The 23rd death anniversary of Malika-e-Tarannum Noor Jehan was observed on Saturday. Her real name was Allah Wasai. Born in Kasur in 1926, in a family of musicians, Noor Jehan started her musical career in Calcutta at the age of nine as a singer-child star.
She was renowned as one of the greatest and most influential singers of her time in South Asia and was given the honorific title of Malika-e-Tarannum. Noor Jehan ruled the film industry for more than 35 years and recorded about 10‚000 songs in various languages including Urdu‚ Punjabi and Sindhi.
Noor Jahan was the voice that injected spirit into the Pakistan Army and the public during the 1965 war with India.
In 1957‚ Noor Jahan was awarded the President’s Award for her acting and singing capabilities.
She also earned the Special Nigar Award, Pride of Performance, Life Time Achievement Award, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, PTV Life Time Achievement Award, and Millennium Award. She passed away on this day in 2000 due to cardiac arrest and was buried in Karachi.