The sweetest voice

Bulbul-e-Pakistan – the gently melodious voice that warmed the hearts of millions of listeners for at least half a century bade farewell to this world on August 20 at age 71 . But Nayyara Noor will remain alive for ages to come, thanks to her marvelous renditions of poetry by some of the best writers in Urdu. Not merely a popular playback singer, she was also a celebrated crooner who carefully selected what she wanted to sing. In the past 50 years or so, Pakistan has not produced many singers who could sing film songs as well as ghazals and thumris with such élan. Her command of voice and control of the intricacies of classical music never betrayed the fact that she never had any formal training in singing.

While Nayyara Noor started her singing career in the late 1960s when she was still a teenager, she gained wide recognition in the early 1970s when she started regularly singing for Radio Pakistan and the PTV. Her real break to fame was thanks to her singing for films such as Gharana and Tansen but none of that ever overshadowed her identity primarily as a singer of great poets including Ghalib and Faiz. Nayyara gave her voice to some of the masterpieces of Urdu poetry, including ‘Woh jo hum mein tum mein qarar tha’, ‘Rang barsaat ne bharey kuchh to’. With some of her haunting renditions, she not only endeared herself to listeners across South Asia and beyond but in the process ended up introducing newer generations to Urdu poetry. Those growing up on a steady diet of PTV dramas well remember Nayyara’s voice and Arshad Mahmud’s compositions, resulting in some of the most memorable melodies.

Nayyara’s national songs too triggered a response from listeners that not many singers could so easily elicit. Among her film songs ‘Roothay ho tum tum ko kaise manaoon piya’ was perhaps the most melodious and endearing. Despite her enviable talent, Nayyara Noor remained an unassuming person throughout her career and lived a simple life, preferring to remain in the shadows than shining as a ‘celebrity’ in an age of instant fame. There are not many that can match Nayyara Noor’s versatility as a singer, nor her dedication to her craft. And, while the Bulbul may not be with us anymore, her legacy lives on in the sweetest voice singing the most beautiful of words.