Hidden behind a small desk with one hand covered in a white glove and the other with a big puppet, Farooq Qaiser delivers the lines of his ‘claim to fame’ children’s programme, Kaliyaan. The programme which started in 1976 from Islamabad Television centre, had a vast viewership and soon became popular with all ages. Kaliyaan was followed by many programmes that came with the Sargam team of puppets such as Putli Tamasha, Sargam Time, Sargam Sargam and Daak Time becoming hits amongst all age groups. Over the three decades, Uncle Sargam, Haiga, Masi Musibtay, Hadharam, Noni Bha, Deloo, Sawalakh and other puppet-characters have developed an identity of their own and are now household names.
Akkar Bakkar, another puppet show, was the one in which puppeteer, scriptwriter, actor, director and entertainer Farooq Qaiser made his debut from Lahore TV in 1971. The cloth puppets by Farooq possess great mobility and through them he finds new ways of providing mirth and social messages. The programme contained subtle messages in the form of satire, which brought to light the social and civic problems of the community.
Tracing back the history of children’s programme on Pakistan Television, one is fascinated to find the variety the new-born television channel provided to its young viewers in those early years. Being the only players in the field, they were very well received and welcomed.
“When PTV started its transmission in Lahore in the 1960s, it was a policy to have at least one programme for children everyday even in the five hours of transmission that we had in those early days. Later, as the stations increased, all the five stations of PTV shared this slot and took turns in contributing one programme a week. Producers tried to give what they considered to be the best possible ideas regarding children, filling the seven days with a variety of a children’s quiz, children’s stage show, and drama serial, original or adapted from a children’s novel, cartoons dubbed in Urdu, etc. There were programmes on children’s visits to places and science information programmes and a music programme,” remembers Agha Nasir, former MD and one of the founders of PTV. “A children’s musical programme with a known composer was also a must item on the weekly agenda. This started with Kaliyoon Ki Mala with Naheed Niazi and Moslehuddin, followed by different composers from time to time such as Khalil Ahmed, Sohail Rana, Javed Akhtar and Adnan Sami Khan with different titles such as Hum Hi Hum, Sarey Dost Hamaray, Behta Dariya, etc,” he added. Unfortunately, with the increase in the air time of television today, children’s programmes have not increased substantially. In this age of commercialism children’s programmes get marginalized as the time is taken away by money-making programmes.
Marketing for children’s programmes is a chicken-and-egg story as it is difficult to get a children’s programme sponsored, justifies a media giant. “On the other hand it’s difficult to make a good programme when you don’t have a sponsor in hand,” says Ghazanfar Ali of the Indus TV. He was dabbling with the idea of starting a channel for kids but changed his mind due to lack of sponsorship. “It’s time for sponsors to pool in resources and tap children’s potential,” he adds.
The present dearth of entertainment and locally made programmes for children is felt by many. “In Pakistan, we need quality programmes in Urdu that promote pride in our heritage and culture and creates an awareness about values such as tolerance, human rights and environmental protection,” says Fauzia Minnallah, children’s writer. She stresses the fact that children should be shown age-specific programmes or at least watched by children with parental guidance.
“Due to cable, where children get 24-hours cartoons and other programmes, they are exposed to images and messages that are unfit for them. Cable TV these days shows meaningless cartoons that promote violence amongst children and without parental guidance children have access to channels that have very violent images. Studies have also shown that watching wrestling has an extremely negative effect on children’s minds as they tend to become aggressive and the locks and moves that they use can prove very dangerous,” she says.
With more than over a dozen FM stations and at least half a dozen television channels operating with in and outside the country the electronic media has a huge and most effective role to play as far as children’s programming is concerned. Children make up more than half of Pakistan’s population. However, it is unfortunate that children in our country still fail to get their due share from our electronic media.
Radio still has the greatest reach of any of the mass media, especially in the world’s poorer and more rural areas. Everyday radio gives voice to the concerns of communities, families and children and provides a channel of vital information. With the explosion of FM radio stations in the country, we can hope for some more air time for children and involve children from different places and different cross sections of the society. Optimizing children’s participation involves a redrawing of the adult world. It entails adults listening to and making space for what children suggest. The time has come for media to make a conscious choice that not every issue or programme should be a money spinner, and that they have responsibilities and duties towards the grooming of the next generation.
Hidden behind a small desk with one hand covered in a white glove and the other with a big puppet, Farooq Qaiser delivers the lines of his ‘claim to fame’ children’s programme, Kaliyaan. The programme which started in 1976 from Islamabad Television centre, had a vast viewership and soon became popular with all ages. Kaliyaan was followed by many programmes that came with the Sargam team of puppets such as Putli Tamasha, Sargam Time, Sargam Sargam and Daak Time becoming hits amongst all age groups. Over the three decades, Uncle Sargam, Haiga, Masi Musibtay, Hadharam, Noni Bha, Deloo, Sawalakh and other puppet-characters have developed an identity of their own and are now household names.
