Chat with Siraj Khan

Gauri: Hello everyone, Welcome to The Foundations TV. Our guest today is Siraj Khan or should I say, THE Siraj Khan. Having worked with him on various projects for the last year and half, I have not only gotten to know him better as a person, but also observed how inspired and energized others get when he is in the room. At times he may be the most significant voice in a room, directing those around him, suggesting ways of improvising and narrating inspiring anecdotes and at other times he may be sitting quietly in a corner absorbing all talents in a room and figuring out how to unveil the potential of a person or a situation at hand. He is certainly a person who takes genuine interest in the talent display around him and is eager to showcase them through numerous cultural projects that he is personally involved in. And that Siraj Ji brings me to our first question.

Gauri: Welcome to The Foundations TV. Such a pleasure to have you here. You are a well known personality in New England. Most people have seen you either on stage, or back stage managing and directing. I know you have been very active in the community for the last few years, but I would like to trace it a little back to know what was your first ever interaction with the stage? How did you start , evolve and get where you are today.

Siraj: (laughing) You called me a ‘stage personality’. That is so amusing. I am no great stage personality but my association with stage goes back to my school days, singing on stage, participating in various  student dramas. Whenever I was asked to participate in something, I used to jump into it and felt very comfortable. And then through college and growing up , and got married, but I think, if I have to look back, it was music which was what really got me on stage. I was really at my best sharing the music, presenting the best possible to the people and sharing my joys with the others. Music really, I thought,  was the best way to do it.

Gauri: Wonderful. So, this is really nice as I have seen you enjoying music during the shows here in the last one and a half years. Most of the shows that we have worked together on, I have observed you sitting and enjoying the music even during the rehearsals. I can see that is the closest to your heart. So, certainly that is very nice to hear from you as well.

Gauri: Now I would like to hear a little bit more about the shows that you have been involved in recently and what different roles have you played in all these shows that we see your name listed in.

Siraj: Well, something very close to my heart, as most people know, are the O P Nayyar nights that I have been doing since the great man passed away. From 2007 upto last year, every year, religiously, we have been doing this, and it is very moving that so many people have joined this journey with such passion. And then one of my fondest memories is doing the Geeta Dutt show in 2011. It was called Hawaon ke Taraane and it had a black and white theme. Can you imagine 70% of the audience was wearing black and white attire at my request. I mean, it was most incredible. So, I produced and directed that included the entire music and the whole nine yards. Last year Rooh-e-Sahir that I co-produced with Harish Dang and Razia Mashkhoor. I was the creative director for that and that was a huge hit where we projected a poet. Normally it is a music director or a singer. We had Melodies and Memories. I remember Shankar Jai Kishan night with Sharda. I produced and directed that. More recently, we had Madhubala show and you were part of it as well. I was the program manager for Adnan Sami show. So, I was not on stage for that one, but I managed everything back stage. And I have very fond memories of the Din Check show, in which again I was with you. So, the role that I had has been different namely back stage, front stage, creative, music, and I have enjoyed everything that I have done.

Gauri: This is wonderful. Playing different roles is absolutely an enriching experience not just for you, but also for the audiences as they get to see all the different talents that you bring along with you. So, that actually brings us to the next show that you are involved with which is Sahib Bibi aur Guru Dutt and I would love to hear from you what role you are playing in that show.

Siraj: Well, there is a very interesting connection. I remember, I told you about O.P. Nayyar. O.P.Nayyar and Guru Dutt had a very strong connection in all the old movies like Aar Paar, CID, so that came in very naturally. I got at assignment of taking care of the music, the songs, and the sequence, who’s going to sing what, to develop the alignment with the characterization. I would really request the listeners who are watching this show to come and witness this very unusual event. It is brilliant combination of music, literature, acting, all looking at the fantastic personality that Guru Dutt was.

Gauri: That is extremely exciting for everyone I’m sure. Guru Dutt has a lot in his life that we can all get inspired by and this show seems to be coming together really well. With talent such as yours, I think there is no reason for anyone of us to miss that. Looking forward to seeing everybody on September 7^th, 2013, at the Keefe tech auditorium, starting at 5:30 p.m. . The tickets are already available on Lokvani as well as Boston Desi Connection. So, please go ahead and buy your tickets. Looking forward to seeing you all there.

Gauri: Lets talk about something really interesting. From what I hear and from what I understand, you have been a traveler and have travelled to over 70 countries. Now that is really intriguing to me. It is well known that the more you travel, the broader the experiences and the more enlightening it gets. I would love to hear about your experiences as a traveler and how that enriched your life.

Siraj: Yes, it is probably now 75 countries. Travel is very fascinating. Reason behind my travel has been work, pleasure, adventure, all combined. My wife Yasmin, also loves to travel. So that always helps. I consider myself to be a world citizen and live a life without boundaries. I think that has been the outcome of all my travel. A lot of people would think that these 70 or so countries are exotic places like Europe and all, but fortunately or unfortunately, I have been into terrible places too, to tough terrains like Sub Sahara Africa, and some of the Asian countries. But every country had a separate experience. Not sure if that answers your question.

Gauri: It does and I would like to go a little deeper here and would like to hear something funny, interesting or once-in-a-life-time kind of experiences. I am sure you have many, but I would love to hear one or two of them.

Siraj: Well, I was working for a company called Path Finder. I was setting up their office in Papua New Guinea interacting with all sorts of people there, including cannibals. Actually even slept one night at a cannibal village. My mother and my wife were praying for my safety, as they thought that the cannibals would consume me. I ended up there in the evening with no telephone, no pure water to drink and stuff like that, and no electricity. So that night, they were doing their own music around the fire, and I was asked to sing and I sang, ‘maang ke saath tumhaara maine maang liya sansaar’ . Now that was the time when Nayyar saab was alive, so when I met him, I told him that I sang his song while I was with cannibals. He just gave me hug. This is what I love about music that it is the only international and global language. Everyone understands that and I have come to be a great believer in that. I tend to do a lot of bridge building through music. I have made more friends through music than through anything else professionally.

Gauri: So three things I gathered while I was listening to you.
1. If I was in your place , I would be so scared sleeping in the same place as the tribal population . I truly would be very uneasy with that . So kudos to you for your bravery.

2. The other thing I would’ve probably loved to do, as you were describing how people were  running around the fire and doing their thing. I wish we had a means of sharing pictures at that time. I would’ve loved to see pictures of that.

Siraj: I do have pictures of that. That is something to be standing next to the cannibals and have a picture taken with them Infact the whole village was there and the chief was there as well.

3. The third thing that immediately struck me was what you said that music has no language and no matter where you are, any song you sing, or any melody that you can create just by being in the moment adds more beauty to the moment.
               Siraj: Absolutely, I couldn’t agree with you more

Gauri: Even though the flow of conversation has been so interesting, and we could go on for ever and ever listening to the stories and anecdotes you have to narrate to all of us, but in the interest of time, I would like to bring ourselves to the last question of this interview. Since we are here at The Foundations TV where our intent is to spread inspiration through awareness, what’s your inspiring message to the listeners of The Foundations TV?

Siraj: Well my message is something that we did not touch during the entire interview, and may be this is a good time to do it, is my passion for education and knowledge. I am not in the academia at all but this has been a great driver for me all along. My message is probably well contained in one of Mark Twain’s quotes “I’ve never let my schooling interfere with my education”. This is what it was all about for me, with all my experiences with tribal and all. It was all about broadening my horizon. Whatever way you choose to do it, there is really no end to seeking knowledge. This is something that I would like to pass onto not only just the kids but even to people older than me because it a very frustrating to see people take up retirement, just having chai, reading newspapers and watching TV. I would rather everyone goes out there and shares their knowledge and experiences that they have acquired.

Gauri: Wonderful message indeed. And my take away from this one and hopefully for the audiences as well is that you never stop learning in your life and you never stop growing in your life and the width of your experiences is what adds to your knowledge. So, definitely continue to widen your sphere, continue to learn whatever you can, and continue to grow in whichever direction your heart takes you. This is what we would like to end at, today. Thanks so much for being here at The Foundations TV

Siraj: Thank you for giving me the opportunity and I wish only the best for The Foundations TV . It is a good start and may it, just like a plant, flourish and cultivate into a big tree.