Padma Shri ‘Kinnera’ Mogulaiah struggles to make ends meet, KTR offers help

Responding to the plight of Mogulaiah, BRS working president KT Rama Rao promised to help him in personal capacity.

Hyderabad: The plight of Darshanam Mogulaiah, a Padma Shri recipient renowned for reviving the rare tribal musical instrument ‘Kinnera’, took the two States by storm, after he was seen working as a dailywage labourer at a construction site in Turkyamjal near Hyderabad to make ends meet. The 73-year-old artiste and father of nine children, has been reportedly not receiving the monthly honorarium of Rs 10,000 from the State government for the last five months due to which he has been facing severe financial problems.

The videos of Mogulaiah working at the construction site were widely shared on social media on Friday. With the news going viral and being reported by various media outlets, the State government issued a statement claiming that the monthly honorarium was being paid promptly. “The State government issued orders on May 29, 2021 to pay a monthly honorarium of Rs 10,000 to Mogulaiah. Accordingly, the amount has been paid to him from June 2021 to April 2024,” Mamidi Harikrishna, Director of Culture department said in the statement.

---

However, Mogulaiah dismissed the State government’s claims that the pension of March was deposited in his account on March 31. “I am not receiving the monthly pension. I am ready to prove it,” he said. He stated that he had not been receiving the monthly honorarium for the last four-five months.

The previous BRS government recognised the services of Mogulaiah, one among a few surviving performers of a tribal music, gave Rs one crore to him after the Centre conferred him with Padma Shri. Utilising the amount, he married off his two children and also purchased a house site near Turkyamjal. He commenced construction of a house, but stopped midway due to shortfall of money. He said he was suffering from diabetes and his son was suffering from seizures. “Both of us require Rs 12,000 per month for purchasing medicines,” he explained.

Responding to the plight of Mogulaiah, BRS working president KT Rama Rao promised to help him in personal capacity. He took to X, promising to “personally take care of Mogulaiah’s family” and asked his team to reach out to the legendary musician immediately.