Balladeer Gaddar passes away

Popular balladeer from the State Gaddar alias Gummadi Vitthal Rao passed away of a cardiac arrest at a hospital in Secunderabad today.

He was 77, and is survived by his wife and three children.

Gaddar had been undergoing treatment at the Secunderabad-based Apollo Spectra Hospital for the past couple of days, and underwent heart surgery. The doctors had also declared that the heart operation was successful. However, his health deteriorated after the surgery.

Gummadi Vittal Rao was born in 1949 at Tupran in Medak district. His primary education was in Nizamabad and Mahabubnagar districts, and he later studied engineering in Hyderabad. He worked as a clerk from 1975 to 1984 in Canara Bank, and soon turned a full-time artist, balladeer and activist.

A staunch proponent of statehood for the Telangana region, Gaddar had participated in the ill-fated 1969 Telangana statehood movement too. He also fought against the killings of dalits in Karamchedu in 1987. He strongly opposed "fake encounters" by the police many times, and his activism even resulted in an assassination attempt on him in 1997.

Gaddar played a key role in the Telangana statehood movement of the 2000s too. The song Podustunnna Poddu Meeda written by him during the movement for the movie Jai Bolo Telangana inspired many.

An accomplished artist, Gaddar composed several songs, many of which are quasi-anthems in movements. Among his earliest songs was "Aparaa Rickshaw" that he wrote with the encouragement of Narsing Rao in the year 1971. His songs soon took him places, and he even received a Nandi award for the song "Nee Paadam Meeda Puttumachchanai Chellemma" from the movie Orey Rickshaw. He also received the Public Literary Award. He appeared on the silver screen too in the movie Maa Bhoomi, and was also one of the founders of the Jana Natya Mandali in undivided Andhra Pradesh.

Following the news of the death, Vimalakka and V Hanumantha Rao reached Apollo Spectra Hospital and paid their tributes. Many politicians including CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka also expressed grief and condolences to his family members. Many writers and artistes also reached the hospital to pay tributes to him, and expressed shock at the death.