Omar Kureishi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Omar Kureishi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1928 Murree, British India |
| Died | 14 March 2005 (aged 77) |
| Education | BA, International Relations |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California |
| Occupations | Commentator, Public Relations, journalist, writer |
| Employer(s) | Dawn Pakistan International Airlines The Times of Karachi Radio Pakistan |
Omar Kureishi (1928 – 14 March 2005) was a Pakistani writer. He had also worked in the advertising,[1] aviation and journalism industry,[2] writing for 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 of heart disease on 14 March 2005, at the age of 77, leaving behind his widow, a son, Javed, and two grandchildren.[2] He was awarded the Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) in 2001 by the President of Pakistan.[2]
Kureishi's father, 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 pre-partition India.[2] Omar Kureishi took a degree in International Relations from the University of Southern California in the early 1950s. He has one son, Javed Kureishi, and two grandchildren, Saif and Tanya Kureishi. Omar Kureishi was a classmate of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in school in Mumbai and later at USC.[2]
Life as a journalist, writer and socialite
Kureishi briefly worked with a radio station and also played a small part in a Hollywood movie.[2] He came to Karachi in the mid-1950s 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, where he used to hold regular weekly get-togethers.[2] "Friday Evenings at Air Cottage" became a byword in Karachi's intellectual and avant-garde 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] He 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]
