NEW DELHI: Legendary poet and lyricist Gopaldas ‘Neeraj’ died on Thursday at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), days after he fell at his house in Agra and suffered a serious head injury.
He was 93 years old.Gopaldas was admitted to a hospital in Agra on Tuesday due to an infection in his lungs.He was moved to AIIMS in Delhi on Thursday after there was no improvement in his condition.He had kidney failure, infection all over his body and head injury.
The poet had also written songs for Bollywood films. He was awarded Padma Shri in 1991 and Padma Bhushan in 2007.
Gopaldas Saxena, he wrote under the pen name ‘Neeraj’ and became a popular figure in Hindi literature. He also was a professor and taught Hindi literature at Dharma Samaj College, Aligarh.
He has contributed many songs to the Hindi film industry and earned the reputation as a prominent songwriter.Born on January 4 ,1925 in Uttar Pradesh’s Etawah, Neeraj wrote several hit Bollywood songs in the 60s and 70s and was at the peak of his career when he gave it all up for a quiet life in Aligarh.
The poet had also written songs for Bollywood films. Neeraj had penned several hits such as ‘Ae Bhai Zara Dekh Ke Chalo’, ‘Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya’, ‘Dil Aaj Shayar Hai’, ‘Likhe Jo Khat Tujhe, among others.
