Bhikari Charan Bal (Odia: ଭିକାରୀ ଚରଣ ବଳ; 1929-2010), better known as Bhajan Samrat to the people of Odisha, was an Odissi music Guru and singer, best known for his renditions of traditional Odia bhajanas, devotional songs addressed to the deity Jagannatha.Bhikari Bal was born in Sobala Village Under Gogua, Gangapada Kendrapara Block/district in the state of Odisha, India. His parents, Ramachandra Bal and Gellharani Devi, died when he was very young. After the death of his first wife, his father Ramachandra had married Gellharani, Bhikari's mother. Ramachandra's first wife had given birth to a son, Dhaneswara, who was much older than Bhikari. Gellharani gave birth to several children but none of them survived. So they named their surviving only son "Bhikari" - the beggar. Out of superstition, the parents pretended to have sold the baby to an untouchable family from whom they bought their child back. The child survived but the parents died not long after, so the care of the child Bhikari fell on his step-brother Dhaneswar and his wife. After primary education, Bhikari enrolled in Gogua High School in Kendrapada district and studied up to ninth grade. His village, Sobala, had a Jatra party and young Bhikari joined it. Through the Jatra party, he learned to sing and act and play harmonium. In those days, boys used to dance as girls in Jatra parties. They were called Gotipua. Later, Bhikari Bal became a music teacher in a local school.
