Pakistani singer Nayyara Noor, who died on Sunday after a long battle with cancer, was one of the most underrated singers from the subcontinent. She will be remembered as a musician with a dulcet voice that was admired by many, but never achieved the glory reserved for vocalists like Noorjehan and Begum Akhtar. This may have also been because she remained away from any flamboyance in terms of her music and personality.
Noor’s family had migrated from Amritsar to Assam, where her father was an active member of the All India Muslim League. Born and raised in Guwahati, she grew up listening to songs by Begum Akhtar, Kanan Devi, Noorjehan, and Lata Mangeshkar, mostly through radio. It was at National College of Arts in Lahore that Noor was first noticed for her voice by Professor Asrar Ahmad of Islamiya College. She’d sung a Krishna bhajan — “Jo tum todo piya” from V Shantaram’s “Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje” (1955). Attention came to her through an EMI tape titled “Nayyara Sings Faiz” (1976), recorded as a gift to the poet on his birthday. Noor sang 12 pieces of poetry by Faiz including the famed “Aaj bazaar mein pa-ba-jaulan chalo/ Chashm-e-nam, jaan-e-shoreeda kafi nahin (Let us walk in the bazaar in shackles/Wet eyes, restless souls are not enough)”.
Noor never sang in the thick or robust or nasal voice that was then in fashion. She did not embellish her songs with many classical elements either. She was averse to complicated taans used by ustads and pundits to showcase their musical prowess. Nayyara Noor’s music was just like her — gentle and perfectly controlled with an old-world charm to it.
This editorial first appeared in the print edition on August 23, 2022 under the title ‘Bulbul-e-Pakistan’.
