Gopaldas Neeraj dies at 93 in Delhi

Thursday turns out to be a black day in the arena of poetry as Gopaldas Neeraj, the celebrated Hindi poet and lyricist breathed his last at Delhi, AIIMS. He was 93.

Earlier on Monday, Neeraj was rushed to Agra from Aligarh following the complaint of a bad health. Later the poet was shifted to AIIMS after his condition deteriorated further. The legend, however, on Thursday left for his heavenly abode after a prolonged battle with illness. His family was by his side during his last hours at AIIMS.

Neeraj, who managed to win a million of hearts for his significant contribution in the Hindi Film Industry, was conferred with both Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan in 1991 and 2007 respectively.

Being touted as one of the high-class writers of Hindi literature, Neeraj pens many a song for Indian Cinema and earned reputations as a lyricist. Other honourable awards, he had in his kitty are, Yash Bharati, Filmfare Awards and many more. 

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Besides writing, he also excelled in teaching and served as a Professor of Hindi Literature in Dharma Samaj College, Aligarh. Born originally as Gopaldas Saxena, the noted poet wrote under his pseudonym Neeraj. Hailing from Uttar Pradesh's Puravali, the Kavi Sammelan poet was born on January 4, 1925.