Balagam artist Pastham Mogili battling for life

Pastham Mogili has been undergoing dialysis thrice in a week in a private hospital in Warangal and is seeking help to survive

Warangal: Pastham Mogilaiah aka Mogili, who shot to fame by rendering an elegy with his wife Komuramma in the recent blockbuster ‘Balagam’, is fighting for his life with both his kidneys being damaged. He has been undergoing dialysis thrice in a week in a private hospital in Warangal and is seeking help to survive.

A native of Duggondi village in the district, he is living with his wife in a small tiled two-room house near the police station. Though several philanthropists including ‘Balagam’ producer Dil Raju and director Yeldandi Venu had helped them financially, the artist couple is unable to handle the financial burden as they spent several lakhs of rupees for treatment for almost a year.

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“About a year ago, we performed in the movie ‘Balagam’ when director Venu approached us. I felt very happy to get a chance to perform in the movie. But tragedy struck us in the form of kidney failure of my husband who has been suffering from diabetes and BP for a long time. We came to know that both of his kidneys were damaged beyond repair. Now, he is also unable to see as his eyes were also damaged,” said Komuramma, fighting back her tears.

“Everyone is calling on phone and visiting our house and saying that they got tears in their eyes from our song in the movie. But God willed otherwise and we now have tears of our own as my husband is fighting for his life,” Komuramma said. Born into a traditional community of folk artists known as ‘Sharadakandru’ of the ‘Beda Budaga Jangala’ community, both Mogili and Komuramma earned a name for themselves as the best artists in the erstwhile Warangal district and the neighbouring districts. They have been performing the art since their childhood after they learnt it from their parents.

Though the couple has two children, a son and a daughter, they live at their home at Duggondi. “Our son is eking out a living by doing a small business in Warangal, while our daughter is staying at her in-laws’ house. They come now and then to see us. It is my responsibility to care for him,” said Komuramma. Mogili, who is aged above 60 years, is getting the Aasara old age pension.

“We recorded their stories/performances in 1998 as a project by the Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University (PSTU). They performed during the celebrations of ATA and TANA when they organised their programmes in Jangaon and Warangal a decade ago,” said Assistant Professor of PSTU Gaddam Venkanna. Mogili and Komuramma were awarded ‘Keerthi Puraskaram’ on Wednesday in Hyderabad.

Meanwhile, Narsampet BRS MLA Peddi Sudarshan Reddy asked local BRS leader Thokala Narasimha Reddy to shift Mogili to NIMS, Hyderabad, and promised to take of care of the medical expenses by ensuring a Letter of Credit (LOC) from the State government. Ministers KT Rama Rao and T Harish Rao have also come forward to extend assistance to ensure medical assistance to Mogili. Kazipet Railway employees JAC leaders Devulapalli Raghavender, Kondra Narsinga Rao, and others visited Mogili’s house and felicitated the couple on Thursday. They also handed over Rs.20,000 to the couple. Founder of LEAD, an NGO of Narsampet, Kasula Ravi Kumar has also called on them and assured to do his best for the couple.