NEW DELHI: In our lives, we come throughout individuals a number of individuals – some born with a silver spoon of their mouth, whereas a number of others who’re born in acute poverty and face excessive hardship until their final breath, but they by no means quit and go away an indelible impression on our minds by means of their willpower, exhausting work and contribution to the society.
One such man is Haldhar Nag, a person who barely went to high school, misplaced his mother and father at an early age, did menial jobs for a dwelling, sells ‘raga chana’ (spicy chickpeas) and has been awarded a Padma Shri for his contribution to the sector of Odiya literature in 2016.
Who Is Haldhar Nag?
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Born in 1950 to a poor household within the Bargarh district of Odisha, Haldhar Nag is a well-known Odiya people poet of the ‘Kosli’ language, who regardless of receiving a proper faculty training, has 5 Phd theses on him. A true embodiment of ‘simple living and high thinking,’ Nag misplaced his mother and father on the tender age of 10. Due to the poor monetary situation of his household, Nag was compelled to give up his research when he was in school 3. He spent a number of years at a ‘dhaba’ serving the purchasers and dishwashing to be able to survive.
With the assistance of a village head, he labored as a ‘cook’ in a neighborhood faculty for the following 16 years. A few years later, he took a financial institution mortgage of Rs 1000 to arrange a small-scale stationery store close to the college. Though he’s barely educated, he didn’t let his ardour for writing die and stored writing small items.
First Poem
In the yr 1990, Nag wrote his first poem ‘Dhodo Bargach’ (The Old Banyan Tree). Luckily, his poems and compositions have been printed in a neighborhood journal and with the passage of time, he turned well-known as a people poet of the ‘Kosli’ language. His poems, popularly often called ‘Lok Kavi Ratna’ in Odiya, revolve round nature, society, mythology and faith.
Through his writings, Nag additionally promotes social reforms. He is famend for his work ‘Kavyanjali’, an anthology of English translations of his chosen poetry.
Selling ‘Raga Chana’
This 74-year-old dark-complexioned legendary Odiya poet might be simply noticed promoting ‘Raga chana’ (spicy chickpeas) throughout ‘Rath Yatra’ in his village in Bargarh yearly. His ‘Raga Chana’ is a favorite among the many guests and devotees who come to witness the Rath Yatra yearly. However, he has no aversion to promoting chickpeas and says that it’s his occupation and he earns his livelihood from it. He additional says that he has been promoting it since his youth and might’t cease promoting it for the truth that he’s a Padma Shri recipient.
Padma Shri
In 2016, the Government of India determined to honour him with a Padma Shri for his invaluable contribution to the sector of literature. Nag’s simplicity may very well be understood from the truth that when he obtained a name confirming the federal government’s resolution to award Padma Shri to him, he pleaded, “Sahib! I do not have money to come to Delhi, please send the award (Padma Shri) by post.”
Nag grabbed lots of eyeballs when he got here to obtain the award barefoot sporting a spotless white dhoti skirt and vest from then-President Pranab Mukherjee. In one more proof of this man’s simplicity and greatness, Nag donated the Padma Shri allowance of Rs 10,000 to an orphanage.
Nag, who writes within the Kosli language, has penned 20 epics and quite a few poems. In recognition of his accomplishments, a compilation of his writings ‘Haldhar Granthavali-2’, has been made a part of the syllabus in ‘Sambalpur University’ of Odisha.
