Poet Munawwar Rana critically ill

Lucknow: Acclaimed poet Munawwar Rana has been admitted to a hospital in Lucknow and is on ventilator support.

Munawwar Rana, 70, has been admitted to the Apollo Hospital here after his health deteriorated following a surgery to remove gallbladder stones, said his daughter Sumaiya Rana.

The poet was also suffering from throat cancer and undergoing dialysis.

Sumaiya Rana said her father had undergone a gall bladder operation at the hospital last Tuesday.

When he was brought to the hospital for dialysis, it was found that his gallbladder was damaged due to stones. He was operated upon but since then his health has been deteriorating, she said.

Rana, a prominent name in ‘mushaira’ circles, is one of India’s most popular and admired poets who writes both in Hindi and Urdu.

One of his most famous poems is ‘Maa’ in which he used the genre of ‘ghazal’ to extol the virtues of a mother.