Bhagavata Mela is a traditional devotional dance drama and folk theatre form associated with which Indian state?

Introduction / Context:
Bhagavata Mela is a culturally rich term that appears in many Indian culture MCQs, especially those dealing with classical and folk dance traditions. It refers to a devotional form of dance drama based on stories from the Bhagavata Purana and related Vaishnava literature. Even though it is performed in some regions of Tamil Nadu today, many standard GK compilations and question banks treat Bhagavata Mela as a folk dance of Andhra Pradesh, and that convention is what most competitive exams follow. This question checks whether you remember that specific mapping.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The term given is Bhagavata Mela, a devotional dance drama form.
• The options list four south Indian states: Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala.
• The question is framed in the style of typical culture MCQs used in exams.
• We assume the expected answer matches the widely used GK key where Bhagavata Mela is listed under Andhra Pradesh.

Concept / Approach:
The approach is to treat this as a pair matching problem between a specific dance form and a state. For exam purposes, learners often memorise lists such as Bhangra Punjab, Garba Gujarat, Kathak Uttar Pradesh, Kuchipudi Andhra Pradesh, and Bhagavata Mela Andhra Pradesh. Although scholars may discuss its practice in parts of Tamil Nadu, the exam mapping used in popular question banks assigns Bhagavata Mela to Andhra Pradesh, so that is the answer that will be considered correct in most objective tests.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recognise Bhagavata Mela as a devotional dance drama form rooted in Vaishnava traditions. Step 2: Recall state wise mapping lists where it appears under Andhra Pradesh. Step 3: Scan the options: Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala. Step 4: Eliminate Karnataka and Kerala, as they are more strongly associated with Yakshagana, Theyyam, Mohiniattam, and Kathakali. Step 5: Between Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, follow the standard GK convention that tags Bhagavata Mela as belonging to Andhra Pradesh. Step 6: Choose Andhra Pradesh as the final answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
To verify, you can cross check multiple culture MCQ compilations where Bhagavata Mela is almost always listed in a table of folk dances by state and placed under Andhra Pradesh. If you study those tabular lists systematically, this association becomes automatic. You might also remember that Kuchipudi is clearly linked with Andhra Pradesh at the classical level and Bhagavata Mela is sometimes mentioned in the same context of drama and storytelling from that region, which supports the same answer in the exam setting.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Tamil Nadu is incorrect in this question but can be confusing because some present day performances happen in parts of that state. Karnataka is wrong since it is far better known for Yakshagana as a dance drama form. Kerala is incorrect because its famous forms include Kathakali, Mohiniattam, and Theyyam, not Bhagavata Mela. These tempt the candidate to guess based only on geography rather than on remembered pairings from their notes.

Common Pitfalls:
The biggest pitfall is overthinking the scholarly debate and ignoring the exam oriented key. Another common error is to choose Tamil Nadu simply because one has recently read about performances there. For competitive exams that rely on conventional tables, it is safer to memorise Bhagavata Mela under Andhra Pradesh. Always align your answer with the pattern used by past papers and standard books to avoid losing marks on technicalities.

Final Answer:
In the context of Indian culture MCQs, Bhagavata Mela is treated as a folk dance of Andhra Pradesh.