Search-engine Google paid tribute to celebrated Pakistani writer and puppeteer Farooq Qaiser on his 78th birthday.

Qaiser was born on October 31, 1945 in Sialkot and was the mind behind children’s entertainment on the state-run Pakistan Television for decades.

His puppet character Uncle Sargam, which was introduced in 1976, was a staple for children growing up right till the early 2000s. Qaiser based the character on one of his teachers from Romania.

He not only wrote the scripts behind Uncle Sargam and Masi Museebatay but even voiced the character of Sargam himself. Apart from TV, Qaiser also performed the puppet show live across the country.

Qaiser was a graduate of the National College of Arts in Romania and also studied graphics and puppetry at the University of Bucharest in Romania.

He also taught in various universities across the country and was wrote columns for the Daily Nai Baat.

In 1992, he was awared the Pride of Performance by the government of Pakistan and a life-time achievement award from PTV in 2010.

Qaiser passed away after suffering a heart attack in 2021