Written by: Haroon Shuaib
Posted on: August 25, 2022 | 
| 中文
Nayyara Noor with her Nigar Award
Kabhi hum khoobsorat thay
Kitabon main bassi khusbo ki manind sans sakin thee
Bohat say unkahay lafzon say tasveerien banaty thay
Parindon kay paron par nazm likh kar door ki jheelon main rehnay walon ko suntay thay….
(We were once beautiful… our breath was silent like the scent that lingers in books…. We sketched beautiful sceneries with our unsaid words… wrote poems on the feathers of birds and recited them for those that lived far away.)
Nayyara Noor with Khawaja Najamul Hassan
When Nayyara Noor sang this beautiful poem by poet Shamim Ahmed for the background score of Pakistan Television’s groundbreaking serial ‘Teesra Kinara’ (Third Dimension), an immortal melody was created that captured the pining for lost love that never failed to move its listeners. Picturized on the ever-handsome Rahat Kazmi and equally beautiful Sahira Kazmi, who played lead roles in this drama based on Ayn Rand’s ‘The Fountainhead’, the pathos in Nayyara’s vocals was perfect, and added much more depth to this timeless composition.
Nayyar Noor with M Ashraf to her right and others including film star Rangeela
On August 21, 2022 Nayyara breathed her last in Karachi. She was born in Assam in 1950, and her family moved to Pakistan in 1957 while her father stayed back to look after his properties, making the final move to Pakistan only in the 1990s. Nayyara came from a family where there was a great deal of appreciation for good classical music, although it had produced no singers. She didn’t learn Indian classical music formally but grew up listening to such classical giants such as Kamla Jharia, Kanan Devi, Sehgal, Hemant Kumar and the Begum Akhtar. ‘We had a gramophone at home and if I had 24 hours to myself, I spent all that time listening to music, pondering over each move of the singer’s vocal cords and trying to imitate them. I never imagined becoming a professional singer but always was in search of that perfect note and tune.’ She recalled in an interview.
Singer Amjad Hussain, Nayyara Noor and Tehseen Javed
It was in 1996 that while she was studying at the National College of Arts, Lahore for her degree in textile design, that she sang for a college function. Israr Ahmed, who was a music maestro and a professor, was seated in the audience. He reached out to her after her performance and told her to focus on her singing, and took her under his wings. He encouraged and tutored her, and pushed her to appear for a singing audition that Radio Pakistan was holding, where the judges were singing maestros including Roshan Ara Begum, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan and Ustad Salamat Ali Khan. A shy and meek Nayyara sang a Lata Mangeshkar number, ‘Chalo Sajna jahan Tak ghatta Chalay’, and the panel of judges really appreciated her singing ability. Roshan Ara Begum was so impressed that she remarked, ‘Never stop singing. Sing more. You have been blessed by a vast range of vocal variations. You must make the best use of this gift.’
Sheheryar Zaidi (Nayyara’s husband), Nayyara Noor, Mehnaz Begum, Khawaja Najamul Hassan, Tauseeq Haider and Tahira Syed
What followed is history. Nayyar was soon singing for radio, television and even doing playback songs for films. In fact, so instantaneous was her popularity that when Khawaja Khursheed Anwar, the greatest music composer of Pakistan’s film industry, was selecting singers for the background score of his new film, ‘Shereen Farhad’, he requested Nayyara to sing for it. Nayyara always considered this as one of her best achievements during her career. Just a few years after starting to sing for films, she won the prestigious Nigar Award in 1973 for the song composed by M. Ashraf, ‘Tera saya jahan bhee ho sajna’ for his film ‘Gharana’. No follower of Pakistan’s cinematic history can miss her contribution to songs such as ‘Bol ri guriya bol (Film: Aas)’, ‘Rootay ho tum, tum ko kiasy manaon piya (Aaina)’, ‘Iss Parcham Kay saye tally hum aik hain (Farz aur Mamta), and ‘Mujhay dil say na bulana (Aaina)’, all of which became chartbusters. Nayyara, who always found it difficult to fit into the film industry, soon moved away from singing for films, while Naheed Akhtar and Mehnaz filled the vacuum that was left by her. During her short but extremely prolific association with film industry, Nayyara was the first choice for all leading music composers such as Nisar Bazmi, Robin Ghosh and of course, M. Ashraf. Film star Shabnam always considered Nayyara’s voice as the most suited for the characters she played on screen.
Nayyara Noor with Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Saleema Hashmi and others
Film industry’s loss was Pakistan’s literary realm’s gain. Nayyara had a special bond with composer Arshad Mehmood and both of them were disciples of the great Urdu poet, Faiz Ahmed Faiz. They teamed up to produce ‘Nayyara Sings Faiz’, an album that contributed in a big way for bringing Faiz’s poetry closer to the public domain, and is proof of Nayyara’s singing talen but also her deep understanding of every word she sang. From ‘Aaj bazar main, bapajolan chalo’ to ‘Hum kay thehray ajnabi’, and ‘Har chand sahara hay teray pyar ka dil ko’ and so many others, the empathy and the aspirations for the damned and the powerless of the society that was the hallmark of Faiz’s poetry, was captured perfectly in the haunting melodic voice of Nayyara Noor.
Tina Sani and Nayyara Noor, who both sang Faiz’s poetry for composer Arshad Mehmood
Nayyara had a long association with Pakistan Television and the wealth of melodious music that she has left behind from the ‘70s, when she sang for programmes such as ‘Gup Shup’, ‘Tal Matool’, ‘Sukhanwar’, ‘Meri Pasand’, and ‘Duniya Meri Jawan Hay’ series telecast in the ‘90s. Nayyara brought new life to every song she sang, be it a ghazal, nazam, geet, or thumri. During her singing career spanning many decades, she sang the verses of some of the greatest Urdu poets such as Ghalib, Iqbal, Faiz, Ibn-e-Insha, Ahmed Faraz and many others. She brought new life to every kalam (poetry) she sang. Immortal songs such as Behzad Lukhnawi’s ‘Ae Jazba-e-dil’, Ibne Insha’s ‘Jalay tou jalao gori’, Nasir Kazmi ‘Phir Sawan rut ki pawan chali’, Akhtar Sherani’s ‘Ay ishq hamain barbad na kar’, Farooq Qaiser’s ‘Komal komal, palkian bojhal’, Shohrat Bukhari’s ‘Har chand sahara hay terya pyar ka dil ko’ and Zehra Nigah’s ‘Chalo uss koh par’, are some of the songs that demonstrate how well she understood poetry and the emotions required for the words. Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, a prominent Urdu poet and writer once said that no one could sing Urdu ‘azad nazam’ (blank verse) like Nayyara could. Her rendition of the soundtrack of the legendry television serial ‘Dhoop Kinaray’ for which she sang Hassan Akbar Kamal’s ‘Hansi khanakti huwi’ and Faiz’s ‘Raat youn dil mein teri’, are timeless.
Nayyara also sang many national songs and no national celebration would be complete without her voice resonating on television channels pulling at the heart strings of Pakistani people. ‘Watan ki mitti gawah rehna’ and ‘Jo naam wohi pehchan, Pakistan Pakistan’, will keep warming the hearts of Pakistanis for many years to come.
I interviewed the greatest Pakistani music composer Arshad Mehmood, and while talking about the singing prowess of Nayyara, Arshad said, ‘Nayyara Noor is a much more versatile singer (than many others) because she did film songs, ghazals and a lot more work. She has also sung serious poetry very well. In fact, most of the compositions I have made for Faiz’s poetry have been sung by Nayyara. I used to tell her that your voice is made of wax; it could take any shape and form. She had a brilliant musical mind and she fully immerse herself in the minutest nuances of a composition. I often say that Nayyara sang my compositions so beautifully that now they belong to her only. I would recommend listening to a ghazal of Faiz that she sang, ‘Tujhay pukara hay beyirada’. I think Nayyara gave it a superlative rendering.’
Nayyara Noor and Arshad Mehmood as panelists at a literary festival
(Continued from the opening poem)
Hamain mathay pay bosa dou
Kay humko jugnoaon kay, titliyon kay des jana hay
Hamain rangon kay jugno, Roshni ki titliyan awaz deti hein….
(Kiss our forehead and bid us farewell… we need to now travel to the land of fireflies and butterflies. We are being called by the colorful fireflies and luminous butterflies…)
Nayyara Noor or Bulbul-e-Pakistan (the nightingale of Pakistan) is no more, but the musical wealth she leaves behind will keep us enthralled forever.
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