Born as G. M. Manjanath, on 2nd June, 1904, he was a prominent coffee planter and lived in the village of Gundugutti in Somwarpet taluk in Kodagu district.

[2] In 1934, Pandyanda Belliappa, another prominent freedom fighter, and Gundugutti Manjanathaya succeeded in persuading Mahatma Gandhi to tour Coorg for his cause of gaining donations towards the Harijan welfare fund.

It was here that Mrs. B. T. Gopal Krishna, better known as Kodagina Gowramma, a famous Kannada woman writer and his relative, donated her jewellery for the cause and invited the entourage to her house.

[3][4] During the 1942 Quit India Movement Manjanathaya's eldest son Gundugutti Narasimhamurthy organised a Seva Mandal in Madikeri to inspire the youth.

Kalappa from Somwarpet constituency in the Mysore State (Old name for Karnataka) Elections in 1967.