Farooq Qaiser ( Punjabi, ; 31 October 1945 – 14 May 2021) was a Pakistani artist, newspaper columnist, TV show director,

puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the ...

, script writer, and voice actor. He was known as the creator of the fictional puppet character Uncle Sargam, introduced in 1976 in children's television show ''Kaliyan''. Farooq was also a cartoonist, newspaper columnist and wrote for the newspaper ''Daily Nai Baat'' in Lahore and under the pen name "Meethay Karelay" (English: "Sweet bitter gourd").

Early life and education

Farooq Qaiser was born on 31 October 1945 in a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

family in

Sialkot Sialkot (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 12th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

. He spent his early childhood in

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

and

Kohat Kohat (; ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century. With a population o ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

. In 1970, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts from the National College of Arts (NCA),

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

. In 1976, he received a master's degree in Graphic Arts from

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, Romania, and also trained for puppetry there. He also received his master's degree in Mass Communication in 1999 from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, School for Communication and Journalism,

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Career

Qaiser started his career in the early 1970s after graduating from the National College of Arts, Lahore, with a short documentary in the English language. In 1971, his teacher Salima Hashmi got him involved in her children's television puppet show ''Akkar Bakkar''. In that show, he worked with Shoaib Hashmi, Muneeza Hashmi and

Faiz Ahmad Faiz Chaudhry Faiz Ahmad Faiz (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984) was a Pakistani poet and author of Punjabi language, Punjabi and Urdu literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated, popular, and influential Urdu writers of his time, and his ...

on the scripts and puppets. The show was intended to be Pakistan's version of the American entertainment and educational show ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

''. His first assignment on the show was to create a local version of the Big Bird, after which he went on to create many other characters for the program. In 1976, Qaiser directed and wrote his own puppet show ''Kaliyan'' (Flower Buds) which was broadcast on the national television network, Pakistan Television (PTV). He created his own fictional

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...

characters for the show, including Uncle Sargam, ''Haiga'' and ''Maasi Museebte''. He also was the voice of Uncle Sargam. He created the character Uncle Sargam in resemblance of his teacher Molnar from Romania. The character went on to be a household name in Pakistan for many decades. Speaking about the character, Qaiser said, "he has the same insecurities and fears of every middle class Pakistani. He could say things that a common man wanted to express but could not say". Some of his other television shows included ''Putli Tamasha'' and ''Sargam Time''. Qaiser also worked at the Lahore-based Urdu daily newspaper ''Daily Nai Baat'' as a cartoonist. He was also a newspaper columnist at the same newspaper and wrote under the pen name ''Meethay Karelay''. He taught for sometime at the Fatima Jinnah Women University in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

. He served on the board of governors at the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (''Lok Virsa''), in

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

, Pakistan, in 2015. He was a recipient of the Presidential

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance (), officially known as the Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sp ...

in 1993. He also served in India as a member of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, providing educational services for two years.

Personal life

Qaiser was married and had a son. He died on 14 May 2021, in

from a heart attack.

Works

Books

Source(s): * ''Hor Puchho'' * ''Kaalam Galoch'' * ''Meethay Karelay'' * ''Meray Piyaray Allah Mian''

Characters

Source: * '' Uncle Sargam'' * ''Masi Museebatay'' * ''Haiga'' * ''Sharmeeli'' * ''Rolla''

Television shows

Source(s): * ''Kaliyan'' (1976) –

Pakistan Television Pakistan Television Corporation (; reporting name: PTV); also known as ''Pakistan Television'', is the Pakistani state-owned broadcasting, broadcaster founded by the Government of Pakistan, operating under the Ministry of Information & Broadc ...

* '' Sargam Time,'' (1984-1986) * ''Daak Time'' (1993) – NTM * ''Siyasi Kaliyan'' (1995) – Pakistan Television * ''Sargam'' (2010) – Dawn News

Awards and recognition

Award by the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

in 1993 * 9th PTV Awards for Writer Special Award in 1998 * Sitara-e-Imtiaz awarded by the president Arif Alvi on March 23, 2021, for his unmatched performance and contribution towards the entertainment industry of Pakistan for over 4 decades. * Lifetime Achievement Award from

(PTV) (2010). * ''Master Puppeteer'' award from

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

(1997) for the 2500 live performances around Pakistan. * His 78th birthday was celebrated by Google on Google Doodle.

References

External links

Farooq Qaiser interview with Samaa TV in Pakistan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qaiser, Farooq 1945 births 2021 deaths Muslim male comedians Pakistani columnists Pakistani expatriates in Romania Pakistani male journalists Pakistani graphic designers Pakistani comics artists Pakistani television directors Pakistani puppeteers Pakistani male voice actors Pakistani cartoonists National College of Arts alumni USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism alumni Pakistani comics writers Pakistani television writers Pakistani male television actors Artists from Lahore PTV Award winners Recipients of the Pride of Performance Male actors from Lahore Writers from Lahore Pakistani male television writers Pakistani artists Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz