A video of Padma Shri recipient Darshanam Mogilaiah, also known as Kinnera Mogilaiah, scrubbing posters off a pillar that actually displays his own portrait in Hyderabad has been making the rounds on social media. People are now demanding that officials crack down on such violations of public cleanliness. The clip shows the celebrated kinnera musician applying whitener and scrubbing away at the pillar near his image, highlighting how posters routinely get plastered all over public property.
Mogilaiah is a renowned folk artist from Telangana who's become a master of the kinnera, a rare tribal stringed instrument with roots stretching back centuries. He received the Padma Shri in 2022 in recognition of his work keeping this traditional art alive.
The video has sparked people to pressure the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to come down hard on those sticking posters and stickers on public structures. Many are tagging the civic body online and demanding they hand out fines. Locals have voiced frustration that someone as respected as Mogilaiah felt compelled to personally tackle what they see as preventable vandalism of public spaces.
One user pushed for authorities to penalise illegal poster pasting, noting that the phone numbers and addresses printed on the posters make tracking down the culprits pretty straightforward.
Another user challenged GHMC's effectiveness, arguing that having just one official isn't cutting it and calling for tougher citywide oversight to keep ads off public pillars.
A third user expressed sadness and exasperation at the indifference on display, saying this kind of carelessness signals a society moving backward and brought to mind the idea of learned helplessness.
