His verses defined his fearlessness

Mona
EK hi nadi ke hain ye do kinaare doston/Dostana zindagi se, maut se yaari rakho…wrote Urdu poet and lyricist Rahat Indori, who crossed to the other side on Tuesday evening. As 2020 continues its unfortunate run, poetry lovers suffered a major loss as Indori suffered a cardiac arrest. He had tested positive for Covid a day before.

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The shayar, who left his audience mesmerised in kavi sammelans and mushairas for five long decades, earned distinction in the Hindi film industry as a lyricist too.

From Log har mod pe ruk ruk ke sambhalte kyu hain, Itna darte kyon hain to sabhi ka khoon hai shamil yahan ki mitti mein/Kisi ke baap ka Hindustan thodi hai and main jab mar jaaoon toh meri alag pehchaan likh dena; Shaakhon se toot jaaye wo patte nahi hain hum. Lahu se meri peshani pe Hindustan likh dena…his verses gave a glimpse of fearless soul that he was.

As a lyricist, his famous tracks — Koi jaye to le aye, neend churayee meri, Dekho dekho jaanam ham to chori chori jab nazrein mili — still reverberate with his fans. Just before the pandemic claimed any semblance of normal life, Indori’s poem “Bulati hai magar jane ka nahi” went viral, leading to umpteen memes.

Indori started rather early onto the writing path. In an interview with The Tribune, he recalled his first meeting at 12 with indomitable poet Jan Nisar Akhtar, father of Javed Akhtar. Indori took Akhtar’s sagacious advice and held by it, “The first condition for writing well lies in reading, not just in the language you intend to write in, but you need to browse world literature.”

“He was the most popular poet of our times, who connected with the young generation as well,” says Madhav Kaushik, Vice-President, National Sahitya Akademi. Kaushik recalls Indori being outspoken and straightforward not only in his shayari, but also personal life.

Ye haadsa to kisi din guzarne wala tha/ Main bach bhi jaata to marne wala tha were the words of Indori, who would continue to live in his verses.