Up And At Em

Rubab Nayeem Khan has a heart-to-heart with superdad Saadi Rahman as he shuffles work and fatherhood 

“I work twenty-four hours and I’m passionate about what I do. But now that I have a son I look forward to spending time with him the most,”shares Saadi. Although his work keeps him on his toes at all times, Saadi makes no excuse when it comes to spending time with his family, particularly his son. “I’ll be seeing my son more often on the weekdays, since he’ll be starting school. I’ve actually set aside a full day for the weekends only for him, no matter what.”
But when duty calls, Saadi is up and running and the work load is no different during the month of Ramadan. In fact, as Ramadan leads on to Eid, the pressure increases. “During Eid, we experience a rush from the music side, since a lot of CD’s and albums are coming out. But the best part is during the holidays, when we get to spend time with our near and dear ones,” expresses Saadi. He also adds that the days leading to Eid is quite stressful in the music front; they have to make sure that CD’s are out in the market, artistes are getting their shows or figure out if there is an avenue for holding toy shows. Although Comicon related events are usually held at the end of the year- his work never comes to a pause. Apart from music and toys, he has affiliations in other areas as well. “We’ve partnered with restaurants like Farmer’s Market and The Break Express. Aside from that, I run a transport company which has me doing some serious work right before Eid,” adds Saadi. He also feels that the workload eventually comes to a standstill with the arrival of Eid. “There’s a saying that during the month of Ramadan, everything sort of slows down since people are fasting while shouldering responsibilities. It may be true in most cases, but not for us. We are always working some way or the other,” mentions Saadi.
With the arrival of Ramadan, most of us figure out expenditure details keeping Eid and Ramadan in mind. For Saadi, the month before Eid happens to be a gruelling one, considering that they work hundred times harder than usual. But he explains that the sweat is worth it, “All the projects that we are involved with causes a push in the market, which in turn yields in the extra cash during the month.”
What appeals to Saadi is how much the idea of Ramadan or Eid lifts our spirits. “Everyone’s in a festive mood. The closer it gets to Eid, the more happier people seem because they know they’ll get a week off to spend time with their loves ones,” says Saadi. With that being said, he too looks forward to celebrating it with his loved ones.
“Over the years, I’ve understood that I’m a workaholic, which is not a good thing when it comes to my family. Although my parents are supportive of my goals, they keep telling me that I shouldn’t forget myself in the process,” explains Saadi. When talking about his son Ziran, Saadi’s face lights up. “Every Saturday and Sunday, I spend time with my son. He’s two and a half years old and never ceases to amaze me. He likes superheroes and music just like me. In fact, every time I play music in the car, he starts tapping his toes to the beat,” he shared gleefully. Saadi goes on to state more on fatherhood and the impact of having a child, “We have fun doing everything together; hence the weekends are cherished because those are the days I get to spend with him.”