BROKEN DREAMS BECOME A REALITY

Ahmad Nawaz was just 12 years of age when he found work at a local feed warehouse, earning $10 a month. Working was the only option left to support his family comprising of a mother and three brothers.

Due to the death of Ahmad's father, his family was threatened on number of occasions by their relatives and these threats sometimes became a reality which resulted in Ahmad being brutally beaten and sometimes the beating was so harsh that he was not able to walk for days.

Finally Ahmad's mother made a bold decision to shift to another locality where they were safe, leaving behind all their father's possessions. They ended up living in a town where the majority were adult performers and prostitutes. The scenario became tougher and due to financial disturbances Ahmad’s mother was compelled to become a prostitute. People started raising fingers at Ahmad's mother and the attitude of their neighbours became mercurial. He was fed up of the taunts and comments made on Ahmad’s mother and at last he could find no other way but to paint in order to improve his families condition once and for all. He was absolutely new to painting and he started to paint horrific images of his life which were the only thing he could think of.

Just as he turned 14 nature again gave him a present that was too heavy to bear. Ahmad’s mother was hospitalized due to cancer and Ahmad was the only earning hand bearing both the medical expenditures as well as taking care of his brothers. The debt kept increasing and the family had to observe fasts often as they had no money to buy even the necessary food supplies. This resulted in another severe trauma. He started painting again steadily grooming his painting skills. He started selling his paintings in streets and on traffic signals to earn as much as possible. Once in such a routine, Ahmad became a victim to a vulnerable accident which cost him his legs. His disability made him weaker. Despondent, he persevered forward in life.

His dream of improving their condition was about to die when nature at last blessed Ahmad with such a present for which he waited for all his miserable life. An angel in Ahmad’s life named Mr. Kamal Agha approached him. He offered him to showcase his paintings at local exhibitions. Quickly grabbing this opportunity Ahmad’s life changed dramatically.

Slowly Ahmad’s paintings were gaining attention from potential buyers and on 9-Dec-1993 Ahmad’s dream finally came true, when his first painting was bought at a local record of $8000. “This little part of my life, this little part is what I call happiness” Ahmad says and he adds “my disabilities never deterred me from my goal, rather after being disabled I carefully completed the puzzle of my broken dreams and now they are a reality”.

Now just 33 years old Ahmad has sold more than 200 paintings and is one of the most revered painters in Pakistan. Ahmad says "life is very graceful and try to live it the way you planned to live it yourself.