Gopaldas Saxena (known by his nom-de-plume, Neeraj; 4 January 1925 – 19 July 2018) was an Indian poet and author of Hindi literature. He was also a poet of Hindi Kavi sammelan (Poets Meet). He wrote under the pen name "Neeraj".
Biography Gopaldas Saxena was born on 4 January 1925 in the village of Puravali, near Mahewa in Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India. Besides writing, he earned his living teaching in a college and was a professor of Hindi Literature in Dharma Samaj College, Aligarh.
Several poems and songs written by Neeraj have been used in Hindi movies. He wrote songs for several Hindi films and was proficient in both Hindi and Urdu. In a television interview, Neeraj called himself an unlucky poet who had to concentrate on the poetry form instead of writing songs for films. His career as a film lyricist ended when he became depressed by the deaths of some of the film music directors with whom he had worked. He noted in particular the deaths of Jaikishan of the music duo Shankar–Jaikishan, and S. D. Burman, for both of whom he had written highly popular film songs.
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991 and Padma Bhushan in 2007.
His poems collection is named as Kavyanjali, which was published in 2014.
Neeraj died, aged 93, on 19 July 2018 in New Delhi. He had been admitted to hospital with a lung infection.
Filmography Some of the popular film songs written by Neeraj include: +SongFilmSubah na aai sham na aaiCha Cha ChaSapne jhare phool seNai Umar Ki Nai FasalLikhe jo khat tujheKanyadaanKaal ka paahiya ghoome bhaiyaChanda Aur BijliAe bhai zara dekh ke chaloMera Naam JokerKehta hai joker sara zamanaAap yahan aaye kis liyeKal Aaj Aur KalPhoolon ke rang sePrem PujaariRangila re tere rang meKhilte hai gul yahanSharmileeMegha chhaye aadhi raatAaj madhosh hua jaaye reKaise kahe humDil aaj shayar haiGamblerMera man tera pyaasaChudi nahin ye mera dil haiRe mann sur mein gaLal PaththarJeevan ki baagiyanTere Mere SapneJaise Radha ne mala japiEk maine kasam li, ek tune kasam liJhoom ke ga yun aaj mere dilPatangaTum kitni khubsoorat hoJangal Mein MangalEk musafir hoon main, ek musafir hai tuGunaah (1993)
References
External links
Get All Poems of Gopaldas Neeraj at Hindi Sahitya गोपाल दस नीरज- कविताकोश Gopaldas Neeraj at Kavita Kosh C.M. announces Rs. 20 lakh assistance for Gopaldas Neeraj Foundation International Hindi association features Gopaldas Neeraj Life and work of Neeraj भारतीय साहित्य संग्रह में नीरज की कृतियाँ An account from the Atlanta appearance by the poet Neeraj which took place in October 2004