Veteran poet Bekal Utsahi no more

Veteran poet and former Rajya Sabha MP Bekal Utsahi breathed his last at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital here earlier in the day. Utsahi was undergoing treatment for brain hemorrhage.

Kunwar Aziz, Bekal Utsahi's son was grief-stricken when he said, "It is not just national loss, but loss for the entire world as such personalities take birth once in thousand years. It is the worst day of my life. He was in my arms when he took his last breath. I never imagined that it would happen."

Ashok Chakradhar, a poet, remembered Utsahi's contribution to Hindi literature and said it is a personal loss for him as the latter was like a father figure.

"He was like a father to me. So, it is a personal loss. He was one of the greatest poets of our times. My father was friends with him. I have seen him since I was five or six years old. I feel as if I have lost my guardian," said Chakradhar.

"It is a national loss as he used to highlight our country's traditions, culture and unity by penning down beautiful poetry, the words of which came straight from his soul," he added.