Obaidullah Baig (1 October 1936 – 22 June 2012) () was a

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

, media expert and documentary filmmaker from

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

, Sindh, Pakistan.

Personal life

Born in Rampur, India in 1936, Baig migrated to Karachi with his family in the early 1950s following the

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

of Pakistan in 1947, and settled in

, Pakistan. Baig had no formal education beyond his intermediate college. He was married to Pakistan Television's announcer and show host, Salma Baig.

Career

Aslam Azhar, Pakistani television's pioneering personality helped Baig and introduced him to the TV viewing public in Pakistan. Though he is best known for the intellectually stimulating ''Kasauti'' (1967), a question-answer quiz TV show in which he teamed up with Iftikhar Arif in the 1970s and then with Ghazi Salahuddin in the 1990s. ''Kasauti'' was simply a TV show of 20 questions where 20 questions were allowed to be asked by Obaidullah Baig and his other TV co-panelists from the show host, Quresh Pur, to solve the quiz of the day and come up with the right answer to identify the object or a person. Quizzes on the show were on the subjects of history, current affairs and literature. A major newspaper of Pakistan calls Baig "Pakistan's Google personified" because it was at a time when the search engine was not yet born. In his 48-year-long career, Baig made over 300 documentary films, studying the flora, fauna, and history of Pakistan as well as of Central Asia. His films on wildlife, ''Lakes of Sindh'', ''Wildlife in Sindh'', ''Game Warden'' and '' Life in Stone'' won major acclaim, as did the TV series ''Sailani Ke Saath,'' which ran on Pakistani television in the 1970s for nearly three years. Obaidullah Baig championed nature and environmental causes. He served as Director National and Regional Languages Cell at the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources for six years, where he established ''Jareeda'', Pakistan's first Urdu language magazine focusing on environmental issues. Prior to this career in television and production, Baig worked as associate editor, ''ASHUJA'' Magazine, translator/announcer, external services,

Radio Pakistan The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (); also known as ''Radio Pakistan'', serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate its founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in P ...

, as an assistant editor, ''Daily HURRIYAT'' (newspaper), and director copywriting, ASIATIC Advertising.

Awards and recognition

*Obaidullah Baig received

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 ...

Award in 2009 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.

for his services to the Pakistani media.Obaidullah's death a national loss
Dawn (newspaper), Published 29 June 2012, Retrieved 18 May 2019 *Lifetime Achievement Award by

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

Death and legacy

Obaidullah Baig died on 22 June 2012 in Karachi at age 75. After Baig's death, paying a tribute to him, Iftikhar Arif, a noted poet and scholar himself, said that Baig played a key role in his life. He added that he considered Baig like an elder brother, friend and a source of inspiration. In its tribute after Baig's death, another major Pakistani newspaper called him a man with winning humility, undisputed finesse, precise speech and an amiable smile. Many people in Pakistan used to call him 'a living encyclopedia'.

References

External links