If I die, write a different identity for me
Write Hindustan on my forehead with blood.
– Rahat Indori
One mic, one voice and then a crowd of voices. One pen, thousands of lines from it and madness all over the world. A crazy person, words of love and all the hopes of getting ‘relief’ to the hearts that have become stones in the hustle and bustle of the world. What a wonderful relationship there was between Rahat to Hearts and Dr. Rahat Indori Sahab. That writer, who challenged the emperors around the world with his poetry. His voice had that effect which could captivate even the person standing in the back row of the crowd present in the mushairas.
Write me down on the funeral, friend!
the lover is going
-Rahat Indori
His birth name was Rahat Qureshi and the literary world recognized him as Rahat Indori. Rahat Saheb was not just a poet, he was a relief, hope and a source of solace for the world of free thinking and hearts broken by hopelessness.
We are not the leaves that should be plucked from the branches.
Someone tell the storm to stay within control
– Rahat Indori
People interested in the literary world listened to Rahat Saheb with bated breath, this was not the wonder of the world, it was the wonder of Rahat Saheb’s pen, accent, liveliness, presence of mind and eloquence. This was the miracle of Rahat Sahab, when in the presence of thousands of people, he used to deliver his couplet with one eye closed while waving his hands in the air on the mike, then people whether old or young… were impressed by the impact of Rahat Sahab’s voice. The winds of madness used to blow through me.
Rahat Indori’s poetry reflects Muslim efforts to make the world better. It is noteworthy that he was born in a similar period, when efforts were being made to improve the turbulent political environment.
Many travelers must have passed before us
At least the stones would be removed from the path.
– Rahat Indori
The winter season of 1950 was somewhat warm for Indore. The then Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and his colleague VP Menon were engaged whole-heartedly in the efforts to merge about 565 princely states into the Indian Republic after independence. Holkar i.e. the princely state of Indore had also made up its mind to join the republic, but there were some differences between its emperor Yashwant Rao Holkar II and Sardar Patel regarding the signing of treaty papers, but ultimately this princely state, expressing faith in Indian democracy, decided to join the republic for a better state. To help in nation building, they left their monarchical tradition and signed treaties of merger. It was 1 January 1950 and on this day Rahat Saheb was born.
It is said that culture and literature are the mirror of the society and Rahat Saheb also signed this statement through his poetry. As long as he was alive, he continued to work as a mirror to the society and political leaders with full responsibility and honesty. He made the political evils of the world the target of his pen and kept highlighting them.
Rahat Saheb’s ghazals contain love, politics, patriotism, brotherhood, motivation and what not. There is also the courage to do anything for the new people who have come out into the wilderness. Listen to what Rahat Saheb says while giving instructions to the new breeds…
Rahat Indori was a poet who expressed the plight of the common people of India. When he used to come on stage, he was not only a poet, he was also seen as a philosopher and a traveler fighting against all the evils of the times, who was able to convert a person’s pain like a mountain into peace through his one couplet. Had substance.
There was a shout of rebellion in Rahat Saheb’s voice. These calls were sometimes raised questioning the governments, sometimes against the oppression of the world, and sometimes against the enemies of the country. Along with this, Rahat Saheb also challenged hopelessness, darkness, storms, river and sea. That is why even after Rahat Saheb is gone, his voice is echoing all over the world and giving the feeling of his presence.
How does Rahat Sahab’s family remember him?
Rahat Indori’s son Sutlej Rahat, in a conversation with aajtak.in, says about his father, “We do not feel the need to remember Rahat Sahab because we feel his presence more than ever before. Since childhood days, My bonding with him was very deep, along with it I also had the habit of staying away from him because he often stayed away from us and the city because of Mushairas.”
Sutlej Rahat further says, “According to me, Rahat Sahab is such a lucky poet that we have a lot of his visuals available. Every day one or the other couplet or phrase of his is felt floating in the air all over the world. Rahat Sahab’s The presence is greater now than before. I don’t think there is a need to remember him.
‘A poem written at the time of emergency…’
Recently, singer Diljit Dosanjh had come to perform in a concert in Indore, during which he read some verses from Rahat Saheb’s ghazal (Agar Khilaf Hai, Hone Do…) and named the concert in the name of Rahat Saheb.
On the question related to Diljit, Sutlej Rahat says, “A good lion always goes astray. When a person has to explain his feelings, he takes the help of poetry. The poetry of Rahat Sahab which Diljit sang in the concert. I read, it was said in the times of Emergency and it happens again in every era, sometimes in the CAA-NRC movement, sometimes in some political party. This couplet has always been used by political leaders on many occasions and I think he expressed his feelings in a very different way when it was a concert in Indore. Remembered Rahat Sahab from. Rahat Sahab continues to be remembered like this.”
‘Anti-establishment in Rahat Saheb’s poetry…’
Poet and writer Dr. Deepak Ruhani, who has written ‘Rahat Saheb’, the biography of Dr. Rahat Indori, says, “When we remember Rahat Saheb, many things come to mind together, there are many of his poems, his style of reading was completely different. I worked with Rahat Saheb and met him many times, his behavior was very good towards his juniors. These qualities are worth remembering. Rahat Saheb’s laughter is also a trend and a cult.
Deepak Rouhani further says, “There is anti-establishment poetry in Rahat Saheb’s poetry. There are many of his ghazals which were written during the Congress rule but they still seem relevant today. Rahat Saheb ‘Kisi Ke Baap Ka Hindostan’ Rahat Saheb had been saying this for a long time. Rahat Saheb always wrote poetry to save democracy. of.”
Also read: ‘Instead of following political paths, it is the responsibility of the litterateur to show the path to politics’, said lyricist Alok Srivastava.
‘Remaining youthful even after growing old…’
Himanshu Bajpayee, a well-known writer and Dastango of the new generation, says, “We remember only two things about Rahat Sahab’s poetry and performance, one is his attitude and the other is his youth. Even after he had grown old, the youth inside him was still there. These two things appealed to us from the beginning to the end and never changed.”
He further says that there is a charm in Rahat Sahab, which attracts new people towards Urdu and poetry. One important thing that Urdu literature got from the poetry of Rahat Saheb is that how one can express one’s views on the contemporary situation through ghazal. Rahat Saheb is important among the poets who experimented in this way.
‘You have said something big…’
Rahat Saheb used to explain the meaning of difficult words in ghazals and also used to say in a humorous tone that if you do not understand any of my lines, then understand that I have said something important. These are the things that make Dr. Rahat Qureshi ‘Rahat Indori’.
In the year 2020, on 11th of August, a painful news came for the literary world that Rahat Saheb took his last breath at the age of 70.
Even though Rahat Saheb has left this world, we keep remembering him often. His voice is alive among us all like a cry and roar of hope. And it is said that the illusion of sound is enough to stay alive.
It’s a good thing my patience is not full yet,
He is thinking I am dead, tell him I am not dead.
– Rahat Indori