Celebrating Lyrics

Quick! Name 5 lyricist from Bollywood. Go on ... I can hear you ... Gulzar, one. Javed Akhtar, two. Very good. Go on ... Hmmm. I see you are struggling. Oh ... oh ... Anand Bakshi, ..., yes ... this is so difficult. And yet the songs that you have appreciated over the years are so much about lyrics. As are all songs. A pity that lyricists are a neglected tribe.

One name we tend to overlook is that of Neeraj. He is essentially a poet. His poetry has been translated into many languages. And yet, unless you are a cognoscenti, chances are that you would not have heard of him. Though I bet you listen to one song of his and you will recognize the song straight away.

Here's a compilation of 17 of his songs => Neeraj: The Poet Who Strayed Into Hindi Cinema. Each better that the other.
Check out Devanand humming ...

Saason ki sargam, dhakan ki beena, sapnon ki geetanjali tu;
Mann ki gali mein mehke jo hardum aisi juhi ki kali tu.

I wonder if Juhi Chawla's mother was inspired by this song.