Nayyara Noor is a
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i
playback singerA playback singer is a singer whose singing is prerecorded for use in movies. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras, while the actual singer does not appear on screen.-South Asia:...
who is also considered one of the
South AsiaSouth Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
's foremost exponents in the
GhazalThe ghazal is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The form is ancient, originating in 6th century...
genre.
Biography
Nayyara Noor was born in 1950 in
AssamAssam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
. Her family was a merchant class hailing from
AmritsarAmritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
who had settled in
GuwahatiGuwahati, Pragjyotishpura in ancient Assam formerly known as Gauhati is a metropolis,the largest city of Assam in India and ancient urban area in North East India, with a population of 963,429. It is also the largest metropolitan area in north-eastern India...
in Assam State in the North-Eastern India. Her father was an active member of the Muslim League and in 1958, the family moved to Pakistan. As a child, Nayyara is said to have been inspired by the
bhajanA Bhajan is any type of Indian devotional song. It has no fixed form: it may be as simple as a mantra or kirtan or as sophisticated as the dhrupad or kriti with music based on classical ragas and talas. It is normally lyrical, expressing love for the Divine...
s of
Kanan DeviKanan Devi was an Indian actress and singer. She was among the early singing stars of Indian cinema, and is credited popularly as the first star of Bengali Cinema...
and Kamla as well as the ghazals and
thumriThumri is a common genre of semi-classical Indian music.The text is romantic or devotional in nature, and usually revolves around a girl's love for Krishna. The lyrics are usually in Uttar Pradesh dialects of Hindi called Poorbi and Brij Bhasha...
s of
Begum AkhtarAkhtari Bai Faizabadi or Begum Akhtar was a well known Indian singer of Ghazal, Dadra and Thumri.She received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for vocal music, and was awarded Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan by Govt. of India...
.
Although Nayyara had no formal musical background nor formal training, she was discovered by Professor Israr at the Islamia College in
LahoreLahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
after hearing her sing for her friends and teachers at an annual dinner at the
National College of ArtsThe National College of Arts Lahore, usually referred to by its acronym NCA, is a famous old college in Lahore, Pakistan.Like all old institutions, the National College of Arts, has a historical tradition. Much of its present tone was set long ago when it was known as the Mayo School of Arts...
in Lahore in 1968. Soon thereafter she was asked to sing for the university's Radio Pakistan programs.
In 1971, Nayyara made her public singing debut in Pakistani television serials and then beginning with films like
Gharana and
Tansen. She has since sung ghazals composed by the likes of
GhalibDabir-ul-Mulk, Najm-ud-Daula Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan , pen-name Ghalib and Asad , was a classical Urdu and Persian poet from India during British colonial rule...
and
Faiz Ahmed FaizFaiz Ahmad Faiz was a Pakistani intellectual, poet, and one of the most famous poets of the Urdu language. He was a member of the Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind and an avowed Marxist. In 1962, he was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union...
and has performed with legends like
Mehdi HassanMehdi Hassan is a Pakistani ghazal singer and a former playback singer for Lollywood. He is famously known as the 'King of ghazal' . He has ruled the Pakistan film industry along with Ahmed Rushdi...
and
Ahmed RushdiAhmed Rushdi, SI, PP was a versatile Pakistani playback singer who worked in film music and was "an important contributor to the Golden Age of Pakistani film music." Rushdi is acclaimed as one of the greatest singers ever lived in south asia and was a natural baritone, yet could sing high tenor...
. She has won three gold medals in the All Pakistan Music Conference and a Nigar Award for best female singer. She has since performed at countless
mehfilA mehfil is a gathering or evening of courtly entertainment of poetry or concert of Indian classical music and dance, performed for a small audience in an intimate setting....
s and
mushairaMushaira is a poetic symposium. Its a term in Urdu used to describe an event where poets gather to perform their works. A mushaira is a beloved part of the culture of Pakistan and North India, and it is greatly admired by participants as a forum for free self-expression.-Forms:A mushaira can take...
s having cemented a following among ghazal lovers in Pakistan and India.Her probably the most famous ghazal (a form of song in Urdu poetry) was ae jazba e dil gar mai chhon, written by Behzad Lakhnavi 1900-1974, a poet, script writer and song writer of radio Pakistan, for which she won many rewards. Behazad Lakhnavi is buried in Sakhi Hasan. This is the place which was allotted by the government for the memories of Behzad Lakhnavi. He was born in
LucknowLucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
, India.
Related Information
- Her younger son Jaffer is the lead vocalist in a band called Kaavish
Kaavish is a comtemporary semi classical band from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, formed in 1999. The band is founded by vocalist, keyboardist and songwriter, Jaffer Zaidi and lead guitarist, Maaz Maudood....
. while the elder son Naad-e-Ali has started his debut as solo.
External links
- http://cmindia[dot]blogspot[dot]com/2011/02/8.html
(सीएमइंडिया डाट ब्लॉगस्पाट डाटकाम /2011/02/8.html)