His words married the simple with the profound like no other lyricist in Hindi cinema. Shailendra , who passed away exactly 50 years ago, wrote songs that became a defining and enduring feature of the Indian identity abroad (Awara Hoon) and penned the timeless anthem Mera Joota Hai Japani that has found space even in Hollywood's whipsmart 2016 blockbuster 'Deadpool'.His best-known songs came in films such as Barsaat, Awara, Shree 420, Anari, Junglee, Guide, Madhumati and Teesri Kasam. Popular songwriters of Hindi cinema spanning different generations admit that he was the lyricist that aspiring lyricists wanted to be.Songwriter Dev Kohli, who wrote for films like Lal Pathar Maine Pyaar Kiya and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman , describes his poetry as saral (simple) and sahaj (natural). “Like the dohas (couplet) that Kabir wrote, he could encapsulate a world in a few words,“ says Kohli.Yogesh, who wrote songs in Anand and Rajnigandha, adds: “He had the matchless ability to convey complex philosophical ideas in a song that everyone could understand.“The beauty of his writing, says lyricist Raj Shekhar, lies in the way one can unpeel fresh layers of meaning after every listening. “I have heard his songs since childhood. But he began to have more effect on me after I started writing.Shabdon ka ek aadambar hota hai, jisme log phans jaate hain, (Words can be pompous. People get trapped in them). Shailendra inspires and challenges you to break free from this show of words and get into the real spirit of a song. With lyrics like Kisi ki muskurahaton pe ho nisar ­ he challenges you to write something equally meaningful in such simple words,“ says Raj Shekhar, who wrote the nuanced love lyrics of Tanu Weds Manu.In an era when polished, high-falutin words were inseparable from a cinema poet's lexicon, Shailendra walked a new line. Sab kuch seekha humne (Anari), Ae mere dil kahin aur chal (Daag), Honton pe sachaai rehti hai ( Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai ), Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai (Guide) are just a few examples of his unpretentious minimalist poetry . And yet it is deep and reflective. “When he writes, Tumhare mahal choubare, yahin reh jayenge saare in the song, Sajan re jhoothh mat bolo, you can sense an Indianness as well as Leftist thought,“ says Raj Shekhar.Shailendra was born Rawalpindi in undivided India and spent his early life in Mathura, where a road was named after him this year. He was employed with the Indian Railways. In the book, The Hundred Luminaries of Hindi Cinema, Dinesh Raheja and Jitendra Kothari narrate a revealing anecdote that explains his transformation to a film lyricist. The story goes that Raj Kapoor was impressed by his poem, Jalta Hai Punjab, and wanted him to write songs for Aag. Shailendra, then a member of the Left cultural association IPTA, refused. But when he needed money during the birth of his son, he approached Kapoor. “For a sum of Rs 500, Kapoor had Shailendra write two Barsaat (1949) superhits: Barsaat mein humse milein tum sajan and Patli qamar hai,“ the article says.As his film career soared, Shailendra showcased his versatility. He not only wrote Sajanwa bairi ho gaye hamaar (Teesri Kasam) but also Chahe koi mujhe junglee kahe (Junglee); not only Din dhal jaaye hai (Guide) but also Aiyaiya sukoo sukoo (Junglee).Shailendra produced the film, Teesri Kasam. It is said he died of a broken heart after it flopped. He was 43. Since then, the film's reputation has grown. This reporter was witness to a Housefull board outside Ranchi's Ratan Talkies when the film was re-released in the early 1980s. In a song for the Bimal Roy classic, Do Bigha Zameen, Shailendra wrote, “Apni kahani chhod jaa, kuchch to nishani chhod jaa.“That even Hollywood finds value and context in his words 50 years after his death only underlines that he did in more ways than one.