Yogesh
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A brief biography
Avijit Ghosh, May 30, 2020: The Times of India
In 1970s India, middle-class love stories were like postcards of unrealised longings. Hindi film lyricist Yogesh always found the perfect word to express that hesitant inarticulate ardour in songs that still fill up retro music shows and comfort ailing hearts.
Yogesh’s lyrical Hindi songs uplifted middle-of-theroad cinema and became its enduring courier. “His poetry was easy flowing, literary and deep. He belonged to the lyrical school of Shailendra,” says music historian Pavan Jha.
“Kahin door jab din dhal jaaye” (Anand) is about the suitcase of memories that one can never leave behind. “Kai baar yun hi dekha hai” (Rajnigandha) is about the restless heart that runs after the unknown and the unnameable. “Na jaane kyun hota yeh zindagi ke saath” (Chhoti Si Baat) is about the realisation that love, like a song, can surreptitiously grow and colonize the heart. “Zindagi kaisi hai paheli hai” (Anand) is a philosophic ode to life, where joy and melancholy are inseparable twins.
Fellow lyricist Amit Khanna points out that Yogesh “was one of the few who chose to write primarily in Hindi at a time when a majority of lyricists were Urdu poets. The way he used the language showed his command over his craft.” He adds, “Lucknowborn, he carried grace in his personal life and poetry.”
In a career spanning over five decades, Yogesh Gaud wrote for over 50 films. “Unfortunately he did not get enough work to do justice to his talent,” says Khanna.
