- Based on Zee TV interview by Saniya Ansari New York City is a center of the arts and culture with a competitive cut throat environment. In this city, one woman, Zeyba Rahman, is making her mark as an independent producer of cultural programming including films and music. Working in a field traditionally dominated by men, one can only wonder where she gets her passion for the arts, what are her views on fusion in world music, and what does it take to be a producer? In the world of art and music development, Zeyba Rahman has dedicated the past 15 years of her life to nurturing and developing multi-cultural programs across the globe. Zeyba is firmly committed to the advancement of multi-culturalism in arts. She has worked as a consultant in such cultural organizations as the Asia Society, American Arts Council, and Metropolitan Museum of Arts. Zeyba was born in Meerut, India and spent her initial childhood in Delhi followed by a brief stay in England where her parents pursued degrees in English literature at Cambridge University. Later, she moved to New York City where she has lived ever since. She comes from a wonderful family of long time academics, thinkers and creative people. She studied music as a young child and credits her parents for instilling the love of the arts and music in her. In college she studied modern dancing and Indian classical music including Bharat Natyam from Indrani Rahman in New York. Zeyba has worked as a research analyst at Wall Street for over 9 years. While there, she has tried her hand at cultural programming and has slowly worked to change her career. She actually produced a national tour with Dagar Brothers when they made their US debut for the World Music Institute in the 80's. This provided a balance between her dry analytical work at Wall Street environment and her cultural interests. She believes change will happen to everyone. The question is how one adapts to it. Zeyba likes change and welcomes transition, because it is an opportunity for introspecting and looking at one's life and self again. She has served as a chairperson for the World Music Institute in New York. This is a unique organization, which produces about 80 concerts a year. Her contacts in Indian Music are very important, because this organization does eight or more classical Indian Music concerts a year. Started by Robert Browning in 1985, the Institute has grown and developed the reputation of being the premier driving force in bringing international music to the U.S. audiences -- particularly to New York's melting pot. She is also a US consultant to the Fez Festival of World Sacred Music in Morocco that she regularly attended for the past four years. At the Fez Festival, musicians and music lovers from all over the world congregate for about ten days to relish the musical feast. Fusion in world music, which she defines as a "coming together and bonding" phenomenon, interests Zeyba. She believes that musicians are sensitive to sounds and as the world becomes more of a global village, they will draw upon inspiration from each other. They will want to come together to try out new things. It is happening now with Shujaat Khan, Ustad Vilayet Khan's son, who has teamed with Kayhan Kalhor, an Iranian musician whose improvisations on the kamancheh have accompanied several ensembles including Dastan and Ghazal. Thus far, they have put together three CDs. Zeyba was the artistic director and music producer for the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders at the UN in August 2000. This was a historic event since there had never before been such a gathering at the United Nations. She suggested to the organizers to use music from spiritual traditions. Sussan Deyhim, an Iranian singer sang Sephardic Jewish songs. Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar, a Muslim presented sacred Hindu music in dhrupad tradition. Other artists crossed over religious boundaries in their performances. This was exactly what this summit was about, bringing together everybody across the divide and bringing them to talk about reconciliation and peace. Through independent cinema, Zeyba has produced award winning Indian films such as Full Circle, Dr. Ambedkar, the Madness of the Day and Mr. Ahmed. In 1995, she worked on the film Mr. Ahmed, which was a family project. Portrayed by renowned Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah, Mr. Ahmed is a displaced person, caught between two cultures and belonging to neither. She is currently working as the producer and project director for a cultural arts program on modern Turkish calligraphy. She has coordinated with the American Museum of History, the Asia Society and the Inter-Faith Center of New York to contribute to this project. Having achieved so much success so early, she looks at future with great hope and anticipation. Success, according to her means to do just what you love to do and keep on doing it because that gives you happiness. What inspires Zeyba? So many things such as different sounds, the afternoon lights of 5'oclock in the evening, which can be very rosy and beautiful. She finds life very inspiring and the people who transcend their every day existence in trying circumstances. |
