This concert is a charity event with 100% of ticket profits going directly to 'Guria', a grassroots Indian charity. Guria support and rescue women and children trafficked into prostitution in northern India. The concert is needed to raise awareness for both Guria’s work and the wider issue of trafficking, which is a huge and yet greatly unreported issue. Around 40% of sex workers in India are children (under 18.) There are now an estimated 1.2 million child prostitutes in the country. According to the UN, after weapons and drugs, human trafficking has grown to become the third most lucrative illegal trade in the world.

Money from your ticket purchase will go directly to the women and children who Guria works with to help them run their education centres and complete the building of a night shelter for those most vulnerable women and children. As little as £5.00 will support a child in Guria’s education centres for a month.

Aashish Khan is considered one of India's greatest living sarode players. He is an avid supporter of Guria and their work. Yousuf Ali Khan, a highly skilled tabla guru, who performs with the Grand Union Orchestra, will support on the tabla. Performing on the sarangi will be Dr. Nicolas Magriel who has been perfecting his technique and talent since 1970 and spent 12 years in India learning from top sarangi masters. Dr Amie Maciszewski will perform on the sitar. Amie is a sitarist, music educator and ethnomusicologist who trained initially in India for 10 years, and has performed across Europe, America and Asia. She has worked with Guria extensively and will open with a talk and short film about Guria.

Aashish Khan is considered among the top handful of India’s greatest living Sarod players, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, the legendary Acharya Baba Allauddin Khan, and his father, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. He has pioneered in the art of collaborating Indian classical music with western music, and world music. He is the first Indian musician to be appointed as fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society (UK) and in India he has received the highest honour in performing arts, the Sangeet Natak Award.  In 2007 he was nominated a grammy for his album ‘Golden Strings of the Sarode.’ He has collaborated with many western musicians from Eric Clapton to George Harrison, and has worked with Ravi Shankar on films and stage projects. Currently Aashish Khan is teaching North Indian Music at the California Institute of the Arts and the University of California at Santa Cruz.

They have made the amazing achievement of making Varanasi the only city in India with a child prostitute free red light area since 2002. They now extend their work to nearby towns, villages, interstate and Indo-Nepal borders. Guria directly rescue the victims of trafficking and provide rehabilitation, health and education support and alternative sources of income for the women and children affected. They prosecute the perpetrators of trafficking and run awareness campaigns, and sensitisation programs.

They are recognized and work with the Indian Government at the state and national level. Internationally they have built linkages and have been consulted by many organisations including Frontline (Ireland), Action Aid, Asian Human Rights Commission (Hong Kong), UN Rapporteurs on trafficking and sale of children (Geneva), UN Rapporteurs on human rights defenders, and the UN Global Initiative to fight trafficking (UN GIFT), Lawyer’s Rights Watch (Canada), Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and Liberal International.

Many famous musicians have supported Guria including Aashish Khan, Kishan Maharaj, Girija Devi, Pooran Maharaj and Chhannulal Mishra. National celebrities and activists who have supported Guria include G.R. Khairnar, Mahesh Bhatt, Tanuja Chandra, Anand Patwardhan, Sayeed Mirza, Kaifi Azmi, Shaukat Azmi, Shabana Azmi, J.P. Dutta and Aishwarya Rai.

Visit site>>