Bharat Lila is the most colourful presentation of Folk- Dance prevalent in Ganjam. The leading story depends upon Subhadra Parinaya, a beautiful part of the epic Mahabharata. Subhadra is the sister of Lord Krishna. Krishna himself, plays the role of mediator between the two sweet-hearts i.e. Arjun and Subhadra in the guise of a `Duari` and makes the clandestine love in between the two fruitful. The story slowly progresses into positive end.

The episode it depicts concerns the love and marriage of the hero Arjuna and Subhadra. In the play, Subhadra visits Arjuna and expresses her Jove. But Arjuna declines as she, being Krishna`s sister, is like a sister to him. Then the Dwari i.e. sentry enters and counters all his arguments, quoting incidents from different epics and other religious texts. At last Arjuna is defeated and agrees to marry Subhadra.

There are only four characters that present in the play. These are Krishna`s wife Satyabhama, Arjuna, Subhadra, and the Dwari. Bharat Lila is not a written script but continues in the oral tradition. All the characters sing and dance. In between, improvised prose dialogues are spoken to explain the scenes and situations. The refrains of the songs are sung in chorus. The Dwari`s acting and dancing provides humour. About fifty professional troupes perform Bharat Lila every year in and around Ganjam.

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