Kavi Shailendra : Zindagi Ki Jeet Mein Yakeen

Shailendra is not alone, and he is not the firstthere are countless folk poets like him who have been overlooked by scholars. Every era has neglected to acknowledge the simplicity and complexity of its folkloreand as time has passed, that color has deepened. Generation after generation has sought new meanings of life in his words. Shailendras songs, woven into our childhood hummings, remain companions to this day. Like the most captivating poetry from across the world, they paved an illuminated highway through the labyrinthine alleys of life. So simple and captivating that they wander freely onto our tongues, transforming step by step into a philosophy of life. We learned the name of the artist of the words of our innocent hummings years later, and in the very dawn of this acquaintance, that star fell. When Shailendra committed suicide, I was nineteen years old. Just a few months before, the only film Shailendra produced, Teesri Kasam, had been released. I dont know whether its true or false, but its said that Shailendra had a vision that he would receive the Presidents Gold Medaland he did, but Shailendra wasnt around to see that day. This book is a humble attempt to assess the multifaceted creative contribution of the peoples poet Shailendra.