BHUBANESWAR: Celebrated Koshali poet and Padma Shri awardee Haladhar Nag on Saturday said literature guides people on the path of truth, and true poets are Yugajanmas (born in ages) who take society on the right path.
Inaugurating the 12th edition of the Odisha Literary Festival organised by The New Indian Express here, the poet, who is known as ‘Loka Ratan Kabi’ (people’s poet) for his down-to-earth writings on the basic issues and problems of the society, delved into the essence of humanism and literature.
“There may be different castes, but every human being is one. There may be different languages, but literature is inherently one and has the singular object to uplift the human being. A person may belong to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or Brahmin, but his feelings towards others make him an ideal human being,” he said.
Clad in a cotton dhoti and his typical cotton vest, the legendary folk poet from western Odisha thanked the TNIE for giving a platform to regional language writers like him. His rustic simplicity and inspiring words touched the hearts of the packed audience, who responded with loud claps and cheers to his every word.
Nag recounted the difficulties of being born to an impoverished family which could not afford him education beyond class three. He became an orphan at the age of 10 and had to work in hotels and as a cook in school and college hostels to eke out a living.
“I am not sure if I would have written in any other language had I been able to receive formal education. But, I am happy to be writing in Koshali as it is a distinct sub-language from a remote part of the state,” he said.
Nag said he never imagined he would be conferred with Padma Shri. He narrated his experience of meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. “I was having breakfast when minister Dharmendra Pradhan came rushing and said the prime minister will meet you. I had to hide the cup of tea when the PM arrived. He congratulated me and said you have raised the prestige of the Odisha in the entire world.”
Nag recited a poem written by him on a minister’s visit to a village where a blind man was crushed by his vehicle. The poem narrates how everybody in the village blamed the blind man for coming out during the minister’s visit. “The blind man did not have vision, but the minister had eyes,” were the last words of the soul-stirring verse.
In her inaugural address, chief executive officer of The New Indian Express Lakshmi Menon said the literary festival has become the most anticipated event in the cultural calendar of the state.
