MUMBAI: Renowned Qawwali singer Noor Jehan Begum Jaipuri passed away on 16 January in Vadodara. The 90-year old singer suffered a heart attack.
Born in Jaipur, Noor Jehan was one of the oldest exponents of Agra Gharana. She started singing at a very young age and was a gifted singer of Thumri, Dadra, Khayaal, Hamas, folk music and qawwali. Despite being a popular singer, Begum had been living in obscurity and adversity for the last two decades in Fatehpura area of the city. Her two daughters, Shehmida and Shahida, are also classical singers while Begum’s son Hamid is a musician and a poet.
Noor Jehan Begum was a disciple of Abdul Qadar Khan Sahab from Jaipur. Khan Sahab was a disciple of Ustaad Faiyaz Khan, a legendary singer from the city. In the 1940s, she first came to Junagadh, where her sisters were court singers. It was only after Independence that she moved to the city.