Telanagana Padma Shri recipient struggling to make ends meet

Hyderabad: Awarded with the prestigious Padma Shri two years ago and given a purse of Rs one crore by the state government, popular folk artiste Darshanam Mogulaiah is now working as a daily wager to make ends meet.

The 73-year-old artiste, who is popular for playing the rare musical instrument ‘Kinnera’, was awarded the Padma Shri and the then BRS government honoured him with Rs one crore, which he spent on various family exigencies.

A father of nine, Mogulaiah said he used the Rs one crore and performed the marriage of two of his children and took up the construction of a three-storey house after purchasing a house site.

However, the construction work stopped after he ran out of money, he told PTI here.

Of the nine children, three died and another son needs medication due to ill-health.

About Rs 20,000 a month has to be spent on medicines for his son and himself as he is diabetic and hypertensive, he said. Though the state government provides a financial assistance of Rs 10,000 every month, it is not adequate to meet his needs.

Meanwhile, BRS Working President K T Rama Rao extended financial assistance to Mogulaiah when he met him on Sunday, Rama Rao’s office said.

Rao had earlier promised to help Mogulaiah after coming to know about the artiste’s plight from media reports and a video of Mogulaiah working at a construction site here appearing on the internet.