Trading rockstar dream for Disco Dollar
Aaroh frontman Farooq Ahmed opens a store in the US after abandoning passion for music in Pakistan
Farooq is determined to resume his career but only when his business is large enough to sustain his family. PHOTOS: THE TIMES TRIBUNE
Pakistani artistes still active might call it an act of cowardice but former Aaroh front man Farooq Ahmed left the Pakistani industry for good after the situation got a little tight for musicians in the country. Dwindling music royalties and worsening law and order situation followed by a regime change forced once popular musician to leave his country of birth and relocate to the US in 2010, reported the Times Tribune.
Once the nation’s heartthrob, Farooq now lives in Scranton with his wife and two daughters, running a dollar store call Disco Dollar. Talking about his passion for music and his latest venture, Farooq said he used to dream of becoming Pakistan’s version of rock band Guns and Roses. “People used to laugh at me when I was in school… Now when I say I want to have at least 1,000 stores, people still laugh at me.”
Farooq, who had received vocal training in classical music and eventually formed rock band Aaroh, came close to fulfilling his dream of emulating the likes of Axl Rose when his band won Pepsi Battle of The Bands in 2002. The win opened doors of the Pakistani musical valley for Farooq. With hits such as ‘Sawaal’ and ‘Jalan’ off their debut album, the group became famous overnight and earned them tours across the country.
It was at the height of his musical career when he met the love of his life at a fashion show, Konple. “It was a lot of partying,” she remembered while tending the register at their store. “It was a lot of fun.” But it all came crashing down in 2008, as worsening law and order situation coupled with political instability made the music industry much less lucrative than ever before, Farooq said. And when he got his Green Card, Farooq decided to shift his family to Chicago.
“When I moved to the US, I was very open to everything and willing to do anything,” said Farooq. So much so, when he got a job at the Dunkin Donuts downtown, he gleefully accepted it. For some Pakistani expatriates living in Chicago, it was a shock to see Farooq serving coffee at Dunkin Donuts but for Farooq it was just another job.
When his cousin offered him to buy into a dollar store in New Jersey, Farooq jumped at the chance, realising that waiting tables would lead him nowhere. But success did not come straight away and he had to learn the business and transfer a couple of times before finally settling in to Scranton. “I got an opportunity here and realise that the way the economy is going, the Dollar Stores are here to stay.”
Talking about why he named his store Dollar Disco, a marriage of music and retail, Farooq said, “We could not come up with a name and me and my wife were making jokes about different names and suddenly she said how about Disco Dollar and started laughing.” But Farooq liked it and decided to go with it. “Back home, I’m still a star,” he continued. “When I go home, people still take pictures [with me]. It’s a totally different story altogether. Over here, it’s like, ‘Okay, ma’am, that’ll be $1.06.’”
While longing for music and singing, Farooq is determined to resume his career but only when his business is large enough and able to sustain his family. “I still play my guitar, I still sing but I want something for my daughters and leave something behind for them.” Although both Farooq and his wife become nostalgic while talking about the good times and rock star life back in Pakistan, Konple says “you have to move on.” “Now we have kids and life is different here. But we are happy.”
Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2015.