Noted Urdu poet Rahat Indori passes away at 70, was COVID +ve

Noted Urdu poet Rahat Indori, who was being treated for COVID-19 at Aurobindo Hospital in Indore, died of a cardiac attack at the treatment facility on Tuesday (August 11). He was 70. The lyricist-poet was admitted to the hospital in the morning after he was found to be infected with the virus. He passed away at 5 pm.

A tweet from his verified Twitter handle confirmed the death of the poet. Further confirming his father’s death, son Satlaj Indori said that “he was admitted for coronavirus treatment but passed away after suffering a heart attack.”

In the morning, the lyricist-poet tweeted about his confirmed COVID-19 report and said he will keep everyone updated through social media. “After initial symptoms of COVID-19, my corona test was done yesterday which came out positive. Pray that I defeat this disease as soon as possible,” Indori said in his last post.

With a 50-year career in poetry, Indori was known for the lyrics of songs like ‘M Bole to’ from Munnabhai MBBS (2003), and ‘Neend Churai Mei’ from Ishq (1997). Earlier this year, his poem ‘Bulati hai magar jane ka nahi’ had gone viral on social media, rendering him a sensation among the youth.

Indori did his schooling from Nutan School in Indore and his graduation from Islamia Karimia College Indore. He passed his MA exam in Urdu literature from Barkatullah University, Bhopal in 1975 and was awarded a PhD in Urdu literature from the Bhoj University in 1985 for his thesis titled Urdu Main Mushaira.

While teaching Urdu literature at IK College, he also became busy with mushairas and started receiving invitations from all over India and abroad.

(With inputs from agencies)