Did you know Pakistani Ghazal singer Nayyara Noor was born in Guwahati?

Born in Assam’s Guwahati and popularly known as "Bulbul-e-Pakistan," veteran singer Nayyara Noor passed away on Saturday at the age of 71. Noor suffered from a brief illness and died on Saturday.

She was born on November 3, 1950, in Guwahati, Assam, and has always admired Begum Akhtar Ghazals, thumris, and Kanan Devi Bhajans. When she was seven years old, her family moved to Pakistan.

Funeral prayers of Pakistan’s nightingale, Nayyara Noor, were offered at DHA’s Imambargah Yasrab on Sunday.
Numerous celebrities from the entertainment industry, politicians, journalists, and music lovers showed up for her funeral. Her husband, Shehryar Zaidi, a veteran TV actor, told the media that Noor’s death is a loss for the entire nation, but “my loss is more”.

Noor's nephew, Rana Zaidi, shared the unfortunate news on Twitter. “It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my beloved aunt (tayi) Nayyara Noor. May her soul R.I.P. She was given the title of ‘Bulbul-e-Pakistan’ because of her melodious voice,” Rana Zaidi tweeted.

إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ
It is with heavy heart that I announce the passing of my beloved aunt (tayi) Nayyara Noor. May her soul R.I.P.
She was given the title of ‘Bulbul-e-Pakistan’ because of her melodious voice. #NayyaraNoor pic.twitter.com/69ATgDq7yZ

— Raza Zaidi (@Razaazaidi) August 20, 2022

"Be it a ghazal or a song, whatever Nayyara Noor sang, she sang it with perfection. The Pakistan Prime Minster posted on Twitter while praying for Nayyara Noor's death will never be filled," Pakistan Prime Minister posted on Twitter while praying for her place in heaven.

نامور گلوکارہ نیرہ نور کا انتقال موسیقی کی دنیا کے لیے ایک نا قابل تلافی نقصان ہے۔ وہ اپنی آواز میں ترنم اور سوز کی وجہ سے خاص پہچان رکھتی تھیں۔ غزل ہو یا گیت جو بھی انہوں نے گایا کمال گایا۔ان کی وفات سے پیدا ہونے والا خلا کبھی پُر نہیں ہوگا۔ اللہ تعالی مرحومہ کو جنت میں جگہ دے۔

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) August 21, 2022

The veteran singer has won the Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan in 2006, Nigar Award for best playback female singer in film Gharana (1973), and 3 Gold Medal Awards at the annual All Pakistan Music Conference concerts.

She performed at mehfils and mushairas, having cemented a following among ghazal lovers in Pakistan and India. Probably the most famous ghazal of hers (a form of song in Urdu poetry) was "Ae Jazba-e-Dil Gar Main Chahoon", written by Behzad Lucknavi (1900–1974), a renowned poet of Urdu naats and ghazals, scriptwriter and songwriter of Radio Pakistan. Nayyara Noor later won many awards for this ghazal.

She went to the renowned National College of Arts in Lahore, where her singing ability was initially identified, and by the late 1960s, she had made her state television debut.

In a versatile career full of iconic songs, she will forever be remembered for her renditions of works by Pakistan’s famous revolutionary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz – music released in a 1976 compilation called Nayyara Sings Faiz.

It needs to be mentioned here that she also sang several songs for Pakistani movies, notably Sohni Dharti, one of Pakistan's most famously patriotic songs.