Bilal and I missed seeing our kids grow up: Faisal Kapadia

Strings, the iconic band, left many heartbroken after they announced the end of their fruitful musical journey after 33 years. However, albeit parting ways, bandmates Faisal Kapadia and Bilal Maqsood vowed to stay close until the end of time.

“We have not split up, this is just a mutual decision to close this chapter,” Bilal earlier shared with The Express Tribune. However, Faisal is “celebrating right now”.

Speaking to IANS in an exclusive interview, the Duur crooner revealed it was not an easy decision for him or Bilal. But, he admitted the timing couldn’t have been better.

“Bilal and I have had this discussion of when to end it. Of course, we could have gone on to play till we were 65-year-old but then we didn’t really want it to come to a point where it started feeling like a chore, or we started getting bored,” said Faisal.

He added that it was a conscious decision “to pull the plug” for two reasons. For starters, they were worried about getting to a point where they would stop enjoying making music. Secondly, they realised that there was a lot they were missing out on, and it was time to go “beyond concerts, music and Strings”.

Faisal continued, “The pandemic in a way helped us to get that perspective. It wasn’t as if we didn’t enjoy our tours and concerts. But for the last 30 years, that’s all we’ve done, and we missed seeing our kids grow up. They are now about to graduate and go to college, and suddenly we realised there’s this whole other life that we are missing out on.”

He noted, “The roof that was there for 33 years is now suddenly gone. But we had to do it someday, and this was the best time.”

The love the duo has received over the years has been overwhelming, not just from Pakistan but across the border too. “The kind of love we got after announcing the breakup is what people usually get after they die. But we got to see it while we are alive and I am just so thankful and so grateful for all of that. It has been the most overwhelming and most humbling experience (to see the kind of reaction we got). It was something we did not anticipate at all,” Faisal remarked.

Talking about the admiration Strings has received from India, Faisal shared, "I am still speechless when I think about the kind of love we got from India. They never ever made us feel like we were outsiders or we were from Pakistan. In fact, when they learnt that a Pakistani band called Strings was performing, they started making more noise and they started enjoying more!”

He added, “And then we got to work with some amazing human beings and some awesome musicians like Hariharan, Indian Ocean, Sona Mohapatra and so many others. It was just beautiful, the entire journey."

The singer also revealed that both him and Bilal will continue their musical journeys individually. “I haven’t spoken to Bilal honestly about what he is going to do, but I think he wants to explore the world of music production,”

Faisal said. "As for me, I am yet to go to that bookstore and pick up the book about my life where I can know what my next chapter is going to be. I am still processing all this as of now, and I have to yet figure out what I want to really do. Of course, I have been doing music for over 40 years now, so I won’t just stop doing that,” he concluded.

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.