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| Padma Shri Haldhar Naag- Adivasi poet crusader from Odisha | | |
Sunil Vaid
Honoured with Padma Shri, three PhD‘s based on him, his life and work is a case study in Harvard university, nominated for Noble Literature in 2008, BBC documents on him and many more such achievements credited to his life. No, We are not talking about any premier University pass out; In fact we are talking about a class three drop out ,Haldhar Nag. In a world where report cards are given more importance, his life story is bound to be a source of inspiration for all. Marks are not the measure of a person’s intelligence, and no one bears better testimony to this than Haldhar Nag. He is 71 years old and from Odisha. Nag is poet and his poems are written in Kosli (which is also known as Sambalpuri, and is the western variation of the Odia language).He remembers all of them and can reel them off verbatim, on demand. Some of his prominent works are Lokgeet, Samparda, Taramandodri, Maha Sato Urmila, Bacchhar, sriSomalai, Karan sani, prempanchen amongst others.
Born on March 31, 1950, to a poor family of Ghens in Odisha’s Bargarh district, he lost his father when he was 10 and had to work as a local dishwasher in a sweet shop to feed his family .Realizing his condition village head took him to high school where he worked as a cook for more than 10 years. He also opened a small stationary shop nearby the school, that too by taking a Loan of Rs 1000/. This is when his journey as a poet started.
Nag started observing the nature around and penned down his first poem in 1990 titled “Dhodo Bargach" which means the old Banyan tree. His poem was published in local magazine which acted as a source of inspiration for him, and soon became popular as the Lok kabi Ratna. Nag started travelling from one village to another for reciting poems. Today he manages to attend three events per day. Till date he has penned 20 epics and has lost the count for the poems. He draws his themes from the rural surroundings and writes mostly on mythology, history, religion, society, nature and loves experimenting with new topics. Recently his work has also been translated into English. When asked Nag whether translation has an effect on the original essence of the poem he says,” I cannot read, write or understand English so cannot compare the original and translated work.” He is blessed with elephant’s memory, you mention any name or subject of his poem, and he will recite it for you.
The 70 year old is always spotted in a dhoti and vest and has never worn foot wear through out his life. Donning a spot less white dhoti and vest he arrived bare footed to receive India’s fourth highest civilian award from the president. He is also the director and singer of DULABIHA CULTURAL TROUPE. Talking about the group he says, “The Group travels from places to places to perform with a aim to enrich the culture and tradition of the community. Nag has a huge list of achievements to his credit. He has been felicitated with Orissa Sahitya Academy award in 2014 and Padma Shri in 2016. SAMBALPUR university is working compilation of his work that will be titled “Haldhar Granthabali -2 and will be part of their syllabus. Although he did not get an opportunity to go to school, he runs a school Haldhar Banovidyalay for tribal and orphan children. Nag fights for the oppressed and marginalized through his poems. A crusader in his own right, social reformation through protecting human dignity ranks high on the list of issues he writes about. Even after being competent he keeps himself at a distance from all materialistic things. The coveted padamshri awardee might have brought him glory, but humble rural poet, Haldhar Nag, remains grounded and even continues his small business of selling channa “Ghguni" by the road side in his village Ghens in Bargarh district. His status as Padma Shri awardee has not changed Him a bit. “Sadhnakutir" and a Sangrahalya of Haldhar Nag have come up at Ghens. A doctor couple of Beragarh after approval from Nag renovated his ancestral house into Gallery where all his awards and memorabilia have been show cased. Besides, separate library area has been developed for storing all the works of the Kosli poet including his books. The Govt of Odisha recently announced that Sambalpuri language and literature research centre of Ghens village in Bargarh district will be established under Nags name.Surprisingly,the man has also been a part of Bollywood movie titled “ Kaun kitne pani mein" alongside stars like Gulshan Grover, kunal kapoor etc.His poem “Letter to Haldhar" is pure motivation for the people who seek their own identity.
A strong believer of simple living and high thinking, Padma Shri poet Haldhar Nags life allows everyone to think beyond college degrees and primary education. He draws inspiration from anything he encounters on daily basis whether it is deforestation, Hindu mythology or social issues. As a man of simple needs, he believes, “poetry must have real- life connection and message for the people". |
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