Who Was Nayyara Noor? Celebrated Pakistani Singer Passes Away Aged 71

Celebrated Pakistani singer Nayyara Noor 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.

The news of her passing away soon reached social media after a family member of the singer confirmed her demise. “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.

Who Was Nayyara Noor?

Noor was born in Guwahati in 1950. 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 Assam before the Partition in 1947. Her family migrated to Lahore in Pakistan’s Punjab province sometime in 1958.

Noor, who had no formal training in music, said she was captivated by Begum Akhtar’s ghazals and Kanan Bala’s bhajans since childhood. She once admitted that Bala and Akhtar were her all-time favourites, with Lata Mangeshkar “a passion with everyone.”

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.

In 1971, she made her playback singing debut in Pakistani television serials and then seamlessly transitioned to films like Gharana and Tansen. She also won the Nigar Award for the best female playback singer for Gharana.

However, Noor will be best known for her ghazals, enjoying a cult-like following among ghazal lovers in Pakistan and India. She sang ghazals penned by poets like Ghalib, Faiz Ahmed Faiz and also performed with the likes of Mehdi Hassan.

One of her famous ghazal rendition was “Ae Jazba-e-Dil Ghar Main Chahoon”, written by Behzad Lucknavi, a renowned Urdu poet.

“Barkha barse chat 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 slowed down on her live performances.

“Music has been a passion with me but never been my top priority. I was a student and a daughter first and a singer later. After my marriage my primary roles have been those of a wife and a mother,” she had told the Dawn newspaper.

Noor was honoured with the title “Bulbul-e-Pakistan” (Nightingale of Pakistan) in 2006. In the same year, she was also honoured with Pakistan's “Pride of Performance Award,” and by 2012, she bid adieu to her professional singing career.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, in a tribute to Noor, tweeted that her death is “an irreparable damage” to the music world.

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