Legendary singer Nayyara Noor (1950 To 2022)

Nayyara Noor was a Pakistani playback singer, considered one of the Pakistan subcontinent’s most popular singers. She performed in live ghazal singing concerts on Pakistan television shows or in concert halls in the country. Nayyara Noor was born on 3 November 1950 in Guwahati, Assam. Her family and ancestors, belonging to a merchant class, were long settled in Assam. Her father was an active member of the All-India Muslim League, and had hosted Pakistan’s founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah during his trip to Assam before the partition in 1947. In 1957 or 1958, Noor with her mother and siblings migrated from India to Pakistan, settling in Karachi. However, her father stayed back in Assam until 1993 to look after the family’s immovable properties. As a child, Nayyara is said to have been inspired by the bhajans of Kanan Devi and Kamla as well as the ghazals and thumris of Begum Akhtar.

Although Nayyara had no formal musical background nor formal training, she was discovered by Professor Asrar Ahmad at the Islamia College in Lahore after hearing her sing for her friends and teachers at an annual dinner at the National College of Arts in Lahore in 1968. Soon thereafter, she was asked to sing for the university’s Radio Pakistan programs, In 1971, Nayyara made her public singing debut in Pakistani television serials and then beginning with films like Gharana (1973) and Tansen. She has since sung ghazals penned by the famous poets like Ghalib and Faiz Ahmed Faiz and has performed with legends like Mehdi Hassan and Ahmed Rushdi.

Her father was an active member of the All-India Muslim League and hosted Pakistan’s founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah during his trip to Pakistan before the Partition in 1947. Sometime in 1958, her family migrated to Lahore in Pakistan’s Punjab province. Education was the be-all and end-all of our existence but music was the main source of entertainment, the Dawn newspaper quoted her as saying. She admitted that Kanan Bala and Begum Akhtar were their all-time favourites, with Lata Mangeshkar “a passion with everyone.”

Awards and recognition

Interestingly, Noor had no formal training in music, but she was captivated by Akhtar’s ghazals and Bala’s bhajans since childhood. While regaling her friends and teachers during a musical function at her alma mater — National College of Arts in Lahore Professor Asrar Ahmad of Islamia College spotted her burgeoning talent. Soon, Noor found herself singing for the university’s Radio Pakistan programmes. 

She won the Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan in 2006. Nigar Award for best playback female singer in film Gharana (1973). 3 Gold Medal Awards at the annual All Pakistan Music Conference concerts. She performed at mehfils and mushairas having cemented a following among ghazal lovers in Pakistan and India. Probably the most famous ghazal of hers (a form of song in Urdu poetry) was “Ae Jazba-e-Dil Gar Main Chahoon”, written by Behzad Lucknavi (1900–1974), a renowned poet of Urdu naats and ghazals, scriptwriter and songwriter of Radio Pakistan. Nayyara Noor later won many awards for this ghazal.

Nayyara Noor, adored by millions from both sides of the border for her soulful melodies, passed away after a brief illness, her family said on Sunday, bringing the curtains down on the life of one of the last musical icons to represent the shared culture of India and Pakistan. Noor was 71, and had been under treatment for quite some time in Karachi, media reports said. “It is with heavy heart that I announce the passing of my beloved aunt (tayi) Nayyara Noor. May her soul R.I.P.,” her nephew Raza Zaidi tweeted.

Noor will be best known for her ghazals. She performed at mehfils, enjoying a cult-like following among ghazal lovers in Pakistan and India. Her famous ghazal rendition was Ae Jazba-e-Dil Ghar Main Chahoon, written by Behzad Lucknavi, a renowned Urdu poet. Noor also sang ghazals penned by poets like Ghalib, Faiz Ahmed Faiz and also performed with the likes of Mehdi Hassan.