim of the festival. This festival hence will touch the hearts of the masses and continue the message of true love and compassion in everyday life. The festival from next year will be a 2 day festival, and very much like a mini Festival of India in which culture and music is exhibited from around the world-into the world.

The OneZone Festivals will also serve as a fundraiser for its sister concern UstadGah Music Foundation to enable the three year training and living expenses of its students, thus the festival helps create livelihood opportunities for those music students who further preserve the culture and heritage of India and the world, because it is these students who will be the artists of tomorrow through whom our heritage in music is not only preserved but also carried around the world and down the generations.  The OneZone Festivals concept will facilitate a life of dignity for these future artists, which is self reliancy and not solely dependent on donations and sponsorships.

Azaadi aur Discipline Mubaarak

Respect/discipline without love or love without discipline is always incomplete. Today my children of UstadGah Music Institute are singing so beautifully with me and we together with the most esteemed institution of India the Army, their Band and us making music on NDTV and CNN IBN. Children from different schools like Salwan Public school Rajinder Nagar, the Blind School, Vasant Valley school have represented their schools and my teachings beautifully. We have not used any professional musician in these recordings and it’s a great feat for the children to perform on National TV this way. It’s their first time but definitely not the last.

There was a time I used my work to reflect me and my image, now I myself am comfortable in letting my different Avatar’s be seen and am happy, proud and enjoy the world seeing me the way I am. (Performing Artist, UstadGah teacher, Equality initiating woman with projects like Ustad-e-Maa, and now having a Mega-Events company called OneZone Festivals)

UstādGāh : Building the Dream

UstādGāh, the idea that shaped into an institution in 2008, is the vision of Zila Khan to provide opportunities for the lesser privileged but musically talented children who do not have the ability to shape their talent and fulfill their dreams. Zila Khan wants to nurture the talent of such children who passionately dream of music. UstādGāh provides them with training and education in music for four to five years. Through UstādGāh, a curriculum has been designed for 11th and 12th classes, which on qualifying will exempt a year of UstādGāh’s curriculum. The disciples of UstādGāh will hone their skills and be empowered to earn their own livelihoods. The idea is to give them an international platform where they can express themselves through music.

With the desire to share the earned knowledge, skill and wisdom, UstādGāh, through this initiative, intends to promote the ‘paramparaa’ of music and showcase the rich cultural heritage of India to the world.

The substantial and holistic curriculum at UstādGāh is unparallel in the history of this country, as it is based on every aspect and dimension of our culture. UstādGāh will periodically invite luminaries, artists, professors, gurus, business entrepreneurs, yoga teachers and intellectual minds as visiting faculty to work and interact with the children, alongwith its own teachers. The children will simultaneously pursue their regular academics with scholarship, in recognized schools and colleges.

The aim is to provide a wholesome environment to those privileged children so that they can indulge themselves totally in the process of growth and develop the true genius in them.