Veteran Marathi composer Yeshwant Deo dies

Mumbai: Veteran Marathi singer, lyricist and music composer Yeshwant Deo passed away after a brief illness here on Tuesday, family sources said. He was 91.

Deo breathed his last at the Sushrusha Hospital in Dadar where he was admitted for treatment of pneumonia and other complications almost three weeks ago.

His last rites shall be performed at the Dadar Crematorium here later on Tuesday.

Born on November 1, 1926, Deo trained in music under his father and became a well-known figure in the Marathi film industry and music circles.

He was a science graduate from Mumbai and had acquired the Sangeet Visharad degree from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya.

After spending formative years in Raigad, Deo launched his music career with All India Radio in Nagpur as a sitar player. From 1958 to 1984 he produced light music, besides teaching music in the University Of Mumbai and SNDT Women's University.

His specialisation was "Bhav-geet" which involved composing poems to music, a semi-classical form, which he utilised effectively for over 40 films and plays.

Deo bagged several honours and awards, including the Maharashtra Government award for Best Music Director of the play "Amrapali" (1974) and the Lata Mangeshkar Award.

He had composed music (along with Zakir Hussein, Bhupen Hazarika and Raj Kamal) for the Hindi film "Saaz" directed by Sai Paranjpye, which was inspired by the lives of the Mangeshkar singer-sisters, and had bagged writer-poet Javed Akhtar his first National Award for Best Lyrics.

Deo also wrote books on the devotional music of Shirdi Saibaba, light classical music and Marathi Bhav-geet.