15 Facts About Darshanam Mogilaiah

Darshanam Mogilaiah, known as Kinnera Mogulaiah, is an Indian artist from the state of Telangana and is one of the few surviving performers of a tribal musical instrument known by the name Kinnera.

Darshanam Mogilaiah is the first person to create a 12-stair kinnera and is the only artist who made and plays the 12-step kinnera.

Darshanam Mogilaiah hailed from a Madiga family in the Ausalikunta village of Lingal mandal in Nagarkurnool district of Telangana along the stretches of Nallamala Hills.

Darshanam Mogilaiah has had not much formal education and has had no steady job with an assured income.

Darshanam Mogilaiah 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.

Darshanam Mogilaiah had worked as a laborer for 14 years in Adilabad, Karimnagar and Warangal.

Darshanam Mogilaiah had worked at a construction site in Mumbai.

Darshanam Mogilaiah's ancestors made the kinnera with seven, eight or nine stairs.

Darshanam Mogilaiah was the first to make a kinnera with 12 stairs.

Darshanam Mogilaiah's forefathers used women's hair, horse-tail hair and even animal nerves as the strings.

Darshanam Mogilaiah learned the art of playing kinnera from his father Yellaiah.

Darshanam Mogilaiah had started traveling with his father from the age of eight.

Now, Darshanam Mogilaiah 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.

Darshanam Mogilaiah's forefathers are believed to have played the kinnera in the court of the Raja of Wanaparthy about 400 years ago.

Darshanam Mogilaiah 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.