Manbhatt were Brahmin priests of south Gujarat (India) narrating stories called Akhyanas to the accompaniment of music played on copper-made water pitcher or large globular metal pot (man) having a narrow mouth and bloated mid-part, used for beats of rhythmic beating time as required.
The communities of Charanas and Bhats have been composing and reciting epic verses celebrating the exploits of their royal patrons.
They use the raso (rasa or rasaka), a structure consisting of several poems that each tell a portion of the story, depict a scene, or speak in the voice of a character.
The distinguishing quality or the ingenuity of these story-tellers or public-preachers was that they were superb singers and music composers besides being well-versed actors and performers having a marvelous sense of rhythm.
Due to their extraordinary mastery over music and the art of performing, these well skilled story-tellers could make their audience laugh heartily or shed tears pathetically at will.