NIGHTINGALE OF EAST - life of NAZIA HASSAN!

“ Some tunes never fade away... “ This is the third article of mine under the series of “Creative Tragedies”, which highlights the life of Artists who died in pain and vain at an early age! First one was on the life of artist “Vincent Van Gogh”, second on Janis Joplin and now Nazia Hassan(April,3,1965-August,13,2000), an iconic Pakistani Pop singer. Known by many for Her song "Aap Jaisa Koi" from the film Qurbani that made her a legend and pop icon in India in the 80s where she is admired and loved even today, several years after her death. Born in Karachi, Nazia's professional career started at the age of fifteen with Indian producer-director Feroz Khan! The song was a huge success in India and despite Nazia being a Pakistani, she gained overnight fame here!

ON TOP OF CHARTS AND HEARTS!

POPULAR TRACKS AND MUSICAL MEMORIES - She collaborated with Biddu, a UK-based Indian music producer who was also the composer of Aap Jaisa Koi, on numerous other projects.

In 1981, Biddu released Nazia's first mega-hit, Disco Deewane. The album broke record sales in Pakistan and India and even topped the charts in the West Indies, Latin America and Russia. Her later albums also had vocals of her brother, Zoheb Hassan. These included Star/Boom Boom(1982), Young Tarang (1984), Hotline(1987), and Camera Camera (1992).

LEGACY OF SUCCESS - Pakistan's vibrant contemporary music scene owes itself to Nazia Hassan's redefinition of pop.

Nazia also had a seismic impact in India. India Today magazine voted her as one of the 50 people who helped change the face of India. She has contributed to the development of the present isomorphism of Bollywood music and pop: “She set - well ahead of its time - the personal album trend in India”, spawning the likes of Alisha Chinai,Lucky Ali and Shweta Shetty!

such was Nazia’s success that in Bollywood there is an intriguing story stating that she outdid both in terms of sales and popularity the Indian playback singer, Lata, Mangeshkar. ” Lata's biographer Raju Bharatan poses the following question: “Were there, then, no serious challenges to Lata Mangeshkar in her long singing career?” The answer surprises: “…there was a happening in Lata's life and times that made a mere teenager a near despair for her. That teenybopper was Nazia Hasan.” He continues, “Lata’s film Aasha…just could not catch up with Nazia's Aap jaisa koi for 14 weeks running, hard as it tried! The year 1980 in Hindi film music thus belonged to a UK based Pakistani singer – a slip of a girl who came to India via England to capture subcontinental hearts. There was no way even the velvet voice of Lata could scale down Nazia during that spell.”

Biddu composed a song titled "Made in India" and wanted Nazia to provide lead vocals for it. However, Nazia turned the offer down. She told song-writer and music director Biddu that she could not bring herself to sing something that was likely to offend both Pakistanis and Indians. Despite Nazia being a Pakistani, she was able to gain immense popularity in India too and was also a recipient of the prestigious Filmfare Award!

The song was eventually offered to Indian singer Alisha Chinai The song was a huge success and is considered to mark the beginning of the era of Indipop.

NAZIA HASSAN FOUNDATION and HER WORK FOR HUMANITY -

Besides music, Nazia has the honour of starting a noble trend of working for the under privileged and poor. All their money earned from music was spent for charity. Nazia supported the “Inner Wheel Club” of India to help with funds for them. In Pakistan, an organization “BAN” for fighting against the curse of narcotics was established. She belonged to many charity organizations and worked with her mother Muniza Basir in the low income areas of Karachi to help the needy and sick.

She went to a very large number of schools to collect toys for the poor children and gave talks on the subject of social awareness for the under privileged. Nazia never forgot the love and support of all the schools and always spoke with great affection for them

She completed her education in the UK, got a law degree and then worked in the United Nations in the Security Council. Nazia continued her social work even in New York and worked for children from the UN platform.

She is known to be the "Sweetheart of Pakistan" and "The Nightingale of East". Nazia Hassan is still the symbol of grace, sacred beauty and innocence and is frequently compared to Princess Diana as she was known to possess a heart of gold

THE SAD AGONIES OF HER LIFE -

She got married in 1995 and started a new life. Her Family, friends and fans wished her the best of luck; she received nothing except sadness. Barely one month after her first (and only) child, Araiz, was born, her in-laws threw her out of the house. After that, it was a tough phase, on the path of destruction, carefully constructed by her in-laws, especially her husband, industrialist Ishtiaq Baig. One by one, every secret was revealed to Nazia including his extra-marital affairs (especially the one said to be with actress Zeba Bakhtiar), his immoral acts.

Bearing mental torture is hard enough, but dealing with disease as well makes every moment of life a living hell, and that’s precisely what her life was like when suffering from cancer twice which eventually took her life. At that time, she complained that her husband did nothing for her. Let alone standing by her side, he didn’t even pay for her treatment. She filed a case in a Pakistani civil court and refused to die as his wife!

THE Nightingale WILL NEVER DIE IN OUR MEMORIES -

She had a style of her own that was unique in all sense! Toe-tapping beats, quality Music and catchy lyrics. each song went on to make history. She had been honored with the Highest Civilian Award of Pakistan! Each song cast a magical spell, never to be broken. Popular around the world for angelic smile of hers, full of contentment and satisfaction, She had always been Quoted as Woman of Pakistan. she walked all the steps, which had been ordained for her by an authority, which is greater than any human agency" God Almighty had showered Nazia with all the bounties, except length of age. Queen of Pop Nazia Hasan is remembered today with a vengeance that is far greater than the music she made. Nightingale from Pakistan!

That distinct stretch of vocal nodes, her soul involving slow notes and everything related to her sense of music was a challenge to the definitions of a Muslim eastern girl that everyone around the world have framed in their mind! I had decided to write an article on her about two weeks back but was not just getting the desired kick to do that! It was when I saw a heart sobbing visual on a Hindi news channel where a pashtun girl was spanked brutally by a Tabilani extremist in north province of Pakistan for an offense of meeting a stranger(a person not belonging to her household),It was then I thought its the right time to share the story of this boldly talented girl! This article is dedicated to thousands of womens and children of Pakistan and Afghanistan who are suffering continuously while dealing with conservative social extremism! I believe that within each one of them lies a flame similar to the voice of Nazia, that wants to be acknowledged and heard!

(WITH REFERENCES FROM nazia hassan info @ wikipedia,nazia hassan foundation's official website,following articles on nazia :- A, B)