GUWAHATI: Nayyara Noor – “Nightingale of Pakistan” – is no more.
Naira Noor passed away at the commercial capital of Pakistan – Karachi, after a brief illness.
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Nayyara Noor was adored by millions from both India and Pakistan for her soulful melodies.
Noor was 71 years old at the time she passed away.
She had been undergoing treatment for quite some time in Karachi, reports say.
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“It is with heavy heart that I announce the passing of my beloved aunt (tayi) Nayyara Noor. May her soul RIP,” her nephew Raza Zaidi tweeted.
Besides being the torchbearer of the shared culture of India and Pakistan, Nayyara Noor also had a connection with the Northeast region of India.
In fact, Nayyara Noor was born at Guwahati in Assam in November 3, 1950.
Her family and ancestors belonged to a merchant class.
Her father was an active member of the All-India Muslim League.
Noor’s father had even hosted Pakistan’s founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah during the latter’s trip to Assam before the partition in 1947.
Later in 1958, Nayyara Noor with her mother and siblings migrated from India to Pakistan and settled in Karachi.
However, her father stayed back in Assam until 1993 to look after the family’s properties.
NAYYARA NOOR’S CAREER:
Nayyara Noor was known for performing in live Ghazal singing concerts in Pakistani TV shows and in concert halls around the country.
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.
Although Nayyara had no formal musical background nor formal training, she was discovered by Professor Asrar Ahmad at the Islamia College in Lahore after hearing her sing 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 programmes.
In 1971, Nayyara made her public singing debut in Pakistani television serials and then beginning with films like Gharana (1973) and Tansen.
She has since sung ghazals penned by the famous poets like Ghalib and Faiz Ahmed Faiz and has performed with legends like Mehdi Hassan and Ahmed Rushdi.
During her long singing career, she sang ghazals, geet, nazm and national songs.
Sober and shy, she always maintained her high singing standards from the beginning. She also recorded hundreds of songs for the Pakistani films.
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.