Darshanam Mogilaiah | |
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Born | 1951 (age 72–73) |
Nationality | India |
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Darshanam Mogilaiah (born in 1951) also known as Kinnera Mogulaiah, is an artist from the Indian state of Telangana and is one among a few surviving performers of a tribal musical instrument known by the name Kinnera. [1] The kinnera is a stringed instrument much like a veena whose origin can be traced back to as early as the 4th century CE. The instrument is indigenous to the nomadic tribes and the Dalit communities in the Deccan Plateau such as the Dakkali, Madiga and the Chenchu. There are kinneras with different numbers of stairs or steps. Mogilaiah's forefathers were pioneers in making and playing kinneras having different numbers of stairs. His father had made a nine-stair kinnera. Mogilaiah was the first person to create a 12-stair kinnera and he is the only artist who makes and plays the 12-step kinnera. [2] In the year 2022, Govt of India honoured him with the Padma Shri award for his contributions as a kinnera musician. [3]
Darshanam Mogilaiah hails from a Madiga (Dalit) family in the Ausalikunta village of Lingal mandal in Nagarkurnool district of Telangana along the stretches of Nallamala Hills. He has had not much formal education and has had no steady job with an assured income. He has seen much hardships and his life had been very difficult eking out a living doing odd jobs like a daily wager in construction sites. He had worked as a laborer for 14 years in Adilabad, Karimnagar and Warangal. He had also worked at a construction site in Mumbai. [4]
In a sense, Mogulaiah reinvented the kinnera. Kinnera is a two-stringed instrument made using indigenous materials like bamboo, dried outer shell of round bottle gourd, honeycomb, bull horn, beads, mirrors and peacock feathers. His ancestors made the kinnera with seven, eight or nine stairs. He was the first to make a kinnera with 12 stairs. His forefathers used women's hair, horse-tail hair and even animal nerves as the strings. He replaced the nerves with metal strings. Mogulaiah learned the art of playing kinnera from his father Yellaiah. He had started traveling with his father from the age of eight. Now, Mogulaiah has been singing folk tales of local heroes for over five decades, heroes who all helped the poor like Pandugolla Sayanna, Endavetla Pakiraiah and Miya Saab, all of whom helped the poor. [4]
Moglaiah's forefathers are believed to have played the kinnera in the court of the Raja of Wanaparthy about 400 years ago. Wanaparthy Samsthanam or Raja of Wanaparthy was a vassal of the Nizam of Hyderabad. It was one of the three important Samsthanams, the other two being Gadwal Samsthanam and Jatprole Samsthanam. He has sung a part of the title song of the 2022 Telugu language action drama film, Bheemla Nayak directed by Saagar K Chandra and starring Pawan Kalyan. [4]
Mogulaiah's second son Mahender accompanies his father for the kinnera performances in cultural programs held in different parts of the country. Mahendar is now learning to play kinnera and taking his father's legacy forward.
Mala is a Telugu caste from the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They are also present in smaller numbers in the states of Karnataka and Maharashtra. They are classified as a Scheduled Caste (SC) by the Government of India. According to 2001 census data, Malas constituted 41.6 percent of the Scheduled Castes population in the then state of Andhra Pradesh, which also included the present state of Telangana.
Reddy is a Hindu caste predominantly found in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in South India. They are classified as a forward caste.
Madiga is a Telugu caste from southern India. They mainly live in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, with a small minority in Tamil Nadu. Madigas are historically associated with the work of tannery, leatherwork and small handicrafts. Today, most are agricultural labourers. They are categorized as a Scheduled Caste by the Government of India. Within the Madiga community, there are various sub-castes include Bindla they work mostly known to make shoes, Chindu They are nomadic performing caste, Chindus constantly travel to different villages and live with Madigas they can be identified as worshippers of Yellamma diety, Dakkali, Dakkala or Dakkali is the name of a class of mendicants who beg from Mādigas only, Mashti, a nomadic tribe with martial art skills has by and large gone unnoticed in this part of East Godavari. They are unknown to many beyond the district and deprived of any support from the authorities. They are known as ‘Mala Mashtis’, Sangaris they are known for making handicrafts and wood carving. The priestly class is known as Madiga Dasu they are associated with temple worships and have had a long history of being agricultural land owners they are also worshippers of Venkateswara or Narasimha dieties.
H. R. Keshava Murthy was an Indian gamaka exponent and guru. He was honoured with Shantala Natya Sri Award by the Government of Karnataka in 1998 and Padma Shri in 2022 by the Government of India in the field of arts.
Wanaparthy is a town in the Wanaparthy district of Telangana, India. The first polytechnic college in Telangana started in Wanaparthy. It is located 149 km from the state capital, Hyderabad.
Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy is a politician from the Indian state of Telangana who is a former member of the legislative assembly representing Wanaparthy constituency in United Andhra Pradesh. He also served as a Member of Parliament of the Rajya Sabha from Mahbubnagar. He Joined th Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) prior to the 2023 Telangana Legislative Assembly election
Wanaparthy Samsthanam or Raja of Wanaparthy was a vassal of the Nizam of Hyderabad. He controlled the feudatory of Wanaparthy. It was one of the three important samsthanams in Telangana, the other two being Gadwal Samsthanam and Jatprole Samsthanam.
Siddalingaiah, was an Indian poet, playwright, and Dalit activist, writing in the Kannada language. He is credited with starting the Dalit-Bandaya movement in Kannada and with starting the genre of Dalit writing. He is one of the founders of the Dalita Sangharsh Samiti along with B. Krishnappa.
Nagarkurnool district is a district in the southern region of the Indian state of Telangana. The town of Nagarkurnool is the district headquarters. It was part of the Mahbubnagar district prior to re-organisation of districts in the state. The district shares boundaries with Nalgonda, Rangareddy, Mahabubnagar, Wanaparthy districts and with the state boundary of Andhra Pradesh with Nandyal, Palnadu and Prakasam Districts.
Wanaparthy district is a district in the Indian state of Telangana. Its headquarters is Wanaparthy. The district shares boundaries with Gadwal, Mahabubnagar, Narayanpet, Nagarkurnool districts, as well as the state boundary of Andhra Pradesh.
Sribhashyam Vijayasarathi was an Indian author, Sanskrit grammarian, philosopher and critic.
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