RENOWNED URDU POET RAHAT INDORI NO MORE
PREPARATIONS FOR BIHAR ELECTIONS BEGIN
Noted Urdu poet and Bollywood lyricist Rahat Indori who used to leave his audience in splits with his humourous but biting couplets, died of cardiac arrest in a hospital in Indore on Tuesday. He was 70. He was admitted to Aurobind Hospital in Indore on Sunday after testing positive for Coronavirus.
“He suffered massive cardiac arrest on Tuesday and could not be saved. He was also suffering from pneumonia, diabetes and high blood pressure. He also suffered damages to his lungs”, hospital director Vinod Bhandari said.
Indori, who had retired as professor of Urdu literature in Ahilya University in Indore a decade ago, was also a painter.
He had penned many Bollywood songs. With a 50year career in poetry, Indori was known for the lyrics of songs like “M Bole toh..” from Munnabhai MBBS (2003), Chori Chori Jab Nazrein Mili... from Kareeb (1998), Koi jaye to le aye.. from Ghatak (1996), and Neend Churai Meri... from Ishq
(1997). Earlier this year, his poem Bulati hai magar jane ka nahi...” went 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. He had huge followers across India. He used to sway his audience with his hilarious but sharp couplets reflecting the current social and political situations in the country.
Before being admitted to the hospital, he had informed his followers of his contraction of Coronavirus in a twitter post and appealed to them not to call him or his home to know about his health condition.
One of his popular couplets read, “Sabhi ka khoon hai shamil yahan ki mitti mein; kissi ke baap ka Hindustan thodi hai (This soil is made up of everybody’s blood; The country does not belong to any one person).
A day after the Election Commission rejected the demand of political parties in Bihar to postpone Assembly elections in the state and said that elections in the state will be held on time, sources said that the Union home ministry has started preparations for elections in terms of organising para-military forces and other security arrangements.
The tenure of the current Bihar Assembly will end on November 29, and polls are expected to be held in either October end or November. President’s rule has to be imposed in the state if the election process is not completed by November 28.
Political parties in Bihar, including Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), had urged the poll panel to postpone elections in the state. The LJP had written a letter to the Election Commission saying it is not advisable to put the lives of lakhs of people at risk by holding elections at a time when there has been a sharp increase in coronavirus cases in the state.
But Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora reiterated on Monday that elections in Bihar will be held on time, and that the poll panel is making preparations keeping in view the Covid-19 situation.