Shailendra's end days

It is quite ironical that for the man who loved life so much, the spectra of death always haunted him. He was obsessed by death. There was no fear involved, but a kind of helplessness drew him towards it. His producing Teesri Kasam caused him several heartaches and it was also the ultimate cause of his death. But what bothered him was not the film's failure at the box-office, but that his investment in friends he trusted and loved went wrong. Shailendra was admitted to the hospital on December 13 1966, but on his way he decided to stop at the famous cottage at the RK Studios to call on Raj Kapoor, where he promised R.K. that he would complete the lyrics for ‘Jeena yahan marna yahan’ for Mera Naam Joker. That was one promise he could never keep, for Shailendra died on the following day, which also happened to be R.K’s birthday. Reading the following lines from 'Anari' can see his obsession for death:

It is quite ironical that for the man who loved life so much, the spectra of death always haunted him. He was obsessed by death. There was no fear involved, but a kind of helplessness drew him towards it. His producing Teesri Kasam caused him several heart aches and it was also the ultimate cause of his death. Shailendra was admitted to the hospital on December 13, 1966. Shailendra died on the following day, which also happened to be Raj Kapoor's birthday. Lyricist Shailendra is most remembered for his outstanding achievements with Raj Kapoor and Shankar-Jaikishan in almost all the R.K. films. His death on December 14, 1966 saw one of the leading lights of the film industry extinguished.