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