Vemulapati receives ‘Kala Ratna’

Nellore: Noted magician Vemulapati Madhava Rao has received the State government’s prestigious Kala Ratna (earlier Hamsa) award from Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Tourism Minister Kandula Durgesh as part of Ugadi Puraskaram held at Tummalapalle Kalakshetram on Sunday.

An engineer-cum-magician Vemulapati hails from Pamur village in Prakasam district (presently living in Kavali town) has performed more than 2,000 programmes in both the Telugu speaking States for the last several years.

He stands apart from other magicians as his shows aims to educate people on social evils.

The 72-year-old magician has earned 18 national awards and 20 State awards till date during his magic journey commenced from 1989.