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Indian musician and renowned 'Sufi' Inayat Khan, travelled to the United States to give a concert for the distinguished family of Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science movement. In the audience was Mary’s niece, Ora Ray Baker, a young, blonde girl with blue eyes.
Ora Ray instantly fell in love with Inayat. At the time it was socially unacceptable for an Indian man to marry an American girl, so Inayat left America and went to Europe. But Ora Ray was not to be deterred. She reputedly bought a ticket and boarded a ship to England, where she tracked him down and knocked on his door with the words: 'Here I am!'
There was no going back for the young Ora Ray. Her wealthy family reacted with disgust, disinheriting her. Undeterred, she and Inayat married in London on 20 March 1913 and Ora Ray became known as 'The Begum' Inayat Khan.
When Inayat passed away in India in 1927, his widow never recovered from her grief. She became a virtual recluse, locking herself away in her room. From this point on, at the age of just 13, Noor was forced to take on the role of substitute mother to her three siblings.
Noor and her mother had an exceptionally close bond and when Noor left for France in 1943, she worried less about her own safety than about her mother's peace of mind. 'The Begum' Inayat Khan passed away just days after the official citation for her daughter’s posthumous George Cross was published.
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