Haldhar Nag
Nag was born in a poor family of Ghens in Bargarh district of Odisha on 31 March 1950. He lost his father at the age of ten. He had formal schooling up to third standard only as he had to dropout from school after class three due to his family responsibilities at that tender age.
Nag has been compared to Gangadhar Meher. The BBC made a documentary film about his life and works. Kavyanjali, an anthology of English translation of Nag's selected poetry has been launched on 2 October 2016
Some revere Nag as a messiah, with lakhs of followers in Odisha and Chatishgarh, who congregate in large number to listen to his Sambalpuripoetry when he gives readings. Initially writing Sambalpuri folk stories, in the 1990s he started writing poems in the Sambalpuri language.
Hundreds of poets imitate his style and technique boosting a robust "HaldharDhara" in Western Odisha. He has been at the forefront of the Sambalpuri language movement for inclusion in 8th schedule of Constitution. He was awarded Padma Shri , the fourth highest civilian award of India by Government of India in 2016.
Nag’s poems will soon play an instrumental role in educating the youth. Sambalpur University is coming up with a compilation of his writings — Haldhar Granthabali-2 — which will be a part of its syllabus.
