Gururajulu Naidu

Gururajulu Naidu (1931–1985) was a ''Harikathe'' storyteller. He was known as ''Harikathe'' pitamaha of Karnataka, and along with Achyuta Dasa and Keshava Dasa, he formed the trinity of ''Harikatha'' Vidwans. Gururajulu Naidu's ''Harikathe'' stories include ''Renukadevi Mahatme'', ''Bhookailasa'', ''Bheema Jarasandha'' and ''Bhakta Sudama''. He helped to popularise ''Harikathe'' in Karnataka by recording albums of the stories.

Gururajulu Naidu trained Harikatha to several disciples, including Shri N. Suryanarayanadas, Smt. Kumari Malini and LakshmanaDas. His harmonist was Vidwan Shivaramu.

Gururajulu Naidu was also known by the name Arun Kumar in the Kannada film industry. He acted in movies including ''Madhu Malathi'', '' Hannele Chiguridaga'' and '' Mooroovare Vajragalu'' which co-starred Rajkumar. He also acted with Madhavi in ''Shivakanye''. In Bangalore, in his honor, a roundabout is named by the municipality as "Gururajulu Naidu Vruttha".

His daughters also are ''Harikatha'' vidwans.

Style

Gururajulu Naidu's style of ''Harikathe'' was far removed from the slow and traditional style. It was fast-paced, interspersed with many humorous stories. Each ''Harikathe'' is about 90 minutes long. Though he has been criticised for this by the purists, Gururajulu Naidu's work was immensely popular. The content here is very less compared to the mahatma's true abilities.

Some of his popular performances are:
# ''Bhaktha Markendeya''
# ''Bhaktha Siriyala''
# ''MahiRavana''
# ''Maya Bazaar''
# ''Nallathanga Devi''
# ''Gaja Gowri Vratha''
# ''Shri Krishna Garudie''
# ''Lava Kusha''
# ''Nakku Nagisi Aluva Maresu''
# ''Bhaktha Sudhama''
# ''Bheema Jharasandha''
# ''Girija Kalyana''
# ''Mooruvare Vajragalu''
# ''Kiratarjuna''
# ''Sathya Harishchandra''
# ''Uttarana Paurusha''
# ''Chandrahaasa''
# ''Maruthi Vijaya''
# ''Santha Sakku Bhai''
# ''Koluru Kodu Gusu''
# ''Ayyappa Swamy''
# ''Babru Vahana''
# ''Muruvare Vajragalu''
# ''Bhukailasa''
# ''Nala Damayanthi''
# ''Shani Prabhava''
# The ''Ramayana'' (in four parts)
# ''Renuka Devi Mahathme''
# ''Bhakta Kumbara''
# ''Santha Ganeshwara''

References

External links

*http://www.kannadaaudio.com - website with audio recordings of Naidu

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Indian storytellers
Artists from Karnataka
Indian male singers
Harikatha exponents
1931 births
Year of death unknown