Urdu wordsmith who turned pain into poetry, Rahat Indori leaves a void in world of literature

Famed Urdu poet Rahat Indori who wove pain, happiness and love into his verses passed away here on Tuesday leaving behind a huge void in India's literary world.

The acclaimed poet, lyricist, painter, and teacher passed away at Indore's Aurobindo Hospital, a day after testing positive for Covid-19. He suffered two cardiac arrests today and was also diagnosed with pneumonia.

Indori whose real name was Rahat Quraishi was born on January 1, 1950, in Indore city which is situated in the heart of India, Madhya Pradesh.

After completing his schooling from Indore' Nutan School, he pursued literature in the Urdu language from Islamia Karimia College.

Armed with a Masters in Urdu from Bhopal's Barkatullah University the veteran poet was awarded a PhD in Urdu literature from Bhoj University in 1985.

Indori's love for 'Mushaira' reflected in his thesis 'Urdu Main Mushaira' which he followed later in his life with performances of and poetry conferences for over 40 years.

The celebrated literary figure has also been a professor in the Urdu language.

Throughout his career, he travelled widely to countries like Australia, America, Singapore, Canada etc. to spread the magic of his poetry.

Besides his ghazals and poems, Rahat has also penned several books including 'Rut,' 'Mere Baad,' 'Maujood' and 'Naraz.'

Indori's famous ghazal 'Bulaati Hai Magar Jaane Ka Nahi,' was among those that became highly popular this year on social media sharing platforms, particularly short video making platform TikTok.

Some of his contributions to Bollywood include lyrics of songs like 'Chori Chori Jab Nazre Mili,' 'Neend Churaayi Meri,' and 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai.'

The veteran poet also penned down a few lines on the situation of coronavirus pandemic in the country earlier in May.

"Toota hua dil tere havaale mere allah, Is ghar ko tabahi se bacha le, mere allah....vo saath, vo din raat, vo nagmaat, vo lamhe, lauta de mujhe mere ujaale, mere allah," he had written and shared on Twitter.

Rahat Indori follows a string of celebrities including actors Rishi Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Saroj Khan, that India lost in the year 2020.

Condolences poured in for the maestro of the Urdu literature soon after his demise.

( With inputs from ANI )