Web Desk
Pakistan’s popular playback singer Nayyara Noor, adored by millions for her soulful melodies, passed away in the port city of Karachi after a brief illness on Sunday, her family confirmed.
Noor was 71, and had been under treatment for quite some time, according to media reports .
“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.
She leaves behind an enviable legacy and a treasure trove of mellifluous renditions.
Noor was born in Guwahati, the capital of north-eastern Indian state of Assam in 1950.
Sometime in 1958, her family migrated to Lahore .
During an interview with PTV , she admitted that Kanan Bala and Begum Akhtar were their all-time favourites, with Lata Mangeshkar “a passion with everyone.”
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 talent.
Soon, Noor found herself singing for the university’s Radio Pakistan programmes.
In 1971, she made her playback singing debut in Pakistani television serials and then seamlessly transitioned to films like Gharana and Tansen.
She won the Nigar Award for the best female playback singer for Gharana.
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 Lakhnavi, 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.
Barkha barse chhat per, a rare Hindi poem by Faiz, which she rendered with her husband Sheharyar Zaidi in 1976 on his birthday was perhaps her most celebrated work.
At the peak of her career, Noor decided to marry Zaidi, and with time became finicky about doing live performances.
Noor was honoured with the title Bulbul-e-Pakistan (Nightingale of Pakistan) in 2006.
In 2006, she was honoured with the Pride of Performance Award, and by 2012, she bid adieu to her professional singing career.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, while expressing grief over Noor’s demise, said her death is “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.
