Bargarh: ‘A Poem A Day’, a collection of Indian poems selected and translated by legendary poet, lyricist and filmmaker Gulzar, has featured two of Odisha’s Padma Shri awardee Haldhar Nag’s poems.
The Kosali poet’s poems getting space in the filmmaker’s book is not a mean achievement. What is even more impressive is the fact that Gulzar featured two of Nag’s poems on the first page of ‘A Poem A Day’.
The book has in total 365 contemporary poems in 34 languages penned by 279 poets of India.
‘Pancha Amruta’ and ‘Chitthi Deuchhen Re Haldhar’ are the two poems of Nag that have found place on the first page of ‘A Poem A Day’.
The first page of the book also carries a message from Gulzar. He writes, “Dear Haldhar, you are like the sunrise of my book.”
Padma Shri Nag recently received a copy of ‘A Poem A Day’ along with a letter from Gulzar. In the letter, the noted filmmaker expressed his desire to meet the poet in person. Reciprocating the feelings, the Kosali poet also expressed his deepest gratitude to Gulzar.
Along with the book, Gulzar has sent a letter to the Kosali poet expressing that he is excited to meet him in person.
The noted poet was featured in ‘Virtual Bharat’ – a collection of short stories, exploring India’s art, culture, music, folklore and human stories.
The film produced by advertising filmmaker and documentary director Bharatbala was released on YouTube in 2019.
In the opening of the film, Gulzar is seen saying, “Main tumhe khat likh raha hun, Haldhar. Sambalpur ki mitti se ugaa hua yeh Adivasi kavi, ‘Kosali’ zabaan mein likhta hai… (I am writing a letter to you, Haldhar. Son of the soil of Sambalpur, this Adivasi poet writes in Kosali language. His language is known as Kosali…”
PNN
