It is the 84th birth anniversary of one of the greatest music directors of all time, Omkar Prasad Nayyar.

The man behind the unforgettable numbers like Ello main hari piya, Kahin pe nigahen kahin pe nishana, Maang ke saath tumhara, Aaiye meherban baithiye jaanejaan, Jhumka gira re and many more, was born in 1926 in Lahore (now in Pakistan).

Acclaimed for his peppy numbers, Nayyar began his film journey in the year 1949 with the background score for the film Kaneez. He tasted success in 1954 with Guru Dutt's Aar Paar, which was followed by many more runaway hits like Mr. & Mrs. 55, CID, Tumsa Nahi Dekha, Naya Daur, Kashmir Ki Kali, Howrah Bridge.

He was counted amongst the top music directors in his day. And he is considered one of the greatest composers of all times.

Nayyar made extensive use of the typical Punjabi rhythm. At the height of his career he is reported to have commanded the highest fee in the film industry. His songs were known to be very trendy and ahead of the times. In fact, considering his songs too trendy, the All India Radio during the fifties had put in place a ban on the broadcast of most of his very famous tunes. The ban was in place for quite some time and during this period Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation of the then Radio Ceylon was the only source from which his new hits could be heard.

Nayyar worked extensively with Geeta Dutt, Asha Bhonsle and Mohammed Rafi and was instrumental in building their careers. It is said that Asha Bhonsle was his find and that he groomed her especially for his tunes. The two, however, split later on in 1974. A strange and lesser known fact is that he never worked with Lata Mangeshkar.

During the last few years of his life, OP Nayyar had quit music completely. His last public appearance was as a judge in the successful TV show, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa.

Nayyar died of cardiac arrest on January 28, 2007 in Mumbai. He was aged 81.