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Darshanam Mogilaiah, also known as Kinnera Mogilaiah, was recorded trying to clean and hide posters from a pillar containing his portrait in Hyderabad. A video on social media unveiled the moment, where the famed kinnera player was seen applying the whitener on posters and cleaning a pillar featuring a painted portrait of him.
The moment encouraged calls to “keep Hyderabad clean” as people urged the authorities to intervene and impose penalties on those who stick posters on public property. It was a point of reflection for the people of Hyderabad after the Padma Shri awardee had to reach the site and act on the matter himself.
Who Is Darshanam Mogilaiah?
Born in 1951, Mogilaiah is an Indian artist from the state of Telangana. He is one of the rare
surviving performers of kinnera, a tribal musical instrument. A stringed instrument in the vein of the traditional ‘veena’, the origins of kinnera have been traced as far back as the 4th century CE. The instrument is indigenous to the nomadic tribes and the Dalit communities in the Deccan Plateau, including Dakkali, Madiga and the Chenchu.
Padma Shri awardee Mogilaiah was seen cleaning a Hyderabad Metro pillar after posters were pasted over his portrait.
A reminder : stop defacing the city. Keep Hyderabad clean. pic.twitter.com/ljTZT7qaz7
— Naveena (@TheNaveena) December 17, 2025
Mogilaiah’s forefathers were pioneers in making and playing a range of kinneras. Mogilaiah’s father once made a nine-stair kinnera, a feat his son overcame and stitched together a twelve-stair kinnera. In 2022, the government of India honoured Mogilaiah with the Padma Shri award for his contributions as a kinnera musician, helping revive the dying art and keeping it alive.
People Urge GHMC To Act Immediately
Mogilaiah being forced to enter the road and act against the posters stuck on his portrait evoked a sense of shame and disappointment among the Hyderabadis online. They immediately tagged the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and requested the authorities to take strict action against those who glue such stickers on public property.
“Please impose penalties on those who paste posters illegally. I think u can easily penalise them as the number and addresses are there on the poster’s itself. Easy to identify them,” said one individual.
Another person commented, “Felt quite sad and upset to watch what he was doing, and no one cared. No proper words to explain it or say anything which would make any difference or bring about any change. A progressive society should not be like this.
“Still don’t understand why we are not banning these ugly-looking posters, banners and all,” asked someone else.
The video of a Padma Shri awardee himself coming out on the streets and cleaning the pillar of his portrait did make for a very sorry sight and should raise alarms for the local authorities to immediately act on the issue.
