Harikathe in Kannada literally means the story of Lord Hari, usually the stories from Ramayana and Mahabharatha. It is a traditional form of story-telling which was very popular in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In this art form the story-teller uses poetry, music, dance and drama to narrate the stories.
In Hindu mythology the first Harikatha singer was Narada who was a devotee of Lord Vishnu and sang for him. This ancient art form took current form during the Bhakti movement in around 12th century by the then popular Dasas like Purandara Dasa, Kanaka Dasa and many. In those times the Haridasas, the story-tellers, would prefer Dhanurmasa, the period between December and January, for going around the villages. This was the time just before Sankranti festival, when majority of the population, who were farmers, would be waiting for harvesting and had lot of free time.
