Mancherial Folk Singer Kummari Durgavva is New Internet Sensation

Mancherial: She was simply another daily wage earner until lately, singing folk tunes as she went about her farming duties. She was living in an unfinished house and struggling to make ends meet. Kummari Durgavva, a self-taught folk singer, became an overnight online sensation after performing the song Adavi Thalli in Pawan Kalyan's upcoming film, "Bheemla Nayak."

Durgavva, who hails from the rural Royyalapalli village in Kotapalli Mandal, has been singing since she was a youngster, receiving inspiration from women who used to bellow out ballads and folk songs while doing fieldwork. A few months ago, Chippari Naresh, who runs Naresh TV, a YouTube channel, brought out her impeccable singing abilities and distinctive voice.

"I used to sing folk songs whenever I was engaged in the transplantation of paddy saplings and removal of weeds to entertain colleagues. My singing talent was known to the world when two songs that I sang, Sircilla Chinnadi and Ungurame Rangaian Ramlala Tungurame, became popular on YouTube recently. The latest song in the feature film Bheemla Nayak helped me earn special fame," Durgavva told the media.

In fact, after being released on YouTube on December 7, the song "Adavi Thalli" received 5.8 million views in just three days. Within three months of its release, Sircilla Chinnadi's song "Ungurame rangaian ramlala tungurame" received 7.82 lakh views on Telangana Folk Songs - Janapada Songs Telugu, a YouTube channel, and the song "Ungurame rangaian ramlala tungurame" received 4.20 lakh views on Naresh TV.

Shailaja, the woman with no formal education, credited her accomplishments to her mother's encouragement and constant support. "It was my daughter who recognised my innate talent and encouraged me to render songs. She started introducing me to music directors," she revealed, adding that she hopes to continue singing songs in movies in the future. She remembered losing her husband to an illness many years before.

Chippari Naresh explained that he stumbled across Durgavva's songs while collecting authentic Telangana folk songs. He said that he could contact the artist through Shailaja, a Mancherial resident. He revealed that members of ace music director SS Thaman's team called him and asked him to record Adavi Thalli's song.