Legendary scholar Obaidullah Baig is no more

Jumbo Editorial Team 

Obaidullah Baig having become a household name in the 1970s with his regular appearance with Iftikhar Arif in the Pakistan Television’s famous quiz show Kasauti died of cancer in Karachi on June 22. He was 75.

Although he attained greater status later in his career as a writer and a documentary film maker, he was greatly admired and remembered for Kasauti, in which he teamed up with Ghazi Salahuddin and Quraish Pur in 1990s. 

He remained associated with the broadcast media for nearly half a century having worked for Pakistan Television and Radio Pakistan. He earned recognition for his documentaries too. He authored two books, Rajput and Insan Zinda Hai, and won the Pride of Performance award in 2008 for his achievements in the media. 

He is survived by his wife, Salma Baig, a television host, and three daughters, Maryam Baig, Fatima Baig and Amina Baig. 

Glowing tributes were paid to Obaidullah Baig in his lifetime and he has been showered with praise after his death which has been described as a colossal loss to the world of literature. 

“Obaidullah Baig was an institution. He had so many aspects that I can’t decide which one to speak about. I had a long association with him. He is renowned for Pakistan Television’s popular programme Kasauti but he has done a lot aside from this, which includes his two novels and documentary films and other literary work,” Ghazi Salahuddin, a veteran journalist and his long time friend, observed. 

“He had a scholarly tone in his speech which differentiated him from others. He used to work with zeal and solemnity and the good thing was that he transferred that spirit to others. He had multiple qualities which are difficult to find in a single person and “he will be remembered for a long time because of his work,” Prof Dr Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui, Vice Chancellor, Ziauddin University, noted. 

Karachi University's Vice Chancellor, Prof Dr Muhammad Qaiser, reckoned that the death of Obaidullah Baig has left a void in the literary and scholarly field which will be difficult to be filled.

Obaidullah Baig showered with praise

Jumbo Editorial Team  

Obaidullah Baig, one of the towering personalities of the country, was showered with praise by a panel of distinguished speakers from different walks of life in an evening organised in his honour by the Idara Qalam Dost at the Sindh Governor’s House in Karachi on April 17.  

The learned speakers, including chief guest Iftikhar Arif and Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan, who presided over the ceremony, recorded their appreciation for eminent scholar, researcher, journalist and documentary filmmaker Obaidullah Baig for having rendered monumental services to society.

Mohammad Ali Siddiqi, Prof Sahar Ansari, Ghayasuddin, Ghazi Salahuddin and Khushbakht Shujaat also spoke in the enlightening programme which was conducted by Ambreen Hasib Amber.

“God has blessed him a lot. Obaidullah Baig is one such blessing in the shape of a friend. He has written many a thing under different pseudonyms, including couplets, and has made hundreds of documentaries out of which 40 odd were on the Quaid-e-Azam and the Pakistan Movement,” Iftikhar Arif, himself a noted poet, remarked.  

“Ghalib has written in one his letters that if someone’s passion became his profession he should consider himself fortunate and Obaidullah Baig is one such person, who is also extremely compassionate having considerate nature,” he added.

Obaidullah Baig extended his gratitude to the organisers for holding the event in his honour. Modestly was reflected when he looked at the stage backdrop and said while it was true that he was a writer, a journalist and a documentary filmmaker but it was difficult to think of himself as an intellectual for he knew what it meant and had read people like Ghalib, Khusrau, Iqbal and Faiz.

He said he had been a television producer for more than 30 years and wanted to become a journalist from a very early age. He also talked about his novel Rajput which was published last year. v>