Omar Kureishi
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Omar Kureishi (1928-2005) was a distinguished Pakistani writer. He had also worked in the advertising[1], aviation and journalism industry[2], writing for many newspapers, including Dawn, The Pakistan Times, Morning News and The Guardian, London[2]. He is best known for his cricket writings and commentary but he was also a keen observer of political and social developments and wrote about them, in his own words, not with fury, but certainly with “exasperation and anger”[2]. He died on Monday, March 14th, 2005, at the age of 77 due to a heart disease, leaving behind his widow, a son, Javed, and two grandchildren[2]. He was awarded the Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 2001[2].
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[edit] Family Background and Education
Kureishi's father, Col M.A. Kureishi, was a member of the Indian Medical Service[2]. He had 11 siblings and his family was frequently on the move because of their father's many postings across preparation India[2]. Mr Kureishi took a degree in International Relations from the University of Southern California in the early 1950s[2]. He was a classmate of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in school in Mumbai and later at university in the US[2].
[edit] Life as a Journalist, Writer and Socialite
Kureishi had his first encounter with the media and showbiz in the United States where he briefly worked with a radio station and also played a small part in a Hollywood movie[2]. Mr Kureishi came to Karachi in the mid-’50s and joined the defunct Pakistan Standard[2]. Later, he became resident editor of the Times of Karachi[2]. His brother, Sattoo Kureishi, lived near Karachi airport in a house called Air Cottage and used to hold regular weekly get-togethers there[2]. “Friday Evenings at Air Cottage” became a byword in Karachi’s intellectual and avant-grade circles, and Omar Kureishi soon became an integral part of the set[2]. He filed dispatches for many newspapers in Pakistan and abroad during his cricket commentating career, but he wrote most regularly for Dawn for a period spanning over 25 years[2]. His did columns based on cricket, as well as those based on his memories of his time abroad in the US and traveling around the cricket world, in addition to his time in Mumbai and Delhi[2]. His books include Black Moods, Out to Lunch, The System, The Other Side of Daylight, As Time Goes By and Once Upon a Time[2].
[edit] Career at Pakistan International Airlines
In 1959, Pakistan International Airlines’s then chief, Nur Khan, persuaded Mr Kureishi to join the national flag carrier[2] and he was thereafter appointed head of PIA's new public relations department[3]. Kureishi spent the next 25 years setting up and maintaining an infrastructure which provided a financial cushion for Pakistan's sportsmen[3]. Mr Kureishi long innings with PIA lasted almost till 1981[2], except for a brief interlude when he had fallen out with the then managing-director. When the Zia regime took over, he was asked, for political reasons, to leave the organization[2].
[edit] Life as Cricket Commentator
Kureishi's devotion to cricket, in his own words, started as "a passion" and eventually became "a love affair" which "remained a constant" in his life through all its "ups and downs"[2]. Though he had never played first class or test cricket, (his only exposure to competitive cricket at an organised level was a brief stint during his life as student when he went to the United Kingdom and played club cricket), he was still recognised as an outstanding and extremely knowledgeable cricket commentator[3]. He shared the Test Match Special commentary box during Pakistan's early tours to England[3] and together with Jamsheed Marker, he was a regular voice on the airwaves in Pakistan during the late 1950s and ’60s[2]. Bill Frindall, the TMS Statistician, describes him as a "a lively, witty and popular colleague" and calls him "the voice of Asian sport"[3]. Kureishi counted many cricketers, most notably the late Abdul Hafeez Kardar, as his close friends. The media centre at the Qadhafi Stadium in Lahore is named after him[2]. He was also member of the International Cricket Council panel which selects the world’s best Test and one-day international players for its annual awards[4].
