NEW DELHI: One of the most endeared, envied and respected poets of India, Gopal Das Neeraj was felicitated by Samachar4Media.com and Impresario Asia on Thursday at the India International Center where he launched a documentary on his life produced by well know documentary-maker, Aftab Afridi.

Afridi, who has had a long association with the film industry icons like Mani Kaul says it took him almost two years to complete the documentary titled "Ek Kavi Hai Mast Faqeer" that shows how Neeraj kept on turning his struggles in life into challenges and never looked back.  The film vividly shows his skills through his poems and highlights his activities as a social worker, humanist, poet and as a song writer through the interviews with renowned personalities.

Gopal Das Neeraj, born in 1924, is one of the best-known poets of Hindi literature. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his achievements in 2007.
His work is popular because he writes in a manner that touches the heart and in a language easy to understand. At the same time, the lyrical quality of his verse is impeccable and he has made a sizable contribution to Hindi literature. Many of his lyrics have been used by Bollywood's popular music directors. Some of the immortal songs written by him are: "Shokhion mein ghola jaye phoolon ka shabab.," "Phoolon ke rang se, "Caravan guzar gaya.," and "Ae bhai zara dekh ke chalo." His songs have shaped the lives of a whole generation of music lovers and film buffs.

Among the famous personalities who also spoke in honour of the poet were:
well-known author/critic Sherjang Garg, senior poet Uday Pratap Singh, famous songwriter Bal Swarup Rahi and Lokmat CEO Jwalant Swaroop.

In the words of Neeraj himself, "We have forgotten the art of conversation with the self, of introspection, of romanticism. Where is the melody, the rhythm of life, the song of the birds, the strength of the roots?"