RENOWNED URDU POET AND LYRICIST RAHAT INDORI DIES AGED 70
Renowned Urdu poet Rahat Indori died in a hospital here on Tuesday afternoon due to a heart attack. He was being treated for coronavirus since Monday, said the hospital administration.
The 70-year-old Indore native, with his unique style, won acclaim both in India and abroad in a career spanning about five decades. Also a lyricist for Bollywood movies, Indori was known for his being candid in his views on issues relating to communal harmony.
In a statement, the teaching hospital of Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences (SIAMS), Indore, the private medical college where he was being treated for Covid-19, said Indori had cardiac arrest twice during the treatment on Tuesday afternoon.
Indori was earlier admitted in another private hospital but was shifted to SAIMS hospital on Sunday, where he tested positive for coronavirus.
He was active on social media till as recently as Tuesday morning when he tweeted about being infected with the virus.
He also told his followers that he would keep them posted on Twitter and Facebook.
SIAMS pulmonologist Dr Ravi Doshi said, “Rahat Indori was suffering from multiple diseases, including diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney ailment, and his lungs were highly infected with Covid-19... He had a cardiac problem around 1.30 pm on Tuesday. He was shifted to ventilator support but he passed away at 4.30 pm.” Social media was flooded with condolence messages on the noted poet’s demise
Former Congress party president Rahul Gandhi paid homage to the departed soul with the late poet’s lines: “Ab na main hun na baaki hain zamaane mere, phir bhi mashhoor hain shahron me fasaane mere.”
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “Demise of Rahat Indori is an irreparable loss for Madhya Pradesh and the country.” State Congress chief Kamal Nath said, “He was a champion of communal harmony. He established the name of Indore on global platform with his unique shayari (Urdu poetry).” Indori is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.