Gopal Singh Nepali

Gopal Singh Nepali (Nepali: गोपाल सिँह नेपाली ) (1902–1963) was an eminent Bihari Indian poet of Hindi literature and a famous lyricist of Bollywood. His association with Bollywood spanned around two decades, beginning in 1944 and ended with his death in 1963. He was a poet of post-Chhayavaad period, and he wrote several collections of Hindi poems including "Umang" (published in 1933). He was also a journalist and edited at least four Hindi magazines, namely, Ratlam Times, Chitrapat, Sudha, and Yogi. He was born in Bettiah in the state of Bihar. Although he was of Nepali descent, he did not have much of his heritage. During Sino-Indian War of 1962, he wrote many patriotic songs and poems which include Savan, Kalpana, Neelima, Naveen Kalpana Karo,etc. He is also known for his seminal volume "The Newars: An Ethno-Sociological Study of a Himalayan Community" (1965), made into a book from his doctoral dissertation.

Lawsuit

Nakul Singh Nepali, son of Gopal Singh Nepali, has filed a suit at the Bombay High Court against the makers of Slumdog Millionaire, saying that Danny Boyle they wrongly credited poet Surdas for writing the song Darshan Do Ghanashyam. According to the suit, Nepali says his father, a poet, wrote the song.

Further reading

• Tikaram Upadhyaya. Gopal Singh Nepali (Nepali and Hindi poet), Sahitya Akademi, ISBN 978-81-7201-795-8