Nayyara Noor laid to rest

RENOWNED Pakistani singer, Nayyara Noor, who earned the honorific title of ‘Bulbul-ePakistan’ for her mesmerising voice that enthralled music aficionados in the subcontinent, was laid to rest in Karachi last weekend.

Noor, who born in India, died after a long battle with cancer in the city last Sunday (21) at the age of 71. She is survived by her husband and two sons.

Leading personalities from the world of entertainment, politicians, journalists and music lovers attended her funeral in large numbers, The News newspaper reported on Monday (22).

Her husband Shehryar Zaidi, a veteran TV actor, said Noor’s death was a loss for the entire nation, but added, “my loss is more”.

Often known as “Bulbul-e-Pakistan” (the nightingale of Pakistan), Noor was born in November 1950 in Guwahati, Assam, where she spent her early childhood before her family relocated to Karachi, the capital of then newly created Pakistan, a few years later.

Her father was an active member of the AllIndia Muslim League and hosted Pakistan’s founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah during his trip to Assam before the Partition in 1947. Her mother, along with her children, immigrated to Karachi in 1957, while the father stayed back to look after their property. He arrived in Pakistan in the early 1990s.

Noor went to the prestigious National College of Arts in Lahore, where her singing talent was first discovered, and by the late 1960s, she had made her debut on state television.

She began her career in Radio Pakistan, graduated to television and then playback singing for films. Noor shot into national prominence when she appeared in Shoaib Hashmi’s TV shows Taal Matol and Sach Gup, and her initial job on the silver screen included the movies Gharana

and Tansen.

In a versatile career spanning four decades, Noor sang many memorable songs like Woh Jo Hum Mein Tum Mein Qarar Tha, Kabhi Hum Bhi Khoobssorat Thay,

and Watan Ki Mitti Gawah Rehna. She will be remembered for her renditions of Pakistan’s famous revolutionary poet, Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

Her unique voice won many fans and she was known for not compromising on the subtleties of compositions.

Noor also sang ghazals by legendary Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib and performed with versatile singers like Mehdi Hassan, known as Shahenshahe-Ghazal and Ahmed Rushdi.

She was also known for her love of poetry. Music and literature buffs were treated to masterpieces such as Aaj bazaar mein pabijonla chalo and Merey qaatil merey dildaar merey paas raho.

Noor also sang some of Pakistan’s most memorably patriotic songs, including Sohni Dharti, as well as countless ones for Pakistani films.

She did not have any formal music training

As a teenager, Noor used to listen to singers such as Begum Akhtar, Lata Mangeshkar and Kanan Devi.

Noor was honoured with the title “Bulbul-ePakistan” (Nightingale of Pakistan) in 2006. In 2006, she was honoured with the “Pride of Performance Award,” and by 2012, she left her professional singing career.

Prime minister Shahbaz Sharif said Noor’s death was “an irreparable damage” to the music world.

“Be it a ghazal or a song, whatever Nayyara Noor sang, she sang it with perfection. The void created by Nayyara Noor’s death will never be filled,” he tweeted.

Pakistan president Arif Alvi paid tribute to her achievements and said Noor’s songs and ghazals will endure.