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Haldhar Nag | |
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| Born | (1950-03-31)31 March 1950 (age 75) |
| Occupation | Poet, Social worker |
| Language | Odia |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Citizenship | India |
| Notable works | Kavyanjali[1] |
| Notable awards | Padma Shri[2] |
| Spouse | Malati Nag[3] |
| Children | 1 daughter |
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Dr. Haldhar Nag (born 31 March 1950), popularly known asLok Kabi Ratna, is aOdia poet and writer fromBargarh,Odisha,India. He was awarded thePadma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India byGovernment of India in 2016. He has been compared toGangadhar Meher for his style of writing.[4][5]
Nag was born in a poor family ofGhens inBargarh district ofOdisha. He dropped out of school during third grade following his father's death to financially support his family.[6]
After Nag spent two years working as a dishwasher in a sweetmeat shop, the head of his village decided to take him to work in a high school. There he spent 16 years working as a cook. During this time, he also borrowed ₹1000 to open a small stationery shop near the school.[5]
He lives a simple life as a shop owner and hawker. He also sellsRaag Chanaa (spicy chickpeas), an Indian snack popular in Western Odisha.[7] Because he often wore a white vest and dhoti to attend events, he has been called 'The Vest Poet.'[8]
His work was supported by Satyanarayan Mohanty ofJharsuguda, drawing the attention of the government of Odisha for the monthly honorarium forPadma Awards.
One of Nag's first poems wasDhodo Bargachh (The Old Banyan Tree), which he published in a local magazine. The poem was successful, and four more of his poems were published soon. His poetry is based on issues of daily life such as social issues, nature, religion and fighting oppression. He has been quoted saying "Poetry must have a real-life connection and a message for the people."[5]
His poetry is now considered a subject of research by doctoral scholars.[9]Sambalpur University has compiled his work in a book calledHaldar Granthabali-2. He began to be known asLok Kabi Ratna.
Some of his most popular works are:[4]
Additionally, he has acted in twoSambalpuri filmsSahamate Maa Samalei[10] andMaa Budhi Kamgei Kathani.[11] He also made a small appearance in the 2015 Hindi filmKaun Kitne Paani Mein.[12]
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In the year 2020, Hindi writer and translator Dinesh Kumar Mali translated and his released his poems in the bookHaldhar Nag ka kavya-sansar. The book was intensively discussed by participants from India and abroad during a two-day international seminar organized by the Department of Hindi,Pondicherry University.
In 2021, the bookHaldhar ke Lok-sahitya par vimarsh and the bookRamayan Prasangon par Haldhar ke Kavya aur yugin Vimarsh were also translated by Mali based onRamayana contexts and published by Pandulipi Prakashan fromNew Delhi. They were edited by Prof. Jaishankar Babu. In November 2022, the books were honoured by Nag with the Dr Ram Manohar Tripathi Lok Seva Samman award.
Documentary directorBharatbala aimed to produce 1,000 which featured unpublished stories by Nag, narrated by lyricist and film directorGulzar. His narration in this short film begins with, 'I am writing a letter to you, Haldhar, son of the soil of Sambalpur, this Adivasi poet. His language is Sambalpuri.'[13] As part of the series, Gulzar narrated a brief summary of Nag in the approximately 8-minute long storyVirtual Bharat, which is a collection of short stories about India. Following the release of the film, Gulzar also sent Nag ₹50,000 as a token of appreciation.[14]
In the year 2016, Nag received the Padma Shri award, from The 13th president of IndiaPranab Mukherjee for his contribution to the Sambalpuri language.[9] In 2019, Nag was awarded an honorary doctorate in literature bySambalpur University.[15]
In April 2016, the then Odisha chief ministerNaveen Patnaik announced that a Sambalpuri language and literature research center, named after Nag, would be established soon at theGhens village in theBargarh district.[16][17]
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