Kamran Khamiso Khowaja
September 21 the birth Anniversary of Allah wasai who earned indestructible fame as Melody Queen Noor Jahan was born in Kasur in the year 1926. She inherited singing from her mother and it was quite clear right from her childhood that she was going to be virtuoso in Singing. Her mother sent her Calcutta (Kolkata) so that her hidden talent could be unearthed and she could get an entry in the Indo-Pak film industry there she met with mukhtar begum who after listening to Allah Wasai,s melodious voice gave her the Name Noor Jahan and she later earned fame with that name. Renowned Filmmaker Agha Hasher Kashmiri Gave her his first break in Movie Pind Di Kudi but the song of Movie Gul Bakoli gave her household fame across the subcontinent since then she never looked back and continued to thrive as the leading playback singer of her era. She returned to Pakistan in 1947 along with her husband film director Shaukat Hussain Rizvi after giving blockbuster movies like Khandan, Naukar, Gaon Ki Gori, Zeenat, Mirza Saheba, and Jugnu for the film industry of undivided India. Here she also attained unprecedented stardom owing to her mesmerizing voice and natural style of acting. In Pakistan, her first movie was Chan Vey. In that film, she acted opposite Santosh Kumar- A Superstar who was the first choice of every director during the decades of the 50s and 60s. Noor Jahan,s Song Chandni Raatein for Movie Dupatta in 1952 further added to her fame and became her identity. In 1963 she decided to Give up her acting career that spanned over 30 years for some domestic issues and decided to carry on only as a playback singer. During that era with the emergence of Playback singers like Runa Laila, Mala and Ghazal Singer Farida Khanum, Roshan Ara Begum, and Reshma there was an aura of competition but it never affected the distinguished status and reputation of melody queen. Madam was first choice of every music director right from the beginning of her career she could sing the songs of low as well as high nodes with equal ease and melody, she sang around 20,000 songs in Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi Saraiki, and Bengali languages and lent her voice to almost all actresses of that era. During the Indo-Pak war of 1965, her soulful voice not only enthralled the soldiers on the front but also raised the spirit of patriotism among them and she received Tamgha-E-Imtiaz from Pakistan Army for Providing moral support to them in the days of the war. Once Lata Mangeshkar Said; in an interview that; people dare to compare her with Noor Jahan but she would discourage that comparison because Noor Jahan was her (Guru) Mentor. Paying Her Tribute during her visit to India in 1981 Dilip Kumar Said; Like one Sun and one Moon, there is only one Noor Jahan in this Universe. She received countless awards in recognition of her services to this country. After suffering from heart disease she passed away on 23 December 2000, the whole subcontinent mourned her demise. She has left this world two decades ago but is still alive in our hearts.
(-The writer is a Law Student and Columnist based in Sujawal )