“Sabhi ka khoon shaamil hai yahan ki mitti mein, kisi ke baap ka Hindustan thodi hai“

These cogent lines are penned down by Dr. Rahat Indori who was an Indian lyricist and prominent Urdu language poet. He was awarded a PhD in Urdu literature from the Bhoj University of Madhya Pradesh in 1985 for his thesis titled Urdu Main Mushaira. He was erstwhile a professor of Urdu and a painter.

हे ईश्वर ! बेहद दुखद ! इतनी बेबाक़ ज़िंदगी और ऐसा तरंगित शब्द-सागर इतनी ख़ामोशी से विदा होगा,कभी नहीं सोचा था ! शायरी के मेरे सफ़र और काव्य-जीवन के ठहाकेदार क़िस्सों का एक बेहद ज़िंदादिल हमसफ़र हाथ छुड़ा कर चला गया 😢🙏 https://t.co/pgJkLSoOPB

— Dr Kumar Vishvas (@DrKumarVishwas) August 11, 2020

Early years and education

Rahat Qureshi was born on 1 January, 1950, In the Indore district of Madhya Pradesh. Later, he changed his name to Rahat Indori. Rafatullah Qureshi (father) was a cloth mill worker and Maqbool Un Nisa Begum (mother) was a homemaker. He completed his formal education from Nutan school and In 1973, he did his graduation from Islamia Karimia College, Indore. In 1975, he did his post-graduation in Urdu Literature from Barkatullah University, Bhopal.

RIP #RahatIndori. Your fearless & outspoken voice comes once in a while & will be missed pic.twitter.com/CSNsWYPUQg
— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) August 12, 2020

Personal life

He has been married twice. He first married Seema Rahat on 27th May 1986. Together the couple had a daughter named Shibil and two sons named Faisal and Satlaj Rahat. He then married Anjum Rehbar, Urdu and Hindi language in 1988 and after years of marriage the couple got separated in 1993.

Crowd, applause and charisma: Remembering Dr. #RahatIndori! #RE #SahityaAajTak pic.twitter.com/PgJBEKctGg
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) August 12, 2020

Career

With a 50 year career in poetry, he crafted several profound and impactful pieces of art. He was one of the biggest persuasive, bold and notable Mushaira stars in the country. Rahat Indori taught Urdu Literature at Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya for 16 years. He also painted several posters and banners for bollywood. For the last 40-45 years he was actively participating in Mushairas and Kavi Sammelans. He had the power to easily connect with the audience. He was a great performer indeed. The way he recited poetry, left everyone awestruck. Earlier this year, his poem “Bulati hai magar jaane ka nahi” went viral on social media, making him a youth sensation. He was also recognized for his Urdu poetry internationally. He had given his outstanding performances umpteen times on stages worldwide. He had travelled to various countries namely USA, UK, UAE, Canada, Singapore, Mauritius, KSA, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal etc to recite his poetic works.

Rahat Saheb’s demise is an irreparable loss for contemporary urdu poetry and our society at large . Like Habib Jalib he was from the fast disappearing tribe of poets who are never short of courage to call a spade a spade .
— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) August 11, 2020

Books and other works

He had also written few books. Total seven in number namely – Rut, Do Kadar aur Sahi, Mere baad, Dhoop Bahut Hai, chand Pagal Hai, Maujood, Naraz. He had also written lyrics for noted movies of bollywood. He was a great lyricist too. With enchanting yet so fiery words he ruled over hearts.

Death

He had tested positive for COVID-19 on 10 August 2020 and was immediately admitted to Aurobindo hospital in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. He died on 11 August 2020 as he suffered through cardiac arrest.

Indian Secularism