Mumbai, August 29: Life’s challenges often bring new opportunities. This is the story of Shankardas Kesrilal Shailendra, a prominent and beloved Hindi-Urdu poet, lyricist, and filmmaker.
Shailendra was born on August 30, 1923, in Rawalpindi, now in Pakistan. His family originally hailed from Ara in Bihar. Due to financial difficulties, they later moved from Rawalpindi to Mathura, where he completed his education. Tragedy struck Shailendra at a young age when he lost both his sister and mother. Despite these hardships, he developed a passion for writing poetry, often spending hours crafting verses.
After his studies, Shailendra moved to Mumbai in 1947 and began working as an apprentice at the Matunga Workshop of the Indian Railways. Even during this time, he continued to write poetry. Whenever he found spare moments, he would compose poems and present them at conferences, events, and mushairas. One day, during a performance, he met Raj Kapoor while reciting his poem “Jalta Hai Punjab.” Kapoor was so impressed that he offered to buy the poem for his film “Aag” (1948), but Shailendra declined the offer.
However, after his wife became pregnant, Shailendra faced a significant financial crisis. To overcome this challenge, he reached out to Raj Kapoor, who was then shooting for his upcoming film “Barsaat” (1949), which still needed two songs. After their discussion, Kapoor commissioned Shailendra to write the songs for 500 rupees, including “Patli Kamar Hai” and “Barsaat Mein.” The music for “Barsaat” was composed by Shankar-Jaikishan, marking the beginning of Shailendra’s historic transition from poet to lyricist.
Following this, the trio of Raj Kapoor, Shailendra, and Shankar-Jaikishan delivered numerous hit songs to Hindi cinema. The song “Aawara Hoon” from the 1951 film “Aawara” became an international sensation. Shailendra penned lyrics for most of Raj Kapoor’s films, including the 1955 release “Shree 420,” which featured songs that remain popular today.
Shailendra is remembered as one of the most beloved lyricists and folk poets of his time. He skillfully wove life events and human emotions into timeless songs using simple Hindi and Urdu. Throughout his career, he composed countless immortal songs for hundreds of films.
In addition to poetry and lyrics, he produced the acclaimed classic film “Teesri Kasam” (1966), based on a story by Phanishwar Nath Renu, which later won a National Award. Shailendra passed away on December 14, 1966, at the young age of 43 in Mumbai, but his works have immortalized him forever.
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D.K./ABM
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