Haldhar Nag

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Haldhar Nag
Haladhar Nag (cropped).jpg
Born (1950-03-31) 31 March 1950 (age 75)
Ghens, Bargarh, Odisha, India
OccupationPoet, Social worker
Language Sambalpuri
Nationality Indian
Citizenship India
Notable works Kavyanjali [1]
Notable awards Padma Shri [2]
SpouseMalati Nag [3]
Children1 daughter
Signature
Signature of Haldhar Nag.svg

Dr. Haldhar Nag (born 31 March 1950), popularly known as Lok Kabi Ratna, is a Sambalpuri poet and writer from Bargarh, Odisha, India. He was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India by Government of India in 2016. He has been compared to Gangadhar Meher for his Sambalpuri style of writing. [4] [5]

Contents

Personal life

Padmashree Haldhar Nag Kavi Kutir, Nag's house. Haldhar Nag Kutir 04.png
Padmashree Haldhar Nag Kavi Kutir, Nag's house.

Nag was born in a poor family of Ghens in Bargarh district of Odisha. 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 sells Raag 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 of Jharsuguda, drawing the attention of the government of Odisha for the monthly honorarium for Padma Awards.

Career

Haldhar Nag is receiving the Padma Shri award from President Pranab Mukherjee. The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presenting the Padma Shri Award to Shri Haladhar Nag, at a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on March 28, 2016.jpg
Haldhar Nag is receiving the Padma Shri award from President Pranab Mukherjee.

One of Nag's first poems was Dhodo 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 called Haldar Granthabali-2. He began to be known as Lok Kabi Ratna.

Works

Some of his most popular works are: [4]

Additionally, he has acted in two Sambalpuri films Sahamate Maa Samalei [10] and Maa Budhi Kamgei Kathani. [11] He also made a small appearance in the 2015 Hindi film Kaun Kitne Paani Mein . [12]

Translations

Dinesh Kumar Mali being honored in a literary program organized by Haldhar Nag's Samvad Sahitya Ghar, Angul. Felicitatiion.jpg
Dinesh Kumar Mali being honored in a literary program organized by Haldhar Nag's Samvad Sahitya Ghar, Angul.

In the year 2020, Hindi writer and translator Dinesh Kumar Mali translated and his released his poems in the book Haldhar 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 book Haldhar ke Lok-sahitya par vimarsh and the book Ramayan Prasangon par Haldhar ke Kavya aur yugin Vimarsh were also translated by Mali based on Ramayana contexts and published by Pandulipi Prakashan from New 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.

Haldhar Nag on stage, in 2018. Haldhar Nag on stage, in 2018.jpg
Haldhar Nag on stage, in 2018.

Documentary director Bharatbala aimed to produce 1,000 which featured unpublished stories by Nag, narrated by lyricist and film director Gulzar. 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 story Virtual 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]

Awards

In the year 2016, Nag received the Padma Shri award, from The 13th president of India Pranab Mukherjee for his contribution to the Sambalpuri language. [9] In 2019, Nag was awarded an honorary doctorate in literature by Sambalpur University. [15]

In April 2016, the then Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced that a Sambalpuri language and literature research center, named after Nag, would be established soon at the Ghens village in the Bargarh district. [16] [17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Translation takes Nag's poems to more readers". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  2. ↑ PrameyaNews7. "Odisha's Nila Madhab Panda and Sambalpuri poet Haldhar Nag chosen for Padma Shri Award". Prameya News7. Retrieved 25 January 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ "Haldhar Nag: 'Truly' Inspirational!". Just in Print. 18 May 2016.
  4. 1 2 Sudeep Kumar Guru (25 September 2010). "Poetry makes him known as new GangadharMeher". The Telegraph (India) . Ananda Publishers. Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 Krishnan, Madhuvanti S. (13 April 2016). "Poetic crusader". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  6. ↑ "Haldhar Nag - the Class 3 dropout poet is Padma Shri recipient. Know more about him". Zee News . 30 March 2016. Archived from the original on 22 January 2026.
  7. ↑ "I take pride in earning money from my labour: Padmashree Haldhar Nag". The Statesman. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  8. ↑ "हलधर नाग : ओड़िशा के लोककवि, जिनपर पाँच ने किया पीएच.डी". Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Padma Shri Poet Haldhar Nag is a Class 3 Dropout, but His Odia Poetry is Now a PhD Subject". 31 March 2016.
  10. ↑ Panini Prajna Productions (18 October 2018). Full Film // Sahamate Maa Samalei // New Sambalpuri Film // PP Production. YouTube.
  11. ↑ Jhankar Studio Bargarh (30 October 2021). Maa Budhi Kamgei Kathani // Full Short Film // Suraj Pradhan // Jhankar Studio Bargarh. YouTube.
  12. ↑ Sunil Vaid (18 May 2021). "Padma Shri Haldhar Naag- Adivasi poet crusader from Odisha". early Times.
  13. ↑ Haldhar Nag The People's Poet Gulzar
  14. ↑ "Haldhar Nag features in Bharatbala's short film". The Pioneer . 25 September 2019.
  15. ↑ "Sambalpur University honour for poets". The Times of India. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  16. ↑ "Kosli dailect [sic] and research centre in Odisha". India Today . 7 April 2016.
  17. ↑ http://202.62.224.54/odisha/body-slider/kosli-dialect-and-research-centre-in-odisha-135843/%5B%5D
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