I don't have money to go to Delhi. Please send the prize by post.'' These are the words of Padma Shri award winner Haldhar Nag. Haldhar Nag had 3 pairs of clothes, one broken rubber slipper, one rimless spectacles and a deposit of Rs. 732, he was awarded Padma Shri.
Haldhar Nag was born on 31st March 1950 in Bargarh district of Odisha. He belonged to a very poor family. When he was studying in the third class, his father died. Haldhar Nag left his studies and started washing dishes in a hotel. After two years, a gentleman gave him the job of cooking food in the school. After doing this work for 16 years, he met a banker and took a loan of Rs. 1000 from the bank and opened a stationery shop near the school. He kept on living from that. During this time, he kept on writing something or the other. He did not let his passion for writing die.
This was a matter of his financial condition. In 1990, he gave his first poem in Kosali language to be published in a local magazine called Dhoro Bargaj. He gave four more poems along with it. All the poems were published and appreciated but the heights he was yet to reach were still to be reached. It is said that in 1995, he made people aware by writing religious books like Ram Sawari.
First, he forced people to recite his poems. By 2016, he became so popular that the government awarded him Padma Shri. All his poems are based on nature, society, mythological stories and religion. He is always ready for social reforms through his poems. He is famous as Lok Kavi Ratna in Odisha. When Haldhar Nag reached Rashtrapati Bhavan barefoot to receive the award, wearing a white dhoti, towel and a vest, everyone was stunned.
Let me tell you that many students are doing PhD on the literature of a person who studied only till third class. We are proud of such a great person whose aim was not to earn money but to acquire knowledge and spread its light among the people. Haldhar Nag ji enriched the literary world with his poetry.
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