What is Farooq Qaiser doing these days? According to this article he is currently in Islamabad working on a PTV programme, “Khwab Sitarey”. But this article isn’t dated, so dunno how old this is. Anyone know what this interesting person is upto these days ? Our country would benefit from more individuals like him who dare to not only dream, but do.
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http://www.mag4you.com/spotlight/inside.asp?id=1587 [Selected excerpts only]
…] “I am serving the field of entertainment to reduce tension amongst people affected by the volatile world around them. It’s a duty,” he says.
…] [Farooq Qaiser] graduated from the National College of the Arts, Lahore in 1969. Despite topping in college, Farooq failed to get a job. In 1971 he got his first break with Shoaib and Muneeza Hashmi’s play Akkar Bakkar, writing and making puppets.
…] Commitment to passion exacts a price and requires courage. Leaving secure government employment as a grade 18 deputy director in Lok Virsa was seen by many as the act of a nutty professor!
…] “There is no concept of leaving a secure job in Pakistan,” says Farooq who, assisted by his wife’s encouragement to have confidence in himself, decided in favour of Haiga and Sargum. Contracts with UNICEF and UNESCO followed, which kept him financially solvent.
Farooq does the lead character of Uncle Sargum himself. It is styled and caricatured after his professor in Bucharest University, Professor Molnar.
…] "We have used the sound systems of mosques to stage our plays, and the local maulvi sahibs have compered the proceedings. We have done two shows for a large religious organization and played to an audience of 500,000 people.
It was an extraordinary experience that I cannot describe. We will be pleasantly surprised at the responses if we shed our preconceived notions and prejudices and become proactive in communicating across the board."
…] In 1997 UNICEF awarded Farooq Qaiser the title of ‘Master Puppeteer of the Region’ in Malaysia. A fellowship with the University of California followed, with him being compared to Jim Henson, originator of Sesame Street and the Muppet Show.
…] These days Farooq Qaiser is a very busy man doing Khwab Sitarey, a weekly programme on PTV for kids that teaches them how to make a puppet, write a song, compose music, and how to listen to music.
For grownups, he’s working with various channels. His Hu ba Hu on Indus TV had 100 episodes. In addition, Farooq does daily cartoons for two newspapers focused on social satire through Masi Sargum.
What is the philosophy and message that he tries to convey through these efforts? “One message that comes from the heart concerns our hypocrisy that has remained unbridled since the beginning, the plague of dual personalities. We haven’t managed to create and maintain institutions. On the other hand we have proved very good at destroying institutions. There is no justice in any department. We’ve led our lives the best way we could, but the concern is for the coming generations. These are the concerns that we communicate through skits in a lighter vein.”
Farooq wants to make good puppet theatre. Unfortunately his initiatives have fallen victim to bureaucratic rigmarole. “I wanted to hand over my skills to a new generation so they could take it forward. Babar Niazi has proved to be a good understudy. But not many have come into puppet making or scriptwriting. There is no platform. There is no place to learn for those willing to enter. The Peerzada brothers have done a great job on their own in Lahore. I am based in Islamabad and would like to see it flourish here.”
Faizaan Peerzada is the President of the United Nations International Marionettes Association, and Farooq is its Vice President. Farooq Qaiser’s great lament is that we’re not producing classics any more, and the attention span has gone from six months to six days. “There is no new Iqbal, Ghalib or Sadeqain. The new generation should focus on producing work that will be remembered for 50 years at least.”
