Haldhar Nag left school after Class 3, later won Padma Shri for his poetry

Haldhar Nag did not spend years in classrooms studying literature, nor did he follow the conventional path to becoming a recognised poet. He left school after Class 3, following his father’s death, and began working to support himself. Decades later, his poetry in Kosli, also known as Sambalpuri, became the subject of doctoral research, and he received one of India’s highest civilian honours, the Padma Shri, in 2016.Nag’s story is not simply about a man who achieved recognition despite limited formal education. It is also about how a literary voice rooted in the language, landscape and everyday experiences of western Odisha found its way into academic institutions.According to a March 2016 TOI report, five scholars were pursuing PhD research on his poetry at the time. Sambalpur University was also compiling his writings into a collection intended for academic use.