Bheemla Nayak Singer, Padma Sri Awardee @ Daily Labour

It’s quite heart breaking to see that Padmasri Awardee Kinnera Mogulaiah aka Darshanam Mogulaiah, whose rendition of ‘Bheemla Nayak’ title song’s starting lines has pushed him into fame, is now working under the rising mercury to feed his stomach and son’s medical expenditures. This looks like a scene straight out of a film, but that’s what happening right now.

According to the videos and reports doing rounds on the internet, Mogulaiah was seen working under the hot sun at a construction site in Turkayamanjal, Hyderabad as a daily-wage labourer. He was honoured with the Padmasri in 2022, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for reinventing the rare musical instrument, the ‘Kinnera’.

When media folks questioned him, the singer-musician said, “My son suffers from seizures and for my medical expenses I need at least ₹7,000 a month. However, the monthly ₹10,000 allowance sanctioned by the state government was discontinued recently about which I don’t have a clue”.

Reports are doing rounds that the ₹1 crore grant promised to him as well as the land awarded to him is yet to be officially allotted. It’s ironic to see that we celebrate these awardees for a trending post on Twitter, but in reality, their position and situation never change.