Famous Urdu poet Rahat Indori, whose powerful and lucid poetry filled halls and connected with the young and old alike, died of a heart attack at a hospital here on Tuesday while being treated for Covid-19, his son said. He was 70.
The teacher-turned-poet had been admitted to hospital on Tuesday morning after he tested positive for the disease. He is survived by three sons and a daughter. “He was admitted for coronavirus treatment but died after suffering a heart attack,” son Satlaj Indori, also a poet, told PTI.
Indore District Collector Manish Singh said Indori was undergoing treatment at the Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences.
In the morning, the lyricist-poet tweeted about his Covid-19 diagnosis 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 what would be his last post.
With a 50-year career in poetry, Indori, an Urdu scholar of great repute, was one of the biggest mushaira (poetry symposiums) stars in the country and someone who fearlessly called a spade a spade.
The wordsmith that he was, Indori translated the mood of the nation in his poetry that was emotive, direct and political.
