Zubair Qureshi
Pakistan’s iconic puppeteer and creator of perhaps the most popular puppet of all times Uncle Sargam, Farooq Qaiser was remembered at an online reference organized by Pakistan National Council of the Arts.
Among others, the online reference was attended by Uncle Sargam’s friends and family members.
In her opening remarks DG of PNCA Dr Fouzia Saeed eulogized the contributions of Farooq Qaiser (Uncle Sargam) towards art and humanity.
Farooq Qaiser’s departure is different from recent demises and deaths of other artists as he was unique in his writing, acting, friendship and love for the oppressed, said Dr Fouzia adding, “Though we are saying goodbye to you but you are with us and will remain all the time.”
He not only worked with his team but also lived with them and shared the good and bad of life. The whole society has reflected its love and respect for him, she said.
Arshad Mehmood, one of Uncle Sargam’s colleagues, remembered the sweetness of Farooq Qaiser saying it was matchless and unforgettable.
Actually, in the beginning I was assigned the role of Uncle Sargam as it was my sketch and I was supposed to compose music for it thus the character was named Uncle Sargam, he said.
However, the way Farooq Qaiser did justice to it made both synonyms for each other, he said.
Former Principal of NCA Lahore, Salema Hashami paid tributes to Farooq Qaiser adding basically he was a great humanist and wrote and worked for the welfare of the people.
He was never scared to portray the follies of the ruling elites.
His medium of expression was so attractive and digestive that everyone acknowledged and enjoyed it.
Shahid Mehmood Nadeem writer and director expressed his love and attachment for Farooq Qaiser saying he wrote for the common people to educate them about their issues and to highlight the wrong doings and exploitation of the ruling class.
His art was to convey a message in a very simple way.
Ajaz Gul, film critic said that Farooq Qaiser was a great artist. We both were in NCA, said he adding, he had good knowledge of film work too.
Farooq Qaiser’s daughter Shan and son Ali also remembered their caring father with love.
His love for the children and young generation could never be expressed in words.
He used to consider children as the best teacher. His only motto was to educate the society.
Babar Naizi and Anjum Habib both the artists narrated their story of interaction with the great puppeteer.
He was a great teacher. What we are today is because of him, they said.
