Biography:

Nayyara Noor (Urdu: نیرہ نور;‎ 3 November 1950 – 20 August 2022) was a Pakistani playback singer, considered one of Pakistan‘s most popular singers. She was known for performing in live ghazal singing concerts in Pakistani TV shows and in concert halls around the country.[1] The national song in Nayyara’s voice, “Watan ki mitti gawah rehna“, is widely listened to from Karachi to Khyber, Pakistan.[2][3]

Early life

Nayyara Noor was born on 3 November 1950 in Guwahati, Assam.^[1] Her family and ancestors belonged to a merchant class.^[4][1] 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, along 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.^[1]

Career

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.^[1][4] Although Nayyara had no formal musical background nor formal training, she was discovered by Professor Asrar Ahmad at the Islamia College in Lahore when he heard her sing the Lata Mangeshkar bhajan “Jo tum todo piya” from Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje 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.^[4][1]

In 1971, Nayyara made her public singing debut in Pakistani television serials and then beginning with films such as Gharana (1973) and Tansen. She went on to sing ghazals, a form of song in Urdu poetry, penned by the famous poets such as Ghalib and Faiz Ahmed Faiz and performed with legends such as Mehdi Hassan and Ahmed Rushdi.^[4]

In 2012, Nayyara Noor officially announced that she would no longer sing professionally. After her marriage, she maintained that her primary roles were those of a wife and a mother. She said that music was a passion with her but never her top priority.^[1]

Nayyara performed at mehfils and mushairas, having cemented a following among ghazal lovers in Pakistan and India. Probably the most famous ghazal of hers was “Ae Jazba-e-Dil Gar Main Chahoon“, written by Behzad Lucknavi. She later won many awards for this ghazal.^[1][3]

Credits: