Veteran lyricist Yogesh Gaur dies aged 77

Mumbai: Veteran lyricist Yogesh Gaur, who penned the famous ‘Kahin Door Jab Din Dhal Jaaye’ and Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli in Anand, passed away on Friday. He was 77.

Known by his first name in film circles, Yogesh was a prominent lyricist in ’70s Hindi cinema and gave some of his best songs in the middle-of-the-road films of Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee. Imbued with a sense of longing and nostalgia, his lyrics have survived the test of time by staying fresh in the memory of music lovers.

Some of his evergreen hits are ‘Badi Sooni Sooni Hai’, ‘Maine Kaha Phoolon Se’ from Mukherjee’s Mili; ‘Rajinigandha Phool Tumhare’, ‘Kai Baar Yunhi Dekha Hai’ from Rajinigandha and ‘Na Jaane Kyon Hota Hia Yeh Zindagi Ke Saath’ and the quirky ‘Jaaneman Jaaneman Tere Do Nayan’ from Ek Chhoti Si Baat.

Veteran playback singer Lata Mangeshkar expressed her grief over the death of Gaur. “I just got to know about the death of Yogesh Ji and I am deeply saddened. He wrote so many heart-warming songs. I have sung many songs written by him. He was a very calm and composed man. I pay my respects to him,” Mangeshkar wrote on Twitter.

Writer-lyricist Varun Grover said, “Alvida Yogesh saab. Writer of so many gems (‘Kahin Door Jab’, ‘Rimjim Gire Saawan’, ‘Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli’ et al) he always managed to find the sweet spot between simplicity and depth.”

Gaur was born in Lucknow and later he moved to Mumbai in search of work at the age of 16 through the help of a relative. His breakout film was Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anand.

His discography also includes songs such as ‘Rimjhim Gire Saawan’ from Manzil, ‘Badi Suni Suni Hai’ from Mili, ‘Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha’ from Baton Baton Mein, among many others.