My name is Muhammad Ahmed Shah. I was born in 1959 in Nazimabad, Karachi. I belonged to a middle class. My father used to have a small construction business. My upbringing was the same as most of the children of lower-middle class families have in our society. I got my primary education from Happy Dale Grammar School in Nazimabad No.4. Then I got admission in Jinnah Government College and then I went to Karachi University to study International Relation. My father was very close to religion. He could not get proper schooling but he made sure that his children get higher education. For that he tried to provide all the resources to us. Right from my childhood I was very much interested in literature and arts. When I was in class 7, I had memorized Iqbal’s poetry. Poetry was my major area. Then, with the passage of time our financial position improved. Then I diversified a bit and formed a small production house of my own. I have an event management company as well and I brought all the singers from India and UK like Sukhbeer, Stereo Nation etc. I have also produced some drama serials like ‘Jaaeye Kahan Ye Dil’, which was also written by me. I did all this more for the sake of my personal interest.
I have 4 children; 2 boys and 2 girls. The eldest daughter wants to become a journalist and she has done A-level. My son is 17 and he is doing A’ level, he wants to be a lawyer. The younger daughter is in Grade-7 and the youngest son is in Grade-6. I have not placed any restrictions on them about their choices except the cultural and social limitations. Fortunately, in my shape they have a person who can become a link between them and the opportunities outside. My responsibility is to provide all the facilities to my children for their studies.
I joined Arts Council about 8, 9 years back. As secretary of Arts Council this is my first year. My objective is to work sincerely for the promotion and survival of art in the country. I believe that most of us don’t want to settle abroad, so we have to make efforts in order to create a better society for our children. (Kalpoint)
