Madame Noor Jehan and Urdu’s Best Song Ever

This is a small attempt by this writer to pay tribute to the other legend of Pakistani music. I for one am glad that at this time, Madam Noor Jehan is very much alive and hopefully as last reported, recovering at a hospital in the United States. What we heard last was that Madam had a pacemaker installed to help with a serious heart ailment at a hospital in this country.

Then I read through the Pakistani-American electronic media that
some people were trying to find out where Madam was being treated so that
they could send her flowers, their prayers and best wishes. Unfortunately
I will not be able to reveal where the Malikah-e-Tarannum (Melody Queen) is
resting because I have heard that she is on her way back to Pakistan. But it is my sincere wish that this article will somehow make it to her or her family. Pakistanis worldwide and their Indian counterparts will I am sure want to
wish Madam well and we collectively hope that she will be back with us soon (Inshallah).

And in the process of paying this tribute to a living legend of our culture, there will be some mystery and controversy to go along with it. Especially because, in paying tribute to Madam
Noor Jehan, I will be revealing what I consider to be the greatest song ever sung in the Urdu language. And that is a tall claim indeed.


A friend who has been promoting exclusively Pakistani entertainment in the United States for quite a long time told
this reporter that there were two vocalists
from Pakistan who could not possibly do an unprofitable show in Northern California. One was the late Ustad
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (now the legend) and the other was his "elder sister" Madam Noor Jehan. Madam, who was
always conscious of her stature in the music of South Asia, referred to Nusrat as her "little brother" and was
saddened a great deal like the rest of Pakistan on his loss. It is reported that she told her daughter Zil-e-Huma to
cancel her scheduled performance in London on hearing of the late young Ustad's death. "Such artistes are born in
centuries" she has been reported to have said.

Madam Noor Jehan is often compared to Lata Mangeshkar, the living legend
of India who is scheduled to tour the United States and perform two concerts in California during early October.
Indeed since both had been singing for over 50
years and have commanded a following of millions, it is only natural that such
comparisons are made. But since Madam is from "our side of the border" she
gets the edge in my book. Lata Ji is incredible but her work is not ingrained
in Pakistan's history. So a new concept of "Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya" emerges
as nationality provides the edge in the comparison of South Asia's two female musical titans who have developed a
great deal of respect for each other (as one wishes that their respective countries would do the same).

Madam Noor Jehan was born in or around the town of Kasur in Punjab (pre-partition British India). The year could
be anywhere from 1922 to 1929, only her family really knows but her birthday is rumored to be September 21 or
23. So Madam is being sent birthday wishes too within this article.

One can only hazard a guess as to her debut as a
child actress in the Indian movie industry in the 1930's. Ustad Ghulam Mohammed Khan was one of her earliest
music teachers. Noor Jehan had both the looks and the voice to impress the audience, as her part in Gul-e-Bakhavli
(in Punjabi) got her noticed at the closing of the 1930's. She married Director Shaukat Hussain around 1942 whose
movie Khandaan in which she acted, was a hit. Nadaan (in 1945?) was also well received along with Bari Maa
which contained a great musical score. Her first Bombay movie was the hit Duhai followed by Naukar based on a
story by Saadat Hasan Manto, one of the pioneers of Urdu short stories.

But it was the 1946 Mehboob Khan movie
Anmol Ghari (Priceless moment) that people still talk about to this day that
really launched Noor Jehan the actress and which people consider her best acting effort. That and Jugnu (1947)
which featured a little known actor by the name of Yusuf Khan and an aspiring singer named Rafi (the rest as they
say is history) were her greatest movie hits. Dupatta (1952) was one of her noteworthy movies after her move to
Pakistan, along with Qaidi, Intezaar, Anarkali and Koel to name a few.

But it was not in acting that Noor Jehan
would find real fame. Her singing abilities remained unparalleled and possibly still do. There are also very few competitors to Madam Noor Jehan's reign as the female ruler of Punjabi geets. Who amongst us can forget "Sayonee Mera Mahi" as an example of this voice? Her appeal in
that language crosses continents. Who can
forget "Sannu Neher waalay Pul Te Bula Kay" which to this day is having an impact as far away as the US where it has paved the way for the unusual act of Ms Janice Miller, a former California Gal and now Texas resident who uses
this as her signature song? I wonder if Ms Miller knows about the history of one
of the greatest singing voices South Asia has ever produced. Madam Noor Jehan remains the queen of songs in not
one but two languages.

From Punjabi we get back to Urdu here since that is where her comparison to Lata Ji comes in. Even Asha Bhosle in recognition of the works of Madam paid her a tribute with an album in the 1980's called Kashish in which she sang the Melody Queen's originals. That is the stature of the artist we are discussing here.

As we turn to the history of this scribe and his generation and Pakistan, is there anyone who can think about the 1965 war and not Madam's songs of inspiration?
And ever since Pakistanis can remember, from 1947 to almost 1980, who can forget the movie acting of Zeba,
Deeba, Shamim Ara and Rani to name a few as they moved their lips to Madam's songs. Those were better days of
Pakistan that are to this day cherished memories of ours. Also Mehdi Hassan and Ahmed Rushdie singing behind the
scenes for actors Mohammad Ali (hopefully recovering well from his heart surgery in Washington) and the late
Waheed Murad.

The years have passed, our country of origin has changed, but we remain nostalgic even as we
make our homes in far away lands. And the voice of Madam Noor Jehan still follows us with audio cassettes and
now CD's.

And now let us move to the controversy of the best urdu song ever sung and the conclusion. Yes, there are biases
and tastes involved and those of this writer are being inducted here. The mystery is that "Nigaahein Mila kar Badal
Jaane wale" is not the one. Neither is "Hum sey badal giya koi". "Chalo accha hua tum bhool gaye" also comes to mind
as does "Dil ka Diya Jalaya". These are all excellent but still not the greatest song ever sung in the Urdu language.

That
spot is reserved in my judgement for the words of Faiz Ahmad Faiz and the voice of Madam Noor Jehan. The song
is "Mujh se Pehli Si Mohabbat Mere Mehboob na Maang". And to this day, whenever I listen to the anything
originating from South Asia this is the standard to which they are measured.

And Madam I, and surely many people
of Pakistan and South Asia wish you well today and hope for your recovery. We sincerely hope that you will get our
message. Because Pakistan and it's Urdu and Punjabi songs by Madam Noor Jehan are inseparable. And for your
contribution to our musical lives we can only express our thanks. Shukria Madam, for the best of the best.