We hear the immortal numbers “Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon” and “Aao Bachhon Tumhe Dikhayen” at every patriotic and political function today. But few of us know about the man who penned them. Kavi Pradeep was not only a leading lyricist of his time, he created a distinct niche for himself in the patriotic/ deviotional/ inspirational music genre. He wrote over 1,700 songs over a span of five decades and even attracted the ire of the British government through his edgy poetry.

Born Ramchandra Dwivedi on 6 February, 1915, Pradeep graduated from Lucknow University and took to writing Hindi poetry at a fairly young age. He took up his pen name, was a regular at kavi sammelans, and was deeply influenced by the nationalist movements gripping Lucknow those days.