Telangana awards for Vaikuntam, Warsi bros

Hyderabad: The state government on Wednesday selected artist Thota Vaikuntam, sculptor B. Srinivas Reddy, senior vocalist Malini Rajurkar and qawwals Warsi brothers from Hyderabad for its awards to mark the Telangana State Formation Day celebrations on June 2.

Reacting to the announcement, Nazeer and Naseer Ahmed Warsi said, “We are very happy to receive the award. Ever since the days of our grandfather Aziz Ahmed Warsi, who was a Padma Shri awardee, the people of the state have showered their love and affection on us. Our father Zaheer Ahmed Warsi was honoured with a National Award by former PM P.V. Narsimha Rao. We feel very nice that the Telangana state has awarded us and given much-needed inspiration to carry forward the legacy of qawwali.”

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The sculptor Bolla Srinivas Reddy said the award came as a surprise. “It’s good to be recognised by the government. At the same time I hope that artists would always be involved in different community based projects. I take this opportunity to offer my services for taking art and culture, closer to the public.”

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao will present the awards to 52 awardees at a function at Parade Ground on June 2.

The other awardees are:
Classical dance: Raghavaraj BhattMangala Bhatt, B. Sudheer Rao
Perini: Perini Kumar
Folk: Durishetti Ramaiah, Ketavath Somlal, Gaddam Sammiah
Social service: Vandema-taram Foundation, Yakub Bee
Theatre: Denchanala Srinivas, Vellampatla Nageshwar Rao
Veda Pandit: Narendra Kapre