Uncle Sargam () is a

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 ...

character that first appeared in the Pakistani children's television show ''Kaliyan'', aired on PTV in 1976. Uncle Sargam was created and voiced by the award-winning puppeteer and television director

Farooq Qaiser Farooq Qaiser ( Punjabi, ; 31 October 1945 – 14 May 2021) was a Pakistani artist, newspaper columnist, TV show director, puppeteer, script writer, and voice actor. He was known as the creator of the fictional puppet character Uncle S ...

Farooq Qaiser with statute of uncle surgem

Uncle Sargam and Maasi Museebtay are regarded as Pakistan's legendary puppet duo. The satirical Uncle Sargam was the most vocal critic on state television under General

Zia-ul-Haq Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistani military officer and statesman who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He also served as the second chief of ...

's dictatorship in the 1980s. Later appearances were in the TV show ''Daak Time'' in 1993. The character reappeared and hosted a television talk show ''Syasi Kaliyan'' at

Dawn News Dawn News HD is a Pakistani 24-hour Urdu news channel. Based in Karachi, the station is a subsidiary of Pakistan Herald Publications Limited (PHPL), Pakistan's largest English-language media group. The test transmission of the station occurr ...

in 2010. The character also appeared in a

Pakistan National Council of the Arts Pakistan National Council of the Arts (, or PNCA) was established through an Act of Parliament in 1973 with the mandate to lead the development of arts in Pakistan. PNCA policies are framed by its Board of Governors which reports to the Federa ...

-organised show in Islamabad. Uncle Sargam later appeared in a charity show function organised by the NGO Mashal at the

National Library of Pakistan National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

in Islamabad in July 2013. In March 2014, the

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

held an Uncle Sargam puppet show to help children differentiate between original and pirated books at

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 ...

's Archives Library. In 2018, a

diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional model either full-sized or miniature. Sometimes dioramas are enclosed in a glass showcase at a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies like mili ...

of Uncle Sargam was inaugurated at

Lok Virsa Museum Heritage Museum (), also known as Lok Virsa Museum, is a museum administered and managed by Lok Virsa - National Institute of Folk & Traditional Heritage. It is a museum of history and culture in Islamabad, Pakistan, located on the Shakarparia ...

in Islamabad as a tribute to both the character and Farooq Qaiser.

Recognition

Google Pakistan paid tribute to the character as Uncle Sargam's Doodle on 1 November 2023.

Recognition

References

Further reading