I was almost twelve years old, when she passed away but even at that time, I was fully aware that the world had lost a legend – a giant among pygmies. Relatives, friends, family and teachers had talked about her enough for me to realise even as a child that I was immensely fortunate to have been born in the golden decade of Noor Jehan – the most sought after and revered musician of our times. Her style, fashion, talent, grace, and demeanour was known all over the world as unique and incomparable, thus she enjoyed an elevated stature and a fan following not many are known to have experienced throughout their careers. To have been born in a time when soft rock was a common genre, it is still a surprising factor that some of Noor Jehan’s tracks were the highlights of my childhood. Some of her songs like, “Babuji Dheere Chalna”, “Chaandni Raatein”, “Sonay Di Tavitri” and then a long list of patriotic songs simply blew one away. Noor Jehan was awarded the Pakistan President’s Award in 1965 for her acting and singing capabilities, especially for passionately singing patriotic songs during the 1965 war. Her voice, coupled with a beautiful persona, was a lethal combination that immediately propelled the singer towards fame. As the clock hit the midnight hour, Google honoured the late singer with a doodle that envisaged her persona completely. Styled in her usual manner with a neat up do – strands of her hair falling right above her ears, the singer could be seen clad in a mauve outfit with rosy cheeks and thick mascara – and who could forget that matching choker on her neck and a coral rose in her bun? Noor Jehan’s 91st birth anniversary was celebrated and remembered with full fervour. The late singer and actress might have recorded over 18,000 songs, sung in a number of languages like Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and even in Persian but it were her tracks in Urdu and Punjabi mainly that reached out to masses not just in Pakistan, but all over the world.The conviction in her voice was enough to shake you to the core and unconditionally bring tears to your eyes every time she sung a patriotic track – such was her impact. I might have known her in her lifetime for roughly a decade, but her legendary career spanned over more than six decades, right from the 1930s to the 1990s. She was renowned as one of the greatest and most influential singers of all time and was given the honourable title of Malika-e-Tarannum meaning the ‘Queen of Melody.’ She had a great command over Indian classical music as well as other genres of music. She holds the record for having given voice to the largest number of film songs in the history of Pakistani cinema. She holds the honour of being the first female Pakistani film director. Moreover, Noor Jehan also received some of the highest Pakistani civilian awards like Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Medal of Excellence) and Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence). She received the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ twice, once in her lifetime and once after her death. It’s been almost 17 years that Noor Jehan passed away, but she is alive today in our thoughts, memories, her songs and the legacy she left behind.