Darshanam Mogilaiah
A Telangana folk singer who plays a 12-step kinnera of his own design and sings old ballads of kings, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2022.
Darshanam Mogulaiah is a folk singer who performs heroic and folk ballads while playing the kinnera, an old stringed instrument made of bamboo, gourds, horn, beeswax and mirrors. He is often called Kinnera Mogulaiah. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2022 in the field of art, from Telangana [1].
A family instrument
Mogulaiah was born on 1 January 1949 at Ausalikunta village in Lingal mandal of Mahabubnagar district, into a poor family [2]. Poverty kept him from finishing school, but he can recount many unwritten stories of kings and emperors [2]. He began playing the kinnera at nine and had mastered it by 18 [2].
His grandparents played a seven-step kinnera and his father a nine-step one; his father believed no more steps were possible, but Mogulaiah designed a 12-step instrument [2]. He has said he could live by begging but would never give up his kinnera [2].
A late spotlight
He moved to Hyderabad, about 200 km from his village, to work as a daily labourer, but the Covid-19 pandemic left him struggling [2]. The film star Pawan Kalyan then gave him a chance to sing in the film Bheemla Nayak, which brought him wide fame [2]. His life story is a lesson in a Telangana class 8 textbook, and a pillar at Begumpet metro station bears his portrait [2].
The Telangana government honoured him on the state’s first formation day and gives him a monthly pension [2]. He has also been honoured by Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University and the South Zone Cultural Centre [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2022: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 24 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2022: citation for Darshanam Mogilaiah — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 24 October 2026.
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