Karimnagar: Chengali Gangadhar of Raikal in Jagitial has been juggling two roles: Postman and folk singer. And he has received awards for both.
He recently bagged the first prize in a national-level music competition organised by the department of posts in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
Coming from a poor background, Gangadhar started singing at the age of 13 after being influenced by reputed folk singer Sarangapani of Warangal. “I used to listen to songs sung by Sarang-apani on radio.
The songs influenced me greatly to become a folk singer, writer and music composer. I am an ardent follower of Sarangapani,” he said. Gangadhar has been singing before audiences since 1989 and topped in patriotic song competitions in 1994.
On November 23, he won the first prize in the folk singing segment during a state-level competition. This enabled him to participate in national-level competition on December 14 where he competed against 22 singers.
