The death anniversary of Noor Jehan went unnoticed except for news items in the print and electronic media, but last week Alhamra compensated somewhat by holding a programme in her honour.

In our musical tradition barsis are usually marked to remember and pay tribute to outstanding vocalists and instrumentalists almost exclusively by singing and playing. It is not necessary that the songs of one whose barsi is being observed are played or sung but it becomes an occasion for artistes to perform. Putting up a performance of whatever they do best is considered to be the preferred manner of rendering the tribute.

But where Noor Jehan is concerned it has become a routine that Taranum Naz is invited to perform. She was very close to the legendry vocalist and many considered it to be an almost ustad-shagird relationship. She also has the competence to emulate Noor Jehan’s style and ang, so it was no surprise that she was again the star attraction of this programme.

But a barsi does not necessarily mean that artistes close to the one being celebrated are invited, nor does it need to be limited to any form or genre. Actually, if the stature of Noor Jehan is to be taken into account, the most outstanding artistes should be performing at her barsi, irrespective of form or connection. But alas it has been noticed that in many of the barsis of Noor Jehan, which have been held sporadically over the years, the best of the best do not participate and perform.

Taranum Naz is a good vocalist but the moment she appears on stage the expectation is for her to render the numbers made immortal by Noor Jehan. And even if she wants to break that barrier, she is pushed again and again to limit herself to those numbers alone. The vocalist within Taranum Naz in her own right is just muzzled and pushed back into the shadows. The purpose of the barsis is not to overshadow the current crop of singers and performers but to provide a platform that is commended and has a certain level. Singing on the barsi of Noor Jehan should have the criteria of qualifying brilliance. Or in the case of a younger artiste an indication that the he/she has arrived. One had hoped for leading artistes to perform but those who did other than Taranum Naz were Sehar Minhas, Zoha Waseem, Aman Ali, Nirsha and Samia Meraj.

Noor Jehan lived up to the prototype of an artiste, a musician who was wrapped in mystery and defied any one definition. She also has the added advantage that people are able to recall and replay her music unlike many other greats before her who only exist in words, lore and mythology. The closest that one has been able to get to the age of mythology in an age of prosaic realism has been in the person of Noor Jehan. Perhaps the creative world of magic and heightened fantasy is needed to balance the world of analysis and tabulations.

From the late 1930s to almost the end of the ’80s she ruled the world of music, particularly in film songs which had become the most popular form of music during the course of the century, and also the ones that paid most.

Film songs owe a particular debt to Noor Jehan. When she appeared on the scene as a teenager, film songs were in their nascent stage. It needed a great performer to place it on a pedestal where it could be taken seriously. Film music found in her that artiste who had the ability to elevate it to the forms of music that could be taken seriously. She was the first female voice to achieve this, the first male one being K.L Saigal’s. Film music became with the passage of time not only hugely popular but also a serious form that was heard for its music alone, freeing itself from the confines of the characters and situations in the film. Gradually the character and the film were forgotten but the song transcended itself from its immediate locale to become a universal expression.

Noor Jehan made a very bold decision when she decided to migrate to Pakistan with Shaukat Hussain Rizvi. At the time she was a vocalist in her prime and at the top, therefore it was unexpected that she would choose to leave Bombay for the smaller and provincial film world of Lahore. Many other Muslim artistes who had become big or were on the cusp of doing so stayed in India to play their role in a world that was far bigger, certain and lucrative. It was even more surprising because Rizvi was not from the Punjab but from the then United Province and was Urdu speaking.