May Allah bless Kasur, who was awarded the title of 'Malika Tarnam' at the age of 18.

 May Allah bless Kasur, who was awarded the title of 'Malika Tarnam' at the age of 18.

 

The emperor of Indian music, Mian Tansin, was one of Akbar the Great’s sons. It is said that the emperor had granted this great artist many estates in Kasur. Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan was also from the same city of Kasur, but it was also the city of Allah Wasai. That Allah Wasai who enchanted the world with her music in the coming years and became famous as the Queen of Singing Noor Jahan in the coming years.

There were days of playing, we used to do mischief with the girls, but they say that you can see it only in the feet of the doll, so something similar happened to Allah Wasai. When one of his aunts cried, he said to her brother, ‘She even cries in the tunes.’

It is said that during Allah Wasai’s childhood, he recited some Naats at a Sufi music event.

When the girl started singing Punjabi Kalam, the host of the event got up and placed his hand on the girl’s head and said, ‘The girl will touch the sky one day.’ At that time, it was just a dream, a thought, but in the years to come, this girl ruled not only music but also hearts.

This Allah Wasai was born on this very day, September 21, 1926, in Kasur, into a family of musicians.

When she grew up, the family moved to Calcutta to try their luck, which was the biggest center of filmmaking in undivided India at that time.

An interesting fact is that at that time, Punjabi films were also made in Calcutta. During this time, Allah Wasai Baby Noor Jahan became famous and she sang many famous songs, including ‘Langh Aa Ja Patan Chanan Da Ao Yaar, Langh Aa Ja’, but when things didn’t work out, she returned to Lahore. However, during her stay in Calcutta, ‘Baby Noor Jahan’ received training in Indian classical music, which is also reflected in her singing style.

There was magic in her voice, but to get a chance in films, it was also necessary to have acting skills.

Baby Noor Jahan had both these qualities, not only did she have a voice, but the beauty of her face would also attract the viewer.

Beginning of artistic life after partition:

When Dil Sukh Pancholi established a film studio in Lahore, filmmaking also started in this beautiful city. Hollywood actor and producer Aditya Pancholi is his nephew who is often in the headlines due to ‘negative news’. Before partition, Dil Sukh Pancholi had established a new studio named Pancholi Studios in Muslim Town on Ferozepur Road and was hopeful of returning, but he could never come across the border.

This story is repeated again, when it was about Baby Noor Jahan, Dil Sukh Pancholi made his second film ‘Gul Bakauli’ under his production house in 1939 and cast Baby Noor Jahan as a child artist who played the role of the younger sister of the lead character in the film.

The music director of the film was Master Ghulam Haider and the lyricist was Wali Sahib. This musician from Narowal was not only the godfather of Lata Mangeshkar, whom he gave a big break with the film ‘Majboor’, but he is also credited with introducing Shamshad Begum, Sudha Mahotra and Surendra Kaur to the music scene, while great artists like Madan Mohan had been his assistants among musicians. Masterji also played a very important role in advancing Noor Jahan’s career.

The song from this film ‘Shala Jawaaniyan Maane Akha Na Morrein Pee Lay…’ was a super hit. After this song, Allah Wasai’s fame spread across Punjab.

In an article for Urdu News, Mahmoodul Hassan writes about Amrita Pritam that ‘Amrita Pritam was living in Lahore at the time this song became a hit. He wrote that the song created a sensation and Noor Jahan's melodious and juicy voice surprised everyone.

 

 

The year 1942 holds great significance in Baby Noor Jahan's life because in this year she became Noor Jahan from 'Baby Noor Jahan'.

 

Dil Sukh Pancholi chose a new director, Shaukat Hussain Rizvi, for his film 'Khandan'. The story of the film was written by Imtiaz Ali Taj while the music was composed by Master Ghulam Haider. Most of the songs in the film were sung by Noor Jahan and some by Shamshad Begum.

He further writes that ‘Ijaz’s status was like that of a ‘unique darling’. Although Ijaz was Noor Jahan’s husband, Noor Jahan would pretend that he was her lover.

His daughter Hina says, ‘I have seen my mother as my father’s lover. We have seen that mother is ironing clothes for father herself, even wearing matching socks with pant coats. Father’s bath water is getting hot. Mother is taking pride in father. We sisters saw that whenever my mother comes in front of father, she becomes a sixteen-year-old girl.’

This relationship too was a victim of misunderstandings or in the words of the Queen of Tarnum, Ijaz (Durrani) did not treat her well.

For more than six decades, the Queen of Tarnum Noor Jahan continued to spread the magic of her melodies. He also sang many national songs, including,

‘Aye Patra Hattan Te Nayen Vakde’

or

‘Aye Watan Ke Sajile Jawano’

and

‘Rang Laaye Ga Shaheedun Ka Lahu’. These are the national anthems that still warm the blood of the nation. It would not be wrong to say that by singing national anthems, he introduced a new dimension of music that had passion, excitement and a new spirit.

In an article for the ‘Herald’, Aamir Hussain writes, ‘It was said that during the 1965 war, Noor Jehan would arrive with songs specially written for her by Sufi Tabassum and would insist on recording (the songs) for the soldiers of the land. She would compose the music while standing. Whether this story is true or not, these patriotic songs of hers proved to be the beginning of a new era for the Queen of Singing, Noor Jahan, and she influenced an entire generation of music listeners.

When Noor Jahan acted, she was considered the most successful actress of her era. When she sang, she was considered the most reliable reference for the music of the subcontinent and Pakistan and India.

The Queen of Singing sang Urdu and Punjabi songs with equal skill, her singing is diverse, classically melodious and soulful, imitating her is not difficult, it is impossible. Every song of hers is perfect.

According to the American broadcasting organization Voice of America, ‘The great singer of the subcontinent, Lata Mangeshkar, had admitted that ‘she had been trying to sing like Noor Jahan at the beginning of her career.’

 

According to this article, Lata ji had said that ‘she was influenced by Noor Jahan even before she started her career as a singer because her style was unique and secondly her voice was also perfect, while due to her training in classical music, she knew what had to be separated for singing in films.’

The last song of the country’s singer Noor Jahan was ‘Keih Dum Da Bharosa Yaar, Dum Aave Na Aave’. The Queen of Tarnum lived only three years after this song and passed away on December 23, 2000 in Karachi after a long illness, but her art lives on and will live forever, as she had said long ago through one of her songs, “The world will sing my songs” in a melodious voice, in a colorful tone. The Queen of Tarnum, Noor Jahan, is the most important reference in the film music tradition of the Indian and Pakistani subcontinent, who sang thousands of songs that the world still sings and hums.