Another famous exponent of Harikathe was Shri Arunkumar. Trained by his father, this versatile and dynamic artiste made a mark for himself all over South India as a Harikatha exponent. Interestingly, he was equally at home in the cinema world and he acted in many Kannada movies.
As he mentions in this Harikathe, he also had served in Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
Shri Arunkumar came and performed in Parvathi when he was much sought after all over Karnataka. His reputation was for his fast-paced, interesting and humorous style which was quite different from that of the other more traditional exponents. He had a prolific repertoire and recorded many Harikathes on cassettes. He knew several languages other than Kannada, viz. Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Hindi, English and so on. He performed Harikathes through the length and breadth of Karnataka and also in the neighbouring states.
Mr, Srikantiah recalls that this artiste had a busy schedule and travelled extensively. Many times, he had multiple Harikathe assignments in a single day. He would not disappoint his fans.
Shri Arunkumar was at the peak of his popularity when he passed away .We learn that his daughters and students have carried forward his legacy.
Mr. Srikantiah recalls that this artiste had a lot of affection and respect for him and Mr. K. K. Murthy. When Arunkumar fell ill, it seems he had expressed to Mr Srikantiah's assistant a desire to meet Mr. Srikantiah and his brother Mr. K.K. Murthy. But before either of them could do so, Shri Arunkumar had left for his heavenly abode.
In this Harikathe, at many points, Shri Arunkumar expounds the philosophy of Vairagya, and the theme of reaching life's true goal before being felled by the stroke of death. He quotes the metaphor of a mouse riding a cat... the mouse symbolizing our momentary life and the cat signifying Death.
We pay tribute to this great artiste by featuring his wonderful Harikathe, Seethaparithyaga (Kusha Lava Charitre).
