It Is about Choices

Staff report, "Singing for God" - NewInd Press - Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Friday, May 9, 2008

"My father taught me how to simplify life. That is why Sufi music became more and more closer to my life."

Thiruvananthapuram: Zila Husein Khan, the versatile woman Sufi singer of the country, put her journey in music in such simple terms.

Putting her heart and soul into her words at the meet-the-press held in the city on Thursday, the lady with strong convictions and immense energy poured out her love for Kerala. "The beauty of Kerala I saw from my flight this morning - the beach, the sea, the churches, temples, mosques and then greenery - is a combination of the culture, heritage, music and philosophy of all the religions here..." Zila went on.

And she even sprang a surprise for the State, when she announced that her proposed school of music, ‘Ustadgah’ (for empowering children, especially those in rural areas, by teaching them music and helping them earn their livelihood) will have its base in Mumbai and a branch in Kerala!

"Kerala came into the picture some five months ago and I just hope that everything materialises soon," she said, flashing a hearty smile. So, don’t be surprised if Zila sings some Malayalam poems at Friday’s performance!

She is undertaking the work of her school in close association with the UNICEF.

"I will go and pick the talent in our rural areas. And will ensure that they become professionals," she said.

Zila’s versatility and vision have even made her the cultural advisor to the Commonwealth Games 2010, besides being an official member of the organising committee of the Games to be held in Delhi.

"I don’t want that to be just a post. If I chance upon children who are talented in sports, I will fund their training," she said.

Zila, daughter of the legendary sitar maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan, is the seventh generation of an unbroken link in the oldest school of sitar and surbahar in India, ie the Imdad Khani Gharana, and the only singer in the gharana.

"It was the genre that chose me, not me who chose the genre," she said.

However, there was a time when girls in the family were never allowed to sing. "But my father broke that practice. You can say I changed him. He taught me like a son. He taught me a lot about women’s empowerment and gender equality," said Zila.

In fact, Vilayat Khan held a public ceremony in which he made Zila his ‘gandabandh shahgird’ (a formal student) enabling her to carry his name forward as one of his successors.

"He used to play Sufi music on his sitar and I would listen carefully. Sometimes, he used to wake me up at night and would make me memorise a ‘bandish’ he had composed. He would say, Arre... ye seekhle... (Hey, you learn this). He treated me like a computer!," Zila said.

Nevertheless, even after becoming her father’s student, Zila did not sing in public for the next 10 years or so.

"For me, it has been a ‘zikr’ (remembrance of God), rather than a performance," she said.

When her son turned 10, her father and husband insisted that she gave a public performance. And she finally did, some 7 or 8 years back. And, has done many memorable concerts till date, besides cutting out seven solo albums.

Her latest work is ‘Zila- The Girl Child’, which advocates women’s rights. She has sung the lyrics by women poets in this work. And this is historical because she has sung the Sufism and teachings of the first-ever woman Sufi, Hazrat Rabia Basri, born in 717 AD.

Commenting on commercialisation of music, Zila said, "I can’t point my finger at somebody and be judgmental. Because, if I were in their place, I also might have done that.

It is about choices and the background you have. I had a wide range of choices before me," she said, adding, "In my case, this is my work and this is how I want to live. I feel blessed that I can live the way I want."

Before signing off, she said, "I don’t know whether you’ll like my music. But, just pray for me. Because there is nothing greater than that you can do for others."Thus emphasising what she has said always, "I sing for God."

The singer (better known as ZHK) is on her first trip to Kerala for a performance to be staged as part of the Swaralaya Dance and Music Festival at Nishagandhi (at 6.30 pm on Friday).