Abu Dhabi: For 43 years, situated on Abu Dhabi’s Hamdan Street has been Shan Radio Centre, operated by its 63-year-old Pakistani owner Qudrat Malik, who is still going strong and selling music cassette tapes like it was 1973.
Malik, who came to the UAE in 1972 — a few months after the formation of the union in December 1971 — opened his store in the famous old souq in 1973. He operated it there till 1994 when he relocated a few minutes down the road.
“I arrived in the UAE in 1972 with nothing, and now, I have my own shop which I have been running for more than 40 years, and three grown up children who are making something of themselves in this country. So all I can say is that I have been blessed,” Malik said.
Malik claims he used to be one of the highest cassette tape-sellers before the audio cassette format went out of fashion.
“Business used to be very good. I would make around Dh30,000 a month from sales – profit, only profit – that is how it used to be.
“I once made Dh10,000 in a single day selling English music cassette tapes to a group of American soldiers — cassette tapes used to be very popular and there were so many shops selling them because that was what everybody was listening to. There were at least around 60 shops in Abu Dhabi. All of them have now closed down, but I am still around,” Malik said.
Malik currently sells cassette tapes of Indian songs priced at Dh10. When business was at its peak, he would sell Arabic, English and Iranian music.
“I still get customers, but most of them are old regulars, not like the old days when there would be big groups of people coming to make purchases. I like cassette tapes and I want to keep selling them. I still sometimes make Dh100 a day, sometimes Dh250, so the business is not dead,” he said.
Despite health issues, Malik opens his store every single day.
“Back in my younger days, I would start work at 8am and close at 11.30pm. I now come to the store at 2-3pm and work till 10pm. My health is not as good as it used to be, but I like to work everyday,” he said.
Having lived in Abu Dhabi for so long, Malik witnessed the major changes the city has undergone.
“The changes are unbelievable. When I first came here and even for the many years after, most buildings used to be 4 to 6 storeys high. There were no skyscrapers. Traffic used to be much thinner. By 8 or 9 pm, the city was closed, but for a few places,” he said.
Malik has also documented history in a way by preserving the visa records of himself and his family going all the way back to 1972.
“I have kept all the records — all my shop permit licences from 43 years ago and all my residency visas as well as those of my children. It is like a nice piece of history for me,” he said.
“It’s funny how things change. When I first arrived here, everything was done on paper whereas now everything is done online.”
He has also preserved records of the tragic events in his life, such as his wife’s death certificate. She passed away 22 years ago.
“I still keep the death certificate from 1994. When my wife passed away, our three children were between the ages of 1 and 6. I raised them alone and never remarried. Watching my children grow up makes me very proud and happy.”
Malik is thinking of calling it a day next year. He plans to move back to Pakistan and purchase a home for himself and his family.
“My plan is to go back next year in June, but I am not sure [if I will do so]. I say I am going back, but my heart does not want to,” he said. “I am very happy in Abu Dhabi. This place has been my home for so long thanks to its great leaders who opened the doors of this country and offered all its opportunities for people like me to come and make the most of it.”
