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If puppetry is used in a positive way it will not draw objections, says puppeteer Farooq Qaiser

If puppetry is used in a positive way it will not draw objections, says puppeteer Farooq Qaiser

"It is not puppetry, but we can see the quality of films, theatre, drama and music as well as dance is on a downtrend"
31 Dec, 2015

Anyone who grew up watching Pakistan Television (PTV) programme Kaliyan knows Uncle Sargam, the puppet character that was produced by puppeteer, director, screenwriter, cartoonist and artist Farooq Qaiser.

Mr Qaiser has been in the profession for 46 years, during which time he has collected a Presidential Pride of Performance award, a Lifetime Achievement Award and many more. He now teaches puppetry at the Fatima Jinnah Women University. Dawn sat down with Mr Qaiser to discuss the art of puppetry, and where it stands today.

Q: Do you think puppetry is a ‘dying art’?

A: Like other forms of fine art, puppetry is dying in the country for many reasons. The government should patronize the art because in absence of this, extremism has flourished in the society.

It is not puppetry, but we can see the quality of films, theatre, drama and music as well as dance is on a downtrend.

There is a need to protect the fine arts and establish theatres for puppetry so that the children and elderly can watch it.

New generation should also take this form of art as a profession. Though puppetry is taught in universities and colleges, NGOs should also support this art form to convey their message to the masses.

We used puppetry to create awareness among the people about health and other subjects and it was a successful experience.

This form of art should be used to create awareness on serious issues.

It is easy to express the suppressed thoughts of the society and highlight the sufferings of the people through puppetry, in a lighter way so that the people can understand the message.

Q: Are you working to produce more characters like Uncle Sargam in coming days?

A: The character of Uncle Sargam gained popularity in the society due to his boldness on the issues in society. I am still presenting more characters in the PTV programme Kaliyan.

In the past, PTV was the only way to bring a message to the people through electronic media. But now it is time for different channels to use this form of art to convey the message and promote this form of fine art. On Dawn News, our programme got best rating and is still popular on the internet.

Q: Does this form of art draw religious resentment?

A: No, there was no religious resentment as we presented puppetry in the biggest religious party function, where religious scholars were present on the occasion.

If this was true, the PTV show Kaliyan [would not be] on air. Basically, we used this form of art to express the feelings of the common man and nobody objected to it. If puppetry, music and drama are used in a positive way then it will not draw objections.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2015

Comments

faan Dec 31, 2015 01:23pm
A great person and our childhood hero.... He successfully managed to highlight those evils in our society that would have been quite difficult to discuss in a normal way.. salute to you sir..
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Parvaiz Akhtar Dec 31, 2015 01:51pm
Kaliyan was the best entertainment program PTV produced.It is sad that it is not being shown currently. Farooq Kaiser and his team were exceptional. They did highlight the short comings of our society in a comical way and we learnt a lot from it. European Kings had Jesters in their Courts to say things in comedy which their officials dared say, this kept the Kings informed so that they could take corrective action. Hats off to Farooq Qaiser. Please bring him and Uncle Sargam and his team back.
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Asif Jan 01, 2016 05:43am
I started watching his Kaliyan and Uncle sergam when I was child. Now I am grown up with 2 children,with lots of grey hair, but this man is same, I wonder what he does to himself. Very impressive and what a man he is. Wonderful and it's always a treat to read about him and his work.
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flipflop Jan 01, 2016 02:02pm
Religion, Science, Art and culture are a core for all civilisations. If we take out one part; the whole civilisation falls apart allowing societies to become isolated, and gives birth to extremism and other sinful activities. Many great civilisations and empires has fallen due to eliminating one part of the core. Pakistan is facing the same problems and our governments are isolating the young minds, disabling them to question and grow.
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