Popular singer Mogulaiah with an instrument called Kinnerametlu has been awarded Pamasri by the Government. Megulaiah is very popular now with the song from Bheemla Naik movie mentored by Trivikram Srinivas.
Earlier Mogulaia got some state Government also. He was identified by the Telangana Government advisor Ramana Chary before Mogulaiah came into the limelight.
Now Hero Pawan Kalyan also helped Mogulaiah financially with around Rs two lakhs. Darshanam Mogulaiah is the only man who plays the 12 steps Kinnera. He is 63 and struggling to meet both ends meet.The kinnera has several variations – it comes with seven, nine, 12 or 13 frets. The larger-sized ones have three resonators, while the smaller ones have only two.
Much like the Saraswati veena, the instrument is made with organic materials. Its neck is crafted of bamboo, and the resonators from sun-dried and hollowed-out bottle gourds.
Pangolin scales are used for the frets, and honey wax for binding. The strings were once fashioned out of women’s hair, horse-tail hair and even animal nerves, but have long been replaced with thin metallic strings.
Darshanam Mogilaiah, who is part of the Dakkali tribe, plays the 12-fret kinnera. He received the state’s highest honours, the Ugadi Puraskaram, in 2015.
There is even a chapter on him in a social studies school textbook. Another member of the Dakkali tribe, Pochayya, who hails from the Mahabubnagar district, was honoured by the University of Hyderabad in 2015.
