"The maestro who wore many hats". Remembering Obaidullah Baig on his death anniversary.
Obaidullah Baig, a maestro of balancing his professional life with his love of history, literature and his personal life, had unmatchable intellect which inspired many. A carefree soul of all the worldly worries, he is also known as the most well-read and well-spoken personalities in Pakistan. Such amalgamation of legendary ideas and creativity made him a personality that will be praised ever after.
Obaidullah Baig belonged to a respectable family from Rampur, India. His decision of moving to Pakistan after partition proved to be a blessing for yet-to-be-established Pakistani television and media industry. Obaidullah was a reputed scholar, journalist, environmentalist, film, documentary maker and a novelist as well as one of the most precious minds Pakistan Television (PTV) ever produced.
He had uncountable accomplishments in a diverse field of ideas. As a host, people at that time raved his hosting in a program namely Kasauti, a sophisticated quiz show that remained in the limelight for many years and had been referred to by people from all walks of life including iconic personality Zia Mohiudeen to political entities including Khushbakht Shujaat.
Obaidullah Baig teamed up with renowned poet Iftikhar Arif and then with journalist Ghazi Salahuddin; thus the show was known due him and its host star Quraishpur.
He had produced 300 documentaries along with a long list of remarkable novels including Tughral Turkman for history, Jim Junior for bravura hunting adventures.
As a journalist, he had notable achievements during his early start of the very field. As soon as he keenly observed the field of journalism, he started writing for a monthly magazine called Ashuja and then at Hurriyat, a daily newspaper.
A bulk of his work was done in PTV through documentaries, his valuable services in Radio Pakistan and strong footsteps in the advertising field as Director, Copywriter at Asiatic. One of his best and remembered documentaries was ‘Sailani kay Sath’.
Baig’s personal life was as happening as he was known in his professional life, never sitting still or resting in his glory; he was married to a lady with strong and positive character, Salma Baig, who also remained a prominent personality and a famous TV host.
When asked to his daughter about her dad’s personality, she wittily answered: “He wore many hats, I suppose he had a name for all of them.”
A man who was many things to many people had affectionate feelings full of gratitude for his daughters; the same feelings he had for his wife when they met each other during the golden days of PTV; fell in love and raised a family of three daughters who were as progressive as their father.
During his last days when he got to know that he had been suffering from cancer, he decided to stay at home and love his beloved ones instead of going for chemotherapy and medical treatment. He breathed last on June 22, 2012.