Noor Jahan

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Noor Jahan Biography

Birth name Allah Wasai
Born September 21, 1926(1926-09-21)
Origin Kot Murad Khan, Kasur, Punjab, British India
Died December 23, 2000 (aged 74); Karachi, Sind, Pakistan
Genre(s) Qawwali, Indian music, Pakistani music
Occupation(s) film director, film actress, singer, music composer
Years active 1930–1996

On the dark night of Tuesday, September 21, 1926, in a small house of poor musicians, at Kot Murad Khan in the sleepy town of Kasur, in rural, undivided Punjab, a newborn baby girl was crying. When the child was born, her father's sister on hearing her wail, said to her brother "This one even wails in accordance with the scale". She was named Allah Wasai. This girl's voice was destined to be heard beyond the four walls of the humble dwelling in years to come. Her parents were professional musicians and genealogists working for local landowning families, performing at life cycle events. The family also performed at the local theatre and at seasonal fairs. Her father was Madad Ali and her mother was Fateh Bibi and she was the youngest child of her parents in a family of thirteen. Noor Jehan had six brothers - Mian Nawab Din, Gul Muhammad ("Gulloo"), Muhammad Hussain, Muhammad Shafi, Siddique, and Inayat Hussain. Noor Jehan had six sisters - Eidan Bai, Haider Baandi, Gulzar Begum (or Bibi Gulzar), Ameena Begum, Baharo, and Undam Begum ("Umda" or "Machine"). Sadly, three of her brothers ended up in mental institutions.
From an early age, she displayed signs of having a melodious voice, which became more apparent by the time she was four or five years old. She could pick up just about anything - be it a folk song or a popular number from a theatrical drama - she could imitate it to perfection. Realizing her immense talent, her mother began to believe that her daughter had something exceptional to give to the world. So, the family moved to Lahore, where Noor Jehan's sisters, Eidan Bai and Haider Bandi, began their stage careers. Her mother arranged for her to begin her training in singing and dancing. She received early music lessons under Kajjanbai (a singer between 1920 and 1930) who made her do "riyaz" up to 12 hours a day.
After her morning "riyaz", a teacher would come and teach her to read and write. She received early training in classical singing under Ustad Ghulam Mohammed who instructed her in classical music and voice production within the framework of classical forms of thumri, dhrupad, and khayal. From Lahore, the family moved to Calcutta, in hopes that Eidan Bai and Haider Bandi would break into films. However, this did not happen, yet they continued their stage careers. In around 1930, Noor Jehan won a part in a silent feature film called Hind ke Tare (1930), produced by Indian Pictures. Thereafter, the family moved to Bombay where she acted in 11 silent films in 1931, launching herself as a prominent child star of the 1930s in both silent and soon sound films. Her first talkie feature film was Sassi Punnu, released in 1932. She joined Kohinoor United Artists and appeared in some of their films. Later, she was employed by Seven United Artists and played the lead in some of their films opposite Khalil. She took up singing at six years of age and began making stage appearances with her elder sisters for rural theatre companies called the Taka Theatre. Later, she joined Sharda Film Co. and played important roles in several of their films. She did not sing original songs but the famous hits of the day. She then went to Lahore with her sisters and took part in zinda nach gana (live song and dance) which usually preceded the actual film show. She was only nine years old when the great Punjabi musician, G. A. Chisti, introduced her to the stage in Lahore. He composed some ghazals, naats and some folksongs for her and she was paid 7.5 annas for each song. She also received some classical music lessons under Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. The sisters then proceeded to Calcutta. During their stay in Calcutta, Mukhtar Begum, the sisters' ideal and a famous singing star in the 1930s, encouraged the three sisters and recommended them to various producers. She also recommended them to her husband, Urdu drama writer, Agha Hashar Kashmiri's Maidan Theatre, where Noor Jehan received the stage name Baby Noor Jehan. In later life, Noor Jehan adopted Mukhtar Begum's style of performing and wearing of a sari. The sisters were offered permanent jobs with one of the Seth Sukh Karnani Companies, Indira Movietone. Their popularity grew as they became known as Punjab Mail.

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