Telangana tribal artiste Kanaka Raju was shifted to the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Adilabad on Sunday, July 18, for treatment by medical and health authorities in Komaram Bheem Asifabad district. This was done in view of his precarious health condition. The tribal folk dance guru, who has been selected for this year's Padma Shri award, is suffering from tuberculosis (TB) and required medical treatment at a better health facility.
The shifting of the septuagenarian dance guru to the medical institute came as a response to a news item carried in TNM on Saturday evening. The story listed out details of the dire financial condition the family was in, the deteriorating health of Kanaka Raju and lack of funds to pay for his treatment.
"We sent an ambulance from the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Utnoor and brought him to RIMS this morning," said KB Asifabad District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) Kudmetha Manohar. The top official in the district oversaw the process of admitting the artiste in the hospital and getting him the required medical attention.
TNM had earlier spoken with medical officers in the district about the tribal artiste’s health. Considering his age and weakened condition, they suggested Kanaka Raju be shifted to a health centre with better facilities. The officers also said that since he has tuberculosis, he should ideally be moved from his present two-room house to a place with more space and air circulation.
Kanaka Raju is a master of the tribal folk dance Ghusadi, known for its use of colourful attire and headdress. Throughout his career, he has trained generations of Ghusadi dancers. Ghusadi is part of the Dandari dance tradition of adivasi communities in four Telangana districts — Adilabad, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial and Nirmal — which were once part of the undivided Adilabad district.
For his immense contribution to the dance form, he was recently awarded the Padma Shri. Ever since the announcement was made on Republic Day, he had been lauded by everyone from the Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan to ministers in the state Cabinet, MLAs, district-level leaders, and officials of the Tribal Welfare Department.