In the aftermath of the Indo-China war in 1962, he had to shake the country's conscience by urging his countrymen to spare a thought for the martyrs Aye mere watan ke logon. He moved the nation, including Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, to tears. Dedicated to the nation, the royalty from the song since then goes to the Defence ministry.

But when Pradeep breathed his last, he was a heartbroken man. The country of his dreams had disintegrated and dissolved into a nightmare. And his muse had fallen silent by then.

But didn't he say it all long ago in a cry of despair? Ram ke bhakt, Rahim ke bande, rachte aaj fareb ke fande / Kitne the makkar, andhe, dekh liye inke bhidhande / Inhi ki kaali kartooton se, hua ye mulk malaan (Nastik). Pradeep pumped adrenalin into my veins and gave me goose flesh long before I had any inkling of his fame. It was when as a naive 10-year-old, I saw Jagriti in 1974, a film made 20 years ago. If Aao bachchon tumhe dikhayen jhaanki Hindustan ki, which he rendered in his own voice, imbued me with patriotic fervour, Hum layen hain toofan se kishti nikal ke, -- both staple Vividh Bharati fare on Independence and Republic Day -- moved me to commit myself to the nation.

Only he could have penned that simple yet grand tribute to Gandhi -- De di hame aazadi bina kharag bina dhaal, Sabarmati ke sant toone kar diya kamaal. (Jagriti)

Seized by a sense of mission after the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar, Pradeep never looked back. Along the way he picked up many honours. Dr Rajendra Prasad declared him `Rashtrakavi'. In 1961, he won the national award for best film song lyricist and also the Sangeet NatakAcademy Award. The Madhya Pradesh government -- he belonged to Badnagar near Ujjain in that state -- also feted him.

The man who wrote over 1,500 songs, including those in 80 films, was a humanist and fierce patriot but never an establishment man. In fact, in Jagriti, one can detect his dilemma on the nuclear issue when he both comments on the nuclear stockpile in the world and also cautions his own country -- Atom bamon ke zor pe, ainthee hai ye duniya, barood ke ik dher pe baithi hai ye duniya/tum har kadam uthana zara dekh bhaal ke.

One remembers his bemused countenance in a TV interview when he was conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 1997-98, just four months ago, to coincide with 50 years of Independence. After living in oblivion for years, he was suddenly thrust into the limelight. Perhaps, it had something to do with Lata Mangeshkar's sudden gesture in visiting him and gifting him Rs 1 lakh.

Patriotism having given way to cynicism, Pradeep found refuge in devotional music, also hisforte. Tere dwar khara bhagwan and Koi laakh kar chaturai had already earned him a fan following among the devout. Jai Santoshi Ma was the culmination of that fervour.

But with old age catching up with him in a country which increasingly looked alien to whatever he had stood for, Pradeep lapsed into silence. Pinjre ke panchi re, tera dard na jaane koi / bahar se khamosh rahe tu, bhitar bhitar roe could well have been his swan song.