Eminent Urdu poet and lyricist, Rahat Indori, has passed away at the age of 70 due to cardio respiratory arrest at 4:40 pm on Tuesday. He had tested positive for corona virus on Monday, but succumbed to heart attack at Aurobindo hospital, Indore.
Chairman of the hospital, Dr Vinod Bhandari, said that Indori was hit by two heart attacks earlier in the day and was also suffering from pneumonia.
“He was admitted for coronavirus treatment but died after suffering a heart attack,” son Satlaj Indori, also a poet, told PTI.
The noted poet had shared the news of testing Covid-19 positive on his official Twitter account on Tuesday morning.
“My coronavirus test was done yesterday after the onset of symptoms of COVID-19, the report of which has come positive. Pray that I should beat this disease as soon as possible,” Indori said in his last post.
He had also urged fans and well wishers for to pray for his speedy recovery along with a request to not speculate and wait for him to provide update via Twitter and Facebook regarding his health.
A host of Bollywood celebrities including Farhan Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Swara Bhasker have expressed grief over the demise of the poet.
Rahat Indori was a renowned figure in the genre of Urdu poetry, ghazals and has also penned lyrics for several Bollywood songs.
In his five-decades old career, Indori has given Bollywood some of its most famous songs such as ‘M Bole to’ from Munnabhai MBBS, ‘Bumbro Bumbro’ from Mission Kashmir, ‘Neend Churayi Meri’ from Ishq, and ‘Raat Kya Maange, Ek Sitara’ from Khuddar.
Earlier this year, his poem “Bulati hai magar jane ka nahi” went viral on social media platforms, making him a sensation among the youth. We could see the said line printed on phone covers, t-shirts among many other products. Memes using the poem’s starting lines also curated memefest on social media during Valentine’s Day.
Rahat Indori is survived his wife Seema Indori and four children.
