Gururajulu Naidu

Gururajulu Naidu (1931^[1]–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.^{[clarification needed]}

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

^ Keshava, V. C. (2004). Exploring Mysore: A Complete Data Map in a Special Style. V.S.R. Prakashana. p. 133.

External links

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

[1] Keshava, V. C. (2004). Exploring Mysore: A Complete Data Map in a Special Style. V.S.R. Prakashana. p. 133.

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