Bhats (not to be confused with the surname) - the bards of India.
Who are they? What are they? And what do they?
Well, simply put, they are/were storytellers -- the bards of South Asia.
They have also served as mythographers. What is a mythographer?
Think Snorri Sturluson or Ovid.
They will collect, translate, tell, or write collections of mythic stories that carry historical importance, pass it on, share it, perform.
As the valuation and societal weight of/on castes grew, eventually bards/Bhats were split into two sorts: An upper class and lower class in whom they served.
The wealthy, higher castes had their own bhats that served in many respects for a modern western comp. like the Maesters out of game of thrones. They would tell stories tied to and recite genealogy - family history as well as educational stories, and even perform storied eulogies for the passing of family members in wealthy families. The lower class bhats would do genealogy for patrons as well as a focus more on entertainment but not necessarily education (though you can argue that because stories are educational.
Unfortunately, this division and status worsened with time with sort of an upper class privileged bard/bhat that performed praise songs, story-tellers, and revered poets, vs the lower class "puppeteers or mummers telling folk tales only" -- considered riffraff.
The upper class of bards especially served Rajput families in ensuring glory, recognition, histories of their families deeds/goodness, birth, impeccable genealogy, all of which of course was used to continue to hold on to or grow political appeal/legitimacy and social status.
At times, bhats, along with monks (particularly of Jainistic backgrounds), and those of the Hindu Brahmin caste would compete in storytelling to mold/shape perception of tales among the royalty and those they wished to convince of certain ways of thinking by telling alternative histories or tales of family lines/kings past, and deeds done by them, and the kingdoms themselves.
Note: THEY DID NOT tell alternative versions of the epics/myths.
Now, that has happened through time and travel. There are alternative/localized versions of the South Asian myths and epics in many regions and other Asian countries due to travel and time - mostly carried through by Buddhism and its spread. This includes variations in Ramayama and Mahabharata in places.
But the Bhats, pandits, Brahmins, and other forms of storytellers/priests, sages, wise ones, did not by and large contribute to that. Not at least in the example and history here which is being relegated to their performance/duties for royal families, and then public with the lower class of bhats, who sadly continued to suffer as well as the upper class with British Raj which stripped many of their honor and status and left most historical families of storytellers by caste impoverished and these are just some light notes on one part of India's diverse and rich layered storytelling history and people who did it.
This part of the world had stories told by priests, sages, poets, bards, courtesans, and more.
It's home to so many styles and structures of storytelling (I did a primer on those a while back) unique to it and some that went on to spur/inspire structures used onward.
