Lok Virsa to establish 3D diorama on ‘Uncle Sargam’

Islamabad
Preserving the memories of famous puppet character of Pakistani media, the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) is planning to establish a three-dimensional diorama on ‘Uncle Sargam’ at the Pakistan National Museum of Ethnology (Heritage Museum).
‘Uncle Sargam’ is a puppet character that first appeared in the Pakistani children’s television show ‘Kaliyan’, aired on state run television in 1976.The famous character that is still fresh in the memories of people, was created and voiced by the award-winning puppeteer and television director Farooq Qaiser. Later appearances were in the TV show ‘Daak Time’ in 1993. The character appeared and hosted a television talk show ‘Syasi Kaliyanat’ at a private news channel in 2010.
The diorama will also include other famous characters created by Farooq Qaiser including ‘Rola’, ‘Haigaa’ and ‘Maasi Museebatay’. The characters will be supported by visual display of the programme.
Character of ‘Uncle Sargam’ represents all classes of society and discusses social problems and behaviors in a light humorous and satirical style.
To discuss the conceptual plan, the eminent puppeteer, artist and member of Lok Virsa Board of Governors Farooq Qaiser visited Lok Virsa and met Executive Director Dr Fouzia Saeed. He was shown the place where Lok Virsa plans to create the diorama in near future.
The puppetry is one of the most ancient forms of entertainment. Besides providing entertainment, this visual art form is also used for conveying meaningful messages. Over the years, puppetry has developed into a powerful medium of communication as it offers a real challenge to the imagination of viewers and creative ability of the presenters.