Bhubaneswar, April 7: The state government will set up a Kosali research centre - to be named after poet Haldhar Nag - to promote literature in the dialect in Bargarh's Ghess area.
The centre will bear Nag's name in recognition of his contribution to the development of the dialect.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik made the announcement today during a felicitation ceremony for the 65-year-old, who was recently conferred with the Padma Shri award.
The centre, apart from promoting Kosali literature, will also take up research in Kosali, which is the mother tongue of 10 districts in west Odisha. The process of setting up the institute will begin shortly, said sources in the state culture department.
Nag was upbeat about the announcement and hoped that the institute would pave way for the dialect to get a constitutional status. People of west Odisha have been demanding the inclusion of Kosali in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
"Kosali literature is very rich. The dialect has seen the emergence of a number of writers and folk art forms over the years. Hopefully, the institute will help it get recognition," said Nag.
Tourism and culture minister Ashok Chandra Panda, textile minister Snehangini Chhuria and other political leaders were also present on the occasion.
Nag was accompanied by members of the Abhimanyu Sahitya Sansad, a literary organisation. They submitted a memorandum to Naveen, urging him to include Kosali dialect in academics at the school level.
"We want Kosali to be a part of textbooks just like Odia, which is included as a subject. We have requested the chief minister to introduce it in schools, at least in the districts of west Odisha," said Sansad secretary Sushant Mishra.
Nag has been promoting Kosali writings since 1990. Some of his popular works include Prem Paechan, Siri Somalai, Rasia Kavi and Mahasati Urmila. At present, he is working on poems on the lives of prominent Odia personalities such as Gangadhar Meher, Bhima Bhoi and Surendra Sai.
"They were struggling poets and quite instrumental in propagating the culture of Odisha. My aim is to immortalise their works through my writings as well as poetries," Nag said.
