Early life edit

He was born in a poor family of Ghens in Bargarh district of Odisha. At a very small age, he lost his only financially capable father due to which he had to do work for his family. He had to drop his school when he was studying in class 3.^[4] He had to work as a local dishwasher in a sweetmeat shop to feed his family, Realizing his condition village head took him to high school and there he worked as a cook for more than 10 years. He also opened a small stationery shop near the school by taking a loan of ₹ 1000.^[5]

Though he is an awardee of Padma Shree which is the fourth highest civilian Honor in India, he lives a simple life with just a shop and hawker, as his main source of income. He also sells Raag Chanaa (spicy chickpeas; an Indian snack, popular in Western Odisha) in the street.^[6]

Literary career edit

He has been compared to Gangadhar Meher for his Sambalpuri style of writing.^[7][5] The BBC made a documentary film about his life and works.^[7][8] Dhodo Bargachh (The Old Banyan Tree) was published in a local magazine, which was one of his first Poems. His literary works mostly include a fighter in his own right, and social reformation through protecting human dignity. According to thehindu he was very encouraged by the people who liked his literary work in Sambalpuri style, he said:^[5]

"I was felicitated and that encouraged me to write more," -Lok Kabi Ratna.

He is also known for his prolific memory, he can recall all the poems he had written till his last poetry known to people.

He again recalls to us, what he believes that...

A man of simple needs, "Poetry must have a real-life connection and a message for the people."

His poetry is now considered a subject of research by five doctoral scholars.^[9] Sambalpur University has also compiled his works in a book called Haldar Granthabali-2. In the year 2017, he also received the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, from The 13th President of India Pranab Mukherjee for his contribution to the Sambalpuri language.

Some of his works which are still most favoured are:^[7]

• Lokgeet
• Samparda
• Krushnaguru
• Mahasati Urmila
• Tara Mandodari
• Achhia
• Bacchhar
• Siri Somalai
• Veer Surendra Sai
• Karamsani
• Rasia Kavi (biography of Tulasidas)
• Prem Paechan

In addition, he has also acted in two Sambalpuri films, namely Sahamate Maa Samalei^[10] and Maa Budhi Kamgei Kathani.^[11]

Literary Style edit

His poetry is based on the issues of daily life such as social issues, nature, religion and fighting oppression.

Translation edit

In the year 2020, Professor Jaishankar Babu, Head of the Department of Hindi, Pondicherry University, organized a two-day international seminar under the guidance of its Vice-Chancellor Professor Gurmeet Singh, in which "Haldhar Nag Ka kavya- Sansar" translated into Hindi from Sambalpuri by renowned Hindi writer-transaltor Dinesh Kumar Mali was released and there was an intensive discussion on his poems by the participants from India and abroad. In the year 2021, under the joint editorship of Professor Jaishankar Babu and translator Dinesh Kumar Mali, the book "'Haldhar ke Lok-sahitya par vimarsh'" and the book "Ramayan prasangon par Haldhar ke Kavya aur yugin Vimarsh " translated by Dinesh Kumar Mali based on Ramayana contexts. published from Pandulipi Prakashan, New Delhi. The popularity of these books Hindi Belt honoured Haldhar Nag with Dr Ram Manohar Tripathi Lok Seva Samman on the Silver Jubilee eve of Acharya Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi Smruti Sanrakshan Abhiyan under the leadership of Gaurav Awasthi in the auditorium of Firoz Gandhi College, Rae Bareli on date 12.11.22.

Haldhar Nag is usually barefoot and does not wear any shoes.^{[note 1]} Because he often wore a white vest and dhoti to attend events, was called "The Vest Poet". He said he felt good and open wearing the clothes.^[12]

Advertising filmmaker and documentary director Bharatbala who aimed to produce 1,000 short films under the banner Virtual Bharat to chronicle the untold stories and where the famous litterateur and film director Sampooran Singh Kalra also known by Gulzar narrated Haldhar nag.

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 about Nag in the appropriately 8-minute long story, in Virtual Bharat which is a collection of short stories about country India in various fields. Gulzar as a token of gift sent him ₹50,000.^[14]

Government of Odisha recently^[when?] announced that Sambalpuri language and literature research centre at Ghens village in Bargarh district will be established soon under his name.^[15][16]

Academic citation edit

Sambalpur University is coming up with a compilation of his writings — Haldhar Granthabali-2 — which will be a part of its syllabus.^[5]

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has included a review of the literary creations of Padma awardee and noted poet Haldhar Nag. According to sources, students pursuing a Master of Arts (MA) in Folklore and Culture Studies will study folk literature by Nag in a course component titled, ‘Folklore: Canon, Multimediality, Interdisciplinarity, and Social Epistemology’ in their second year. The course book has described Nag as the true representative of orality in the present times. His creations have been reviewed in the category, ‘Case study of orality from East India’.“Nag has based his poems on his surroundings. Folklorists and folklore researchers are vulnerable to multiple challenges with regards to archiving, documentation, and dissemination of the folk material,” TOI reported writer Nandini Sahu, who has designed the MA course for IGNOU, as saying. Notably, writer Dinesh K Mali has written a chapter for the MA programme on Nag’s poetry.'

• Odia language
• Odia literature
• List of Indian poets

• Sambalpuri language
• [1]
• [2]
• [3]