Enter Syed Mohammed Shahid’s study and you have an instant glimpse into his present life.

A well-lit, rectangular room, with a window overlooking the garden, lined with books on one wall with the other three covered by photographs (old and recent) of his family and friends. A table on the side is stacked with books; some are manuscripts waiting to be published, others are recent purchases waiting to be read. There is a computer in the corner, two sofas and a chair to welcome visitors. Pretty much all he needs in a day. This is where Shahid spends the bulk of his time reading, writing and listening to classical music.

Once an active member of the advertising fraternity, Shahid bade farewell to the profession in 1994 after his business partner Irfan Haleem passed away. Now a sprightly and loquacious 85, Shahid prefers to talk about anything but advertising. His passions are music and spending as much time as he can with his grandson – which is why asking him to focus on advertising is somewhat a challenge.

Born in Bihar in 1934 (a tumultuous era when the Independence Movement was beginning to take shape in the backdrop of a looming World War II), his early years were anything but happy.

Following the demise of his father (when he was 10), the family faced several financial hardships. After Partition, his paternal uncle moved the family to Chittagong where Shahid received his early education. In 1951, the family migrated to Karachi, where subsequent to his matriculation, he joined Islamia College. However, financial pressures prevented him from continuing and he left his studies in order to support his mother and siblings.

“Hence I am a college dropout.”

In 1954, he joined Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) as an accounts clerk. Yes despite his far from ideal circumstances, he began writing short stories whenever he could and his first one was published in DAWN in 1969. He hoped to eventually become a journalist, but it was not to be.

“Almost every newspaper rejected me because I was not a graduate and it was very frustrating.”

He began applying at several ad agencies for advertising entailed writing (copy) and visualising, which required imagination and which he found immensely interesting. Alas, none of the agencies responded.

It was then he made up his mind to establish his own ad agency with the help of his brother Mazhar who was working at Orient Advertising and had just returned from Dhaka after opening a branch of the agency there.

The idea needed capital to come to fruition and he was very hard up. Nevertheless, he discussed his plan with A.Y. Khan (his boss at PPL). Khan knew that had it not been for the circumstances Shahid would not have found himself working for PPL. He recalls Khan’s words: “Young man, your heart is not in your work. You will never become an accountant; it is time to say goodbye to PPL.” He then gave Shahid the keys to his vacant office at Oriental Chambers in South Napier Road and told him to begin his advertising career there.

“I was speechless and had no words to thank Mr Khan.”

The next day, the two brothers took possession of Oriental Chambers. The office contained three tables, seven chairs (four with broken legs), a book rack, a stool, a bell, an ashtray, a lock and two keys. The brothers immediately set about painting their new offices. Shahid then asked Irfan Haleem (one of his PPL colleagues) to join them as a partner.

A few months later Oscar Advertising was accredited by the APNS (All Pakistan Newspaper Society) and Shahid, due to his gregarious personality, made friends with the entire advertising fraternity, including the people who had earlier rejected his applications for a job.

As this was a time when new businesses and industries were being established in Pakistan, finding clients was not difficult and Oscar began to do well.

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“In our time a copywriter was the most important person, tasked with developing intelligent and interesting ways to communicate a message and then illustrate it. Now visualisation has been replaced by chori. Jingles in those days were written by poets. Product design and marketing promotions were taken care of by the agency and until 1964, the main media were print, cinema and hoardings, and then, TV came along and took over everything.”

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“We hired part-time artists from other agencies and my brother and I wrote the copy.”

The agency began to acquire a reputation for creativity and humour. Clients included the Export Promotion Bureau of Pakistan (EPBZ), State Life, Heavy Mechanical Complex and State Engineering.

Then in 1972, Shahid became the shagird (pupil) of Ustad Wilayat Ali Khan and began to learn classical music – which he says was the only thing he has learned from anyone.

“I went to a peela (government) school; I am self-taught because I read voraciously. The only thing I have ever learned from anyone is music.”

In his opinion, his most enduring friendships were made while learning music over a span of 20 years.

In the eighties, Oscar began a campaign to save Karachi’s old buildings. A committee was established by the Government of Sindh called the Aesthetic Committee and Shahid became its secretary.

In 1994, following Haleem’s death, Shahid decided to quit advertising for good.

“My two daughters were married by then and I had no further responsibilities. I handed over the agency to my daughter and son-in-law.”

Ever since, he has devoted his time to writing books, mainly on music. His first book, published in 1999, was a tribute to his ustad. As for advertising today, he says it has changed a great deal since he left the profession and is marked by a great deal of plagiarism thanks to the internet.

“In our time a copywriter was the most important person, tasked with developing intelligent and interesting ways to communicate a message and then illustrate it. Now visualisation has been replaced by chori. Jingles in those days were written by poets. Product design and marketing promotions were taken care of by the agency and until 1964, the main media were print, cinema and hoardings, and then, TV came along and took over everything.”

In his opinion, Javed Jabbar is the most brilliant advertising mind Pakistan has ever produced. “Whatever he did was original” he says, recalling campaigns such as the PTDC Alexander ad, the Dancing Girl of Mohenjo Daro, the Peak Freans Pied Piper and the Lyla campaigns.

One of the only four surviving seniors from the advertising world (Ahmed Ali, Anwar Rammal, and Bashir Khan) I thank him for having given his time to recall those crucial early days of advertising. I am grateful to God for the gift of forgetfulness. Good memory at my age is a curse,” he concludes.