Baig, also commonly spelled Beg or Begg, (Persian بیگ, Turkish Beg/Bey) was a title of Turko-Persian Origin, which is today used as a surname or middle name to identify lineage. It means Cheif or Commander and is common in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iran, Central Asia and Eastern Europe (former Yugoslav) and among their respective diaspora. The spellings Beg, Bey, Bek (Turkish), Begovic (Bosnian), Begovich (Slavic), Begzada, Begzadi (Persian) and Bik (Western China) are also found.
The name Baig originates from a Turkic-Mongal clan called Barlas (the main tribe of the Timurids). The Barlas tribe and their descendants established Turko-Persian empires in Central Asia, Eastern Europe, Middle East and later South Asia.
The name Baig is derived from the Turkic word Beg or Bey, which means commander or chief (i.e. military leader.) Baig/Beg was a title given to honorary members of the Barlas clan, and was subsequently used as the family name for their children. The name is most common among the descendants of the Moghal Dynasty of South Asia. The members of the Moghal Dynasty belonged to the Barlas clan and "Baigs" were high ranking military leaders and advisors to the Moghal Royal Families. They were also granted the Princely title of Mirza, to signify their high ranking among the aristocracy and ruling-class. Baigs occupied the upper echelons of society in the conquered parts of South Asia.
Nisar Bazmi (Urdu: نثار بازمی ; December 1, 1924 - March 22, 2007) was a composer and music director of Pakistan film industry. Bazmi remained one of the most famous musicians of subcontinent. He also introduced new singers like Alamgir. The duo of composers Laxmikant-Pyarelal were musicians with Bazmi in India before partition. However, he is primarily remembered for his compositions in the voice of playback singer Ahmed Rushdi.
Syed Nisar Ahmed, was the son of Syed Qudrat Ali. He was born in 1924 in Khandesh, Naseerabad, Bombay, India. He did not belong to an artistic family. Hence he possessed no prior musical background. Prominent Indian musician of Bombay, Khan Saheb Aman Ali Khan was convinced by Nisar Bazmi's musical interest and taught him music. Equipped with artistic know-how, young Nisar Bazmi, who was just 13 at the time, quickly mastered the various ragas, the musical instruments. In 1939, the "All India Radio" hired him as an artist. In 1944, he composed some songs for a drama, "Nadir Shah Durrani", which was broadcast from the Bombay Radio Station.
Nazia Hassan (Urdu: نازیہ حسن) (April 3, 1965 – August 13, 2000) was an iconic Pakistani pop singer. Her song "Aap Jaisa Koi" from the Indian film Qurbani (1980) made her a legend and pop icon in Pakistan and all of South Asia in the 1980s, where she is admired and loved even today, years after her death. Her debut album Disco Deewane (1981) also charted in fourteen countries worldwide and became the best-selling Asian pop record up until that time. Nazia Hassan, along with her brother Zohaib Hassan, went on to sell over 60 million records worldwide.
Nazia was the first Pakistani to win a Filmfare Award and remains the youngest winner of a Filmfare Award in the category of Best Female Playback Singer to date. She was 15.
Nazia Hassan was born in Karachi, Pakistan and from an early age showed interest in music. Nazia began singing during the late 1970s, when she appeared on several television shows on PTV as a child artist. Her professional career started at the age of fifteen when she provided the lead vocals for the song Aap Jaisa Koi from the 1980 film Qurbani. Nazia met the film's director Feroz Khan at a party in the United Kingdom. Khan later requested Hassan have an audition with Biddu, a London-based Indian music composer. Biddu then signed her up for Aap Jaisa Koi, the song he composed for Qurbani.