VIJAYAWADA: From the quiet streets of Chemmanagiripet, Machilipatnam, to the grand halls of Rashtrapati Bhavan, 20-year-old Deepthi Appikatla has struck a chord on the national stage. She captivated President Droupadi Murmu with her Veena recital, representing the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana NCC cultural music troupe at the Republic Day 2025 celebrations, earning accolades from the country’s highest offices. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also applauded her during the ‘PM at Home’ programme on January 24.
A third-year B.Tech (CSE) student at KL University, Deepthi’s journey into music is nothing short of remarkable. Born into a family with no musical background, she discovered her passion at the age of 12, initially training in vocal and keyboard under Modali Chandra Shekar. Inspired by her peers, she embraced the Veena in 2017, refining her skills across multiple disciplines until 2022.
Later she trained under international Veena exponent Ayyagari Syama Sundar through online sessions before learning under Chitta Kartik, a disciple of maestro Dulipalla Srinivas. She also mastered vocal under TKVM Vamsidhar, a top performer in Padutha Theeyaga, earning first-class certifications in both disciplines.
At KL University, she became an active member of the Music Club and NCC, excelling in competitions. She delivered a standout performance at Jaya Bheri, the inter-university competition at Andhra University in 2023, topped the VVIT Veena solo category in 2022 and 2023, and secured first place in the IMT Hyderabad band performance in 2022. As an NCC cadet, she performed at numerous university events and was honoured with the Ugadi Puraskaram by the State government.
As the only Veena player chosen from the Telugu States, she reached the Republic Day camp in New Delhi, where her team performed Pranathi Pranathi, penned by former NCC cadet Sridhar Atreya, before President Murmu. She also played before Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the Chiefs of the Army and Navy. Her team secured first place in the band performance, earning a trophy from NCC Director General Lt. Gen. Gurbirpal Singh. On February 3, she mesmerised the audience at Telangana Raj Bhavan, receiving appreciation from Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma.
Deepthi’s achievements, however, extend beyond music. A trained Karateka, she holds a brown belt under Master GK Shekar. She won gold at the Shitoryu Karate Association’s Andhra Pradesh-Telangana South India competition in 2018 and represented the State at the International Karate Championship in Visakhapatnam in 2019.
Her younger sister, Kiranmai, a 19-year-old B.Tech student at KL University, is following in her footsteps as a Veena player and vocalist. She also performed on TTD’s Adivo Alladivo platform in Tirumala. For Deepthi’s parents, Aswani Kumar, proprietor of Ashwin Computers, and Naga Lakshmi, a homemaker, their daughters’ success is a source of immense pride. Watching Deepthi perform before the President was, in their words, a moment of honour that will be cherished forever.