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#Noorjehan who belongs to both countries, it is her birthday today. She would have been 94.
There's an emotional story of how she and Lata Mangeshkar once met in No Man's Land in 1951.
But first watch Lata learn how to enunciate 'mohabbat' from NJ.
There's an emotional story of how she and Lata Mangeshkar once met in No Man's Land in 1951.
But first watch Lata learn how to enunciate 'mohabbat' from NJ.
In 1951, Lata was in Amritsar, and felt a sudden urge to meet her idol Noor Jehan. Madam NJ had migrated across after Partition.
Music composer C Ramachandra made calls and arranged for the singers to meet in the no man's land area, where music is porous.
Music composer C Ramachandra made calls and arranged for the singers to meet in the no man's land area, where music is porous.
They hugged, they wept, they sat down in the open field and exchanged songs and sweets. It was like sisters reuniting. The promised to visit each other more often.
That promise was delayed by a few decades when NJ came to Bombay for a concert in 1982.
The two singers met again...as NJ sang the Faiz nazm - Mujh se pehli si mohabbat mere mehboob na maang.
That word 'mohabbat' which Lata had learnt from NJ.
The two singers met again...as NJ sang the Faiz nazm - Mujh se pehli si mohabbat mere mehboob na maang.
That word 'mohabbat' which Lata had learnt from NJ.
And this is how NJ came to own the word 'mohabbat', the nazm, the song that Faiz said no longer belonged to him but her. https://scroll.in/reel/927/how-noor-jehan-took-mujh-se-pehli-si-mohabbat-mere-mehboob-na-maang-away-from-poet-faiz-ahmed-faiz
In the same year as the NJ concert (1982), Lata sang a beautiful melody, where her enunciation of 'mohabbat' is pitch-perfect. Perhaps, 'mohabbat' is their code word. 
