Baul- The Folk Music of Bengal - Page 9

Posted: 17 years ago
yes Adi this the thread πŸ˜†
i remember going off to buy not lau but chingri πŸ˜† and anol did the same later we came to know πŸ˜† πŸ˜†

bhaskar thts not punadas baul but Bapidas baul.



Posted: 17 years ago
Originally posted by Barnali


yes Adi this the thread πŸ˜†
i remember going off to buy not lau but chingri πŸ˜† and anol did the same later we came to know πŸ˜† πŸ˜†

bhaskar thts not punadas baul but Bapidas baul.



I did the same here also She did cook Lau with chingri.
Posted: 17 years ago

Baul

Bauls (Bangla: ‰) are a group of mystic minstrels from the Bengal region, now divided into Bangladesh and West Bengal. Bauls are a part of the culture of rural Bengal. They are thought to have been influenced greatly by the Hindu tantric sect of the Kartabhajas. Bauls travel in search of the internal ideal, Maner Manush (Man of the Heart). The origin of the word is debated. However, it is widely agreed that is comes either from Sanskrit batul, meaning divinely inspired insanity or byakul, meaning fervently eager.

Baul singers at Shantiniketan, during the colour festival Holi, Mar 2004

The music of the Bauls, bAul saMgeet refers to a particular

type of folk song of sung by Bauls. It carries influences of Hindu bhakti movements as well as the shuphi, a form of Sufi song mediated by many thousand miles of cultural intermixing,

exemplified by the songs of Kabir, for instance.

Baul music celebrates celestial love, but does this in very earthy terms, as in declarations of love by the bAul for his boshTomi or lifemate.

With such a liberal interpretation of love, it is only natural

that Baul devotional music transcends religion,

and some of the most famous

baul composers, such as Lalon Fakir have been of muslim birth. Here is a particularly well known Baul song:

AmAr prANer mAnuSh Achhe prANe

tAi heri tAye sakal-khAne

Achhe se nayan-tArAy, Alok dhArAy

tAre nA hArAye

ogo tAi heri tAye JethAye sethAye tAkA-i Ami Jedik pAne



The man after my heart lives inside me,

That is why I see him everywhere.

In the gaze of my eye, in the sparkle of light

Oh I can never lose him --

Here, there, everywhere,

Wherever I look, he is right there for me.


The songs of the Bauls and their lifestyle influenced a large

swath of Bengali culture, but nowhere did it leave its imprint

more powerfully than in the work of Rabindranath Tagore, who

talked of Bauls in a number of speeches in Europe in the 1940s,

and an essay based on these was compiled into his English

book Religion of Man:

The Bauls are an ancient group of wandering minstrels from Bengal, who believe in simplicity in life and love. They are similar to the Buddhists in their belief in a fulfilment which is reached by love's emancipating us from the dominance of self. . . .

Where shall I meet him, the Man of my Heart?

He is lost to me and I seek him wandering from land to land.

: I am listless for that moonrise of beauty,

:: which is to light my life,

:: which I long to see in the fulness of vision

:: in gladness of heart. [p.524]



The above is a translation of the famous Baul song: Ami kothAy pAbo tAre, AmAr maner mAnush Je re. The following extract is

a translation of another song:



My longing is to meet you in play of love, my Lover;
   But this longing is not only mine, but also yours.

   For your lips can have their smile, and your flute

: its music, only in your delight in my love;

: and therefore you importunate, even as I am.



The poet proudly says: 'Your flute could not have its music of beauty if your delight were not in my love. Your power is great but it lies even in me to make you smile, and if you and I never meet, then this play of love remains incomplete.'

The great distinguished people of the world do not know that these beggars can, in the pride of their souls, look down upon them as the unfortunate ones, who are left on the shore for their worldly uses, but whose life ever

misses the touch of the Lover's arms. . .

This feeling that man is not a mere casual visitor at the palace-gate of the world, but the invited guest whose presence is needed to give the royal banquet its sole meaning, is not confined to any particular sect in India.



A large tradition in medieval devotional

poetry from Rajasthan and other parts of

India, also bear the same message of unity in celestial and

romantic love, and that divine love can be fulfilled only

through its human beloved.

Tagore's own compositions were powerfully influenced by

Baul ideology. His music also bears the stamp of many Baul

tunes. Other Bengali poets, such as Kazi Nazrul Islam, have

also been influenced by Baul music and its message of

non-sectarian devotion through love.

Bauls today

Bauls are to be found in the Indian state of West Bengal and the country of Bangladesh. The Baul movement was at its peak in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but even today one comes across the occasional bAul with his ektArA (one-stringed musical instrument) and begging bowl, singing across the farflung villages of rural Bengal. Travelling in local trains and attending village fairs are a good way to encounter Bauls.
Edited by Qwest - 17 years ago
Posted: 17 years ago

The Bauls of Bengal

The Baul songs are a very specialised branch of Bengali folk songs. Baul song has a kind of hippie-like attraction to it. It is unique in itself, yet it seems to hold in it a lot of elements of the other branches of Bengali folk musical tradtions as noted above. Because of its unique appeal or affliction, we have presented it as a distinct folk practice.

The word Baul means "afflicted with the wind desease", minstrels, uncaring travellers, selfless wanderers, lost in search of their souls, street walkers, ones with no fixed address, ones who find happiness in richness of their minds, etc. Much of the Bengali society looked upon the bauls as strange people who forsake all comforts and binds of the family life and chose streets as their home and austerity as the way of life. Customs and traditions they leave behind on the wayside.

The Bouls are the folk heroes of Bengal. "The popular romantic imagination everywhere seeks expression through its chosen bards: we have our Bob Dylans and Leonard Cohens, the Bengalis have thier Bauls. These wandering minstrels carry with them from village to city the soul of Bengal, perhaps of India, and every Bengali knows it even if today he is becoming uncertain what that soul really is" [Charles H. Capwell and others]. The Baul tradition cannot be characterised by any known or distinct doctrine. According to Edward C. Dimock, Jr. the term baul encompasses "a wide rage of religious opinion, traceable to several Hindu schools of thought, to Sufi Islam, and much that is traceable only to a man's own view of how he relates to God. All Bauls hold only this in common: that God is hidden in the heart of man, and neither priest nor prophet, nor the ritual of any organised religion, will help man to find him there. The Bauls feel that both [hindu] temple and [muslim] mosque stand across the path to truth, blocking the search. The search for God is one which everyone must carry out for himself."

Capwell thinks that "the Baul tradition is a fusion of elements from Buddhism, Saktism (worshippers of goddess Kali - the source of all energies), Vaisnavism (worshippers of Lord Visnu) and Sufi Islam, may well have its roots in the tantrik Buddhism of Bengal in the 9th and 10th centuries. At that time, Buddhism was first taking root in Tibet while it was dying out in India, and much Buddhist literature that might otherwise have disappeared in oral tradition. Within this literature are collections of songs written in the newly arisen vernaculars of northern India rather than in Pali and Sanskrit, traditional languages of Buddhism. One of the oldest of these collections - an anthology of caryagan - contains the earliest significant examples of the Bengali Language. The texts are strikingly reminiscent of songs like gosdi ebar porebi phyare; that is, they transmit the insights and mysticism in the homeliest of metaphors. The structure of the poems - couplets with a refrain - suggests that their musical form might also be similar to that of Baul songs today. For, in the Baul songs, a refrain generally recurs at the end of each stanza, the stanzas are roughly divided into two musical phrases, the first of which tends to hover around the lower tetrachord of the basic octave range, while the second reaches up to the higher tonic before descending again to the refrain that cadences on the lower tonic. This is a common Indian musical structure, and the division of the stanzas into two phrases of lower and higher ranges is clearly analogous to the similarly arranged structure of sthayi and antara phrases in kheyal ciz or an instrumental gat.

"Since the music of the caryagan was not notated, it is impossible to know how closely it might have resembled contemporary Baul songs, if at all. Even though the old poems are each preceded by the name of a rag, the significance of these names has been lost during a thousand years of musical evolution. Today's Bauls, untrained in the rag music of India, do not classify the tunes they learn in oral tradition; nevertheless the resemblance of some tunes to classical rags is unmistakable."

Before Rabindranath Tagore, the Bauls were not regarded well by the Bengali society, for most considered them vagabonds and beggars as Bauls lived itinerant lives wandering from door to door in rural Bengal mostly subsisting on meagre foods offered by householders. Tagore, who in his youth knew Lalon Fakir - one of the greatest Bauls that ever lived, was much influenced by the Baul music and philosophy in his poetry, music and thought. He "changed all that as he did so much in Bengali society, by acknowledging his debt to what the Bauls stand for and to their music. Many of his own songs he categorised as Baul; and in most of his plays there is a Baul character - an unspoiled man who sees clearly and deeply, his vision uncluttered by the swirling bits and irrelevant particles of life. The Baul is also the man who can express what he sees with equal clarity, his imagery and metaphor drawn from everyday things, the river of life, the marketplace of the world, the once majestic house of the body crumbling into decay" [Dimock].

Baul songs are usually solo songs although often accompanists and members of the audience (normally, handfull of villagers gathering around the Bauls) to join in the refrain and repetition phrases of the verse. Instruments used by Bauls include the following:

    Khamak - A rhythmic instrument with one or two strings attached to the head of a small drum. The strings are plucked with a plectrum and they are alternatively tightened or slackened to generate an amazing array of rhythmic and tonal variations. Tabla - A pair traditional Indian drums called 'baya' (the left hand drum) and the 'daina' (the right hand drum). The left drum has a clay based shell whilst the right drum has a wooden shell. Heads of both drums are covered in animal hide, the centre of which is applied with a layer of (dry) pulp mix. Tonal variation are achieved by adjusting tension of the skin head. Mridanga or Khol - A barrel-shaped clay drum with two heads - sort of a combination of the baya and daina of tabla as described above. Harmonium - A small keyboard instrument with hand-worked bellows - not unlike accordian. Ektara - A plucked single string drone - fingers and thumb are used. Khanjani - A tabourine without jangles. Mandira or Kartal - Small bell-shaped cymbals. Ghoongoor - A garland of bells tied around the ankle - played with rhythmic movements of feet.
  • Ramchaki - A pair of wooden clappers with jangles.
Edited by Qwest - 17 years ago
Posted: 17 years ago

Convergence – the music of Oikyotaan 
Lalitha Venkat meets Bonnie Chakraborty, the leader of the band Oikyotaan, in Chennai 
  September 14, 2003  Bonnie Chakraborty was a professional musician and lead vocalist with Krosswindz in Kolkata till 1998. He has been involved in acting and creating the music for two diploma films at the Satyajit Ray Film Institute of Technology, besides doing freelance assignments in the corporate and film industry both in Kolkata and in Chennai, where he is currently based.   He has sung for famous music directors like A R Rehman and Yuvan Shankar Raja. His dream of forming an indigenous platform to experiment with folk music took shape in Chennai when he met with like-minded individuals.  Founded by Bonnie 2 years ago, the group Oikyotaan seeks to permeate folk sounds from West Bengal and Bangladesh with a new, indigenous genre of music that reflects the traditional and yet breathes of the contemporary.  It has incorporated from folk music like Bhatiyali, Jhumur, Bhavaiyya, Baul and Lok Geeti, and interpreted each with an additional ensemble of sounds and textures to offer a distinctively new spectrum of music. The band has performed in southern and eastern India and does a wide repertoire of songs from Baul, Murshidi, Fakiri and Dehototto.  Kartick Das Baul is a well-known Baul singer from Guskara, Shanti Niketan in West Bengal. Oikyotaan collaborated with him on a project of Fakiri songs for The Other Festival in December 2001 in Chennai. Currently Oikyotaan is working on a project of Dehototto and Fakiri songs to be presented at the Sacred Music Festival in Berlin where Karthick will perform vocal and khamak with the group.  After a 2-week workshop with Karthick, Oikyotaan gave a performance at the Alliance Francaise auditorium on August 8th in Chennai. The concert was a prelude to the series of concerts to be performed later this year. The band included Donan Murray on rhythm and lead guitar, Paul Jacob on the bass guitar, Kartick Das on vocal, ghungur and khamak, Saravanan on thavil and Bonnie on vocal. 
 
Bonnie Chakraborty
Kartick Das Baul
 
 
What got you interested in Bengali folk music?  
I have grown up with it. Since an early age, I have been exposed to a lot of Bhatiyali music. My father's side of the family is from Bangladesh and everyone used to sing these songs to me. They grew up with that cultural space.    I was a musician from 1991 to '98 with a rock band called Krosswindz in Kolkata. We also worked on 4 Bengali albums during that time. Basically after going through 8 years of mainstream music, I wanted to get back to a form of music I could brand myself with and create an identity for myself. I left Kolkata in 1998.   It was my dream to have a contemporary folk band. Only after coming to Chennai, I realized that there are so many classical musicians here, so many percussion players, violinists and so on. Their tradition is so strong that they can easily fit into the folk format, be it Bengali or Rajasthani. It's the same idiom, the same language. You don't have to explain to them. That's why it is easy to work with classical musicians, like Saravanan who is a very strong thavil player.  What does 'Oikyotaan' mean?  
'Oikyo' means unity or coming together, like a confluence. 'Taan' is a universal melody. So, Oikyotaan is like a milan (coming together) of a 1000 taans, something like a universal language. The idea of Oikyotaan is to make folk music accessible to the audience.  Who are the band members? 
Oikyotaan does not really fit into the group kind of a thing. It's basically a kind of platform for various musicians to interact and have a dialogue with a traditional form of folk music. Paul Jacob (of Bodhi Records) and I produce as well as perform the music. Donan Murray adds this layer of guitar to the sound; Kartick Das Baul and I are on vocal and percussions. Balu and Saravanan hold the rhythm together with an ensemble of different percussion instruments.  There is no band format. The whole idea is to work with sound. I want to work with different formats, with different artistes and incorporate sounds in different ways. For 6 months, I was working with Lazare when he had come down from Paris. He's trained in western classical music and plays the Irish fiddle. His sounds were incorporated with Oikyotaan's.   I have been working with Kartick for 3 years now. His work is being documented and archived by Oikyotaan. I would like to maybe release something through Bodhi Records in a very independent way.   I also have plans to work with a Qawal from Uttar Pradesh if things work out.  What exactly would you be doing? 
The plan for the next 2 years is to work with the 2 traditional artistes, Kartick and the Qawal and then perhaps develop the sound of Oikyotaan, something contemporary but rooted in the traditional folk forms. The idea is to finally develop a sound that is independent of any traditional artiste's sound. Working with a traditional artist is a very tedious and detailed kind of work to put in and cannot be done for long periods of time. That's why when I am working with Kartick or anyone else, I have to put that extra energy and effort to develop an original sound for Oikyotaan. For now, I am doing 2 workshops. The one with Kartick will be over in December.   What exactly did you evolve in the workshop? 
I've been working on preparing a sound and format to be presented at the Sacred Music Festival organized by the House of World Cultures in Berlin in December. They promote sacred and religious music, traditional and authentic folk forms. I am looking forward to attending the performances by folk units from Teheran and experiencing their music. It will be a very interesting interaction.   We are also working on a 3-song album to be released through Bodhi Records. It will not be available in the general market. The plan was to get Kartick down for the recording and also have a workshop at the same time. When he performed with us at The Other Festival in 2001, it was a completely different thing. I would call that music a kind of pop folk.   Now, I have completely moved away from that. The exercise of this workshop is to take Kartick's sound, feed off him, create a sound in and around him, which is based on minimalism and which tries to support his music. The textures of bass and guitars are different, more melody oriented. The exercise here is to develop a sound, which relates to Kartick, creating one more melody from his theme. It's kind of earthy.   The 2 formats we are attempting are very serious forms of folk music - the spiritual kind like the Dehototto (the 'gift of the divine') and the Fakiri songs. This is the sound I am concentrating on for the Berlin festival, these songs and 5 originals from the Oikyotaan repertoire.  How did you get to work with Kartick Das? 
In Kolkata, I was exposed to some forms of Bengali folk and interacted with a few Baul musicians. I was introduced to Kartick through a friend of mine in Kolkata, a filmmaker who had used Kartick to make 2 documentaries on Bauls. In fact, Kartick does a lot of work for Channel Four. He has worked in the Kumbha Mela and with many production units who come from abroad to shoot. He works as an artiste as well as assists them.  Kartick is a traditional Baul singer who does shows in and around West Bengal, in Delhi and now in Chennai. He is based in Shanti Niketan from where he operates. He has been in this tradition for 25 years. He's a performer through and through. He can play anywhere. Whenever he feels like it, he takes a train and sings for 2 hours. Twice or thrice a year, he goes to Europe and Japan to conduct workshops. The dynamics are very simple. For him, a performance is a performance. He says, "For me rehearsal is different, studio is different, live performance is different. There is a certain energy which happens at each of these situations."   We are trying to make a format, which does not hold Kartick back or cramp his style. The aim is to project the traditional sound of Dehototto and Fakiri by Kartick, with the contemporary sound of Oikyotaan.  For purposes of documentation, I will not be able to bring the traditional touch the way Kartick can.   Have you trained in any form of folk music? 
I started doing western music when I was in Class 10. But from my childhood, I have been exposed to a lot of Bengali folk and Hindi music, the music of S D Burman and R D Burman. I have always believed that 70% of film music has been taken from folk formats. Even today, many popular Hindi film songs like 'Nimbuda' have the folk element.   Though people are conscious, they really have no idea of how much folk material has come into film music. Down south, the kind of work done by Ilayaraja (music director) is amazing.   What happened to your band Kashti? 
Kashti was a 3-year deal with Zee music. We were given total freedom and a good working budget. We did a video and also a couple of shows. We cut a CD with 8 songs. It came and went and nobody noticed except perhaps the music circles of Mumbai. It was more a musicians' album. I think a band should play live and be visible to catch people's attention. That's an integral part of marketing music.   Neil Mukherjee (a band member) had other plans and Oikyotaan was taking off, so we decided to move on. I am playing it by ear now. The CDs will be available on the net through Bodhi Records. I am targeting a few world music centres in Europe. Paris is a very good market. Some friends of mine in Kolkata are also doing some festivals. There's a lot of activity happening there. Contemporary folk is getting popular.  So you feel there is enough promotion for indigenous folk music in India? 
Do you mean folk music itself or folk music with a contemporary sound? Traditional folk artistes like Kartick are much sought after. There's a record company in a certain district of West Bengal, which releases lots of tapes of such music.  There's the other type of music where Kartick is being used by pop bands in Kolkata. In the last 2 to 3 years, there has been a mushrooming of such bands in Kolkata and everyone is doing folk with a certain sound. There's a big market, so it's very popular. It is a completely parallel industry. Lots of bands have come up like Indian Ocean, which is working with folk.  But per se contemporary folk music is not a very vibrant scenario. It does not have a lucrative market in terms of mass or mainstream if you want to sell that way. One has to push, look and search. I would say everything is on the net. One just has to seek and search to get in touch. I am not attempting mainstream market, so I don't have the need to go mainstream.   How would you describe your music? 
The whole exercise of Oikyotaan is to use a contemporary sound and create a wall of sound that is completely stripped of any western chordal movement. There's no chords or use of any pop elements like keyboards or accordion like we used at The Other Festival. The idea is to keep the sound minimal. It's a different kind of route. I would say it's more difficult to work with melodies instead of thoughts, formation or movement and yet retain the folk quality. It's melody oriented, where all instruments weave and interweave a counter melody from the theme. The whole point is to reduce the parallel slick pop element and retain a sound that is raw yet contemporary.  After singing pop numbers, how do you find singing Baul and Fakiri music? Obviously the tonal range and scales are phenomenal in this. 
It was quite a switch but not too difficult because I have been singing that kind of music for quite some time. After I came to Chennai, I did some work for films. At that point of time, I was singing folk. Now I am doing lots of freelance work. I have sung 2 main songs with this folksy influence for Tamil films 'JJ' and 'Touch' for music directors Ramani Bharadwaj and Deva. JJ is shot in Kolkata, I've sung the main track in it and Kartick plays the khamak.    Do you have a manager? 
Not really. We operate from the Bodhi Records office. The organisation provides a platform that promotes any indigenous movement. Earlier, they were a band called Funky Bodhi. Now they do documentaries and film music too. Bodhi is working out the entire Oikyotaan production. I plan to use Bodhi as a record label also. It's a production house, they are already networked, they function in a corporate scene, source art shows, and source out talent. They have been promoting lots of things in the last 6 years. They promoted a group called Safar, a 19-member dance and music ensemble, which came down from the US. In short, Bodhi is the production house from where Oikyotaan is working from.  What instruments do you play? 
Basically, I am a singer. I have trained in Latin American percussion of different kinds. I specialize in Latin congas, but I don't use these sounds in our music. I also play the drums a little bit.   At your recent performance at the Alliance Francaise, the guitarist sounded out of place though the thavil and Kartick's khamak blended beautifully. At The Other Festival performance, the music blended though you had elements of jazz thrown in.  
That's because the guitarist played on nylon strings. It was a very pop sound with chords and everything. This is different because Donan is actually hardly playing; he is just adding another layer of sound. If you hear the CD, which will be released soon, you will have to search for it. It's like trying to feed off Kartick's energy and musicality and reacting to it in a different way.   The bass and the thavil formed the backbone of the sound at Alliance Francaise.  It's a little difficult to frame it around the melody and I have to put in a lot more time and effort to refine it. The effort will be worth it because I know at the end of the day that no one is doing this kind of work with folk music. I am confident that I am creating a new sound.   In your most recent compositions, are you incorporating only Baul or Fakiri style or are you incorporating other Indian folk styles too?   
The sound we are giving Kartick is based on Baul and Dehototto. We are using elements not only from Indian folk but others too, like elements from Latin folk in terms of percussion or maybe Afro folk when Vikram plays the djembe. Or I may incorporate a kind of folk singing, which is similar in terms of melody but from another language. In the album we are doing now, I am trying to merge the 2 styles of singing when I am doing an Afro scat kind of a thing while Kartick sings in his own style. That does not happen everywhere in our album, only in a few places. Because I am working on a traditional format, I have to be very careful when doing such things. The switch should be smooth.  Oikyotaan has performed in Chennai, Coimbatore and in Kolkata. How did the audience react to your music in these places?  
I had 8 years of rock music experience in Kolkata. One good thing we did was, we released 4 Bengali albums and 3 were with this group called Mohineer Ghoraguli fronted by Gautam Chatterjee, one of my main influences. Mohineer Ghoraguli was a pioneering group of Kolkata from 1977. After 20 years, we released their songs, which had a lot of folk influence in them. That was a very big parallel movement there when I was doing rock music.   I have done a lot of work that's done well in Kolkata. We are known there. So, when I went there with this project, there was a lot of inquisitiveness about what work I was doing in Chennai, what work I was doing with Karthick Das Baul and so on. I did the show with just a guitar, Kartick and myself. The Kolkata audience took it very well. In fact, we did a workshop at the Music World store. I want to go with a full set up and do something bigger.   But I am basically trying to target an audience, which I know is finally in Europe. I want to perform in world music festivals, like the Sacred Music Festival. It's a bigger stage and I will be presenting a sound from India. It's very professional, pays respect to musicians and their rights in terms of authenticity. This kind of infrastructure is missing in India in terms of coordination of shows and so on.   After the Berlin show, what next? 
Apparently next year, 3 of the biggest world music organizations are targeting India – Kolkata, Bangalore and Mumbai – for music like Bengali folk. In Kolkata, there are at least 150 to 200 odd groups working with folk music in a blind manner and it's taken off in a big way. The end result is an uninteresting kind of contemporary sound based on rock or pop. 

I have a feeling there's going to be a sudden explosion and one may find everybody jumping into folk music, in a haphazard manner to target the world music space. Which will be really bad for this genre of music. This genre I feel is always over exotified and receives great attention from the people who do not understand it. But maybe one day one will find a balance in terms of creating a sound, which is rooted to its place instead of aimlessly plagiarising the west. 

Edited by Qwest - 17 years ago
Posted: 17 years ago
The Bauls of Bangladesh
In a fascinating essay, Professor Anwarul Karim discusses the history of the Baul culture of Bengal and sheds light on their sacred initiation rituals. Baul music was declared a Masterpiece of Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in Paris on November 26, 2005.

In Bangladesh there is a category of Sufi mystics, male and female who travel from place to place carrying with them folk musical instruments and a begging bag made of torn and castaway cloth called 'anchla.' They are known as Bauls.
   They are neither Hindu nor Muslims. In Persia, the place of their origin, the Bauls were obscure as a sect because of their free spirited approach to life. They are known for iconoclasm, disregard of caste and social formalities. They worship Man as the centre of all creation and preach humanism. They love music, which speaks of human body as the microcosm and soul as an elusive bird or the unattainable man of the heart. Their songs are mystical, symbolic and full of rural analogies and images taken from their surroundings or from religious experiences. In many places of Bangladesh, they have shrines or 'Akhra'. Here they halt overnight or stay for a short- while sharing bed and food and singing devotional mystic songs. They also take 'ganja' or marijuana.
   Bauls are not born in a family but are inducted into the cult by the 'Guru' or 'Shain' at a certain stage. The Baul guru or 'shain' is similar to the 'pir' of the Sufi sects β€” in the traditional sense of the word β€” and they have also such names as 'murshid' or 'darvish'. The category of 'Guru' or includes both entombed historical figures and living practitioners. The Baul guru also enjoys the role of a religious leader of his community. He has innumerable followers or shisya who consider him to be very powerful in changing their fate because of their belief that he has mystic contact with the spirit world. In all their activities concerning life and property the impact of the Baul guru is thus tremendous. I know a number of Baul gurus who have amassed huge property in the form of 'Najrana' (special kind of respect payable through gift both cash or kind or both).
   The word 'pir' is being used in all categories of the Muslim mystics to denote spiritual leader but the 'guru' is only used by the Hindu – Buddhist mystics and also by the Sufi Bauls in the subcontinent. The Hindi 'Baura' represents the same denomination as of the Bauls. The Baura spiritual leader is also called the guru. The Bauls, however, use some other Sufi terminology as 'murshid', 'darvish' and 'shain'. In Sufi mysticism as well as in Baul cult 'shah' is commonly used to identify their class. The word 'gosain' refers to the Vaisnava religious sect. Although, the Bauls claim that they differ greatly from the Vaisnava, they, however, have many things in common with each other.
   In Bangladesh, the Pir and the Guru phenomenon have also given birth to a kind of sub-culture. The pir, however, enjoys a special and wide-cultural milieu between the ulema; the most learned in religious teachings and the shaikh who has attained the mystic height in the Sufi religious tradition. The word 'awliyah suggesting a friendly and mystic attachment with the creator is often used to denote a 'Shaikh'.
   The 'Pirs' as holy men in the mystic hierarchy, used to enjoy a sort of authority similar to those of the Brahmins who hold the highest position in the Hindu religious order. During the Mughal period, the Pirs and the mystics in the name of 'faquir' exerted tremendous influence in the political arena also. Of late, a certain 'Pir' has played a key position in the political scenario of Bangladesh. The Zaker party is one of any such examples.
   The Bauls of Bangladesh today enjoy a sort of power structure as they shape themselves into a religious community with Lalon Shah as their spiritual leader. Every year they arrange two religious festivals like 'urus' of the Sufis but the Bauls call these festivals as 'sadhu-sangho' or sadhu-sheba or 'motsob' or  'mossob' corrupt of mohotsab. One of such festivals is held during the ' dol-purnima' in line with the Vaisnava and the other one, on the occasion of the death anniversary of Lalon Shah which is held  on the first day of Bengali month Kartik corresponding to October 17, 1890. The word 'mohotshab' may refer to grand or gala festival of the Bauls. Actually the festival stands as the congregation of the saintly persons, known as 'Sadhu-Sangho'/ Sadhu-Sheba.  Thousands of the Bauls, male and female, attend the religious festivals and stay in the mazar for three consecutive days singing and feasting.
   They are now organised groups at the Mazar of Lalon Shah. In Kushtia, the Bauls who live in Seuria village where Lalon Shah once lived and died, a beautiful mausoleum has been built by the order of a Deputy Commissioner, Kushtia, Q.G.Ahad in 1963 with local assistance and fund from the Zila Parishad. He set up a Folk Literature Center in an initiative with which I was involved, by dint of a book I wrote on Lalon Shah published in 1963. Q.G.Ahad went so far as to rename Kushtia as 'Lalon Nagar'. His move was, however, challenged by the leading Ulemas including Maulana Mesbahur Rahman, a teacher of Sirajul Haque Muslim High School and an Imam of the main mosque in Kushtia town. According to the Ulemas, Lalon Shah did not represent the Islamic Shariah .He belonged to a kind of Sufi sect that syncretised different religious ideals. He was a pantheist and considered God as partner of man. The Ulemas further claimed that Lalon Shah misrepresented Islam by wrongly interpreting the Quran.
   In Bangladesh the majority people here are Sufi biased and they have great adoration for the Sufi Pir. They take Khawaja Muinuddin Chisty as a direct representative of the creator, a Wali. According to his followers, though he is dead and buried in a mazar, he has the power to solve the problem of his followers. I have seen tens of thousands visiting the Mazar of Khawaja Muinuddin Chisty for their troubles. They include many Hindus, Buddhists and Christians. Such is the picture with other mystics of the Sub-continent. And Lalon Shah was no exception. But he deviated from other sufi mystics so far as the search for the inner soul is concerned. Unlike other Sufis, he believed in Deha-bada or the philosophy concerning human body and soul. His is an erotic approach to life. It is why womanhood forms the most essential part in his cult.  His followers also take him as the demi-god and take him as the be-all and end-all in their life.
   In fact, Lalon Shah, it is held by a section of researchers, was born in a Muslim family in a village named Harishpur under Jhenidah district. He later changed his faith to Baul Sufi cult that does not comply with all the Shariah rules in Islam. The conservative Hindus also did not like him. Lalon Shah and his followers were tortured by the orthodox Muslims during his lifetime, especially when he was finally settled in Seuria village under Kumerkhali Thana in Kushtia district. In fact, when I was a student in the Kushtia College my friends who had been living in Seuria village asked me not to be involved with them as their way of life were different from others. In the 50's when I visited them a number of times, I  found the conservative Muslims living in Seuria and other neighbouring villages did not keep any contact with Lalon Shah's followers for what they thought to be their peculiar practices. These people kept women with them as their companions. Each Baul had more than two women with them as their companions. This practice has been continuing even today.  However, I noticed many people secretly attended his 'mohotsav' during dol-purnima and enjoyed food and music. The local weekly  journals like 'Hitakari', edited by a noted poet and journalist Kangal Harinath Mojumdar and 'Gram Barta Prokashika' once edited by a  noted  writer Mir Mosharraf Hussain, initially published articles condemning him and his followers for anti-social activities. But they were, however, drawn towards the songs of Lalon Shah so much so that Kangal Harinath Majumdar formed a musical group in the name of Fikir Chand Baul and composed a number of Baul songs. Mir Mosharraf was one of the members of the team.  Lalon Shah was very popular among the low caste and poor community during his lifetime for his universal approach and humanism. His songs, however, have gained much popularity even one hundred years after of his death. This is, of course due to the patronage of the government and recent globalisation of the cult which caught the attention of international people including scholars.
   The Baul's religion accepts every body. The forsaken, the widow or socially outcaste girls find a secure place in the cult. Rabindranath Tagore was the first among the Bengalis who collected their songs and published them in Bengali journals including the monthly 'Probashi'. Lalon Shah caught his attention when he came to Kushtia as the landlord of the Tagore Estate at Shelaidah. He spoke of Lalon Faquir in many of his lectures which he gave both at home and abroad. He accepted the religion of the Bauls as the Religion of Man. He loved their philosophy which they preached through their songs. He was so much influenced by the Bauls that he composed his 'Gitanjali', in line with the Baul theme and philosophy.
   It was largely responsible for earning him the Nobel Prize. The world was thrilled and excited when he read out his 'Gitanjali' to his friends in England. The philosophy it preached was quite unknown to the western mind. The globalisation of the Baul cult thus was initiated by Rabindranath Tagore. It may be pointed out here that Rabindranath was impressed by the Bauls outwardly. He discovered that the songs of the Bauls and Lalon Faquir had similarities with the Upanishads and the Veda. Many of his novels, poetry and drama have Baul characters and philosophy. He, however, was quite ignorant of their internal way of life. Rabindranath visited the Mazar of Lalon Faquir and met his followewrs. He also collected his songs from his followers directly. His brother Jyotirindranath Tagore made a portrait of Lalon Faquir when he took him for a river cruise along with others of his family on 5th May, 1889. This suggests that Lalon was very close to the Tagore family. But Rabindranath never disclosed that he ever had met him.
   Of late the Bangladesh government has set up a cultural complex at the cost of about Tk 4 crore for the preservation of the songs of Lalon Shah and studies on them.
   This study is an attempt to explore the religious cult, in the context of our cultural heritage. In Bangladesh there are various Sufi sects with their respective Pir heads. They are considered not only holy but also they are believed to have power to play a decisive factor in the life present and the life hereafter of the devotee.
   These Pir have both rich and poor, high and low as their followers. The Bauls on the other hand consist mostly of poor, low caste, forsaken men and women, divorced or widowed. But nowadays, the middle class and the youth are also found joining the cult. In fact, the Bauls have gained tremendous popularity over other religious cults or sects. This paper is also intended to identify the strength of the cult, which has made it a popular or folk religious community in Bangladesh. It appears that the Bauls largely belong to the Muslim community but they do not observe the Muslim Shariah and, on the other hand, they are more close to Sufi beliefs and practices. There is no doubt that the cause of their attraction to the Baul cult is their music, apparently plain and simple but it has undoubtedly a peculiar lifestyle. The Guru, however, enjoys an elevated position among his disciples and maintains solvent life.
   Abdul Wali, a sub-registrar of Shailkupa and Harinakundu under Jhenidah subdivision tried to explore the causes of such popularity. He presented a paper titled, On Currious Tenets and Practices of a Certain Class of Faquirs in Bengal in a meeting of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1898. It was later published in the Journal of the Anthropological Society of Bombay in 1900.  Wali wrote :
   In the Districts of the 24- Parganas, Nadiya, Jessore and Khulna and probably in other parts of Bengal , a class of mendicants is to be seen who are called by different names, and whose peculiar habits, unshaven hair, and repulsive manners are as much a curiosity to a stranger, as the rigid secrecy they maintain with regard to their tenets and practices (sic) is inexplicable. What these men believed and practised are only known to the members of the 'mystic cult,' but never to others, even to those intimately connected with them.
   My attention to them was attracted first in this way. I had in my employ a man aged apparently 22, who had been suffering from intestine cholic, which had reduced him to a mere skeleton. He tried several medicines while in my employ, and after he had left it, with no results. Those who are acquainted with the disease, can testify that it is very hard to cure, and baffles the skill of physicians. For a time I did not see the young man. Inquiry revealed that a Faqir β€” commonly called Nara'r Faqir β€” had cured him of the malady. When I next saw him, I found him a new man – hale, hearty, and robust. I tried my best, to have a talk with the Faquir, and to procure from all other sources information regarding the mode of treatment and the medicines used. But beyond the fact that they can cure all diseases that flesh is heir to, I could gather no useful information. Several persons who had seceded from the tenets of these Faquirs, and also some of their disciples were approached through a man, which gave me for the first time a glimpse into their secret life. But the information, though correct, was of a fragmentary nature, and required further investigation and confirmation. The faquirs  would in no case meet me, the books and tracts written by them were all composed in their own 'mystic language', and  the refutations of some of them were written by men without any knowledge or insight into their character. Such being the case, I despaired of adding to my scanty knowledge as to their abominable character and habits. The songs of Lalan Shah, Setaj Shah, and other faqirs, sung by boat-men and others, were very good in their own way, but did not solve the mystery.
   
   Diksha or initiation ceremony:
   A baul is not born, he is made. If anyone is willing to accept the Baul faith, he or she is inducted into the Baul cult after being properly initiated by the Baul Guru. In fact, initiation or diksha is considered sine qua non to the baul faith. When a Baul is initiated, a ceremony is arranged for him or her or for the couple who are initiated jointly, by other Bauls. The joint initiation is desired most by the cult as it considers man and woman as partner to each other (jugal or couple). The woman plays the most vital part in the Baul cult. Without a woman partner the cult loses its significance. The woman is also considered a 'chetan guru' or one who is awake or conscious of all activities in the cult.
   Lalon says :
   Kothae acche re din daradi shain
   lalon bole, chetan guru sango loye khabir karo bhai

   
   Loosely translated:
   Where is my lord of life

   
   Identify Him with the help of your guide who is always awaken and takes care of you.
   (Shain is here taken as consort or husband, Swami > Shain)
   

   The initiation or Diksha ceremony is called by the Bauls and followers of Lalon Shah as 'bhek' ceremony. It refers to one's
   induction to the ascetic life. The initiation changes the whole life pattern that the person previously followed. They are separated from the life they were leading with their children and others. They can not maintain social intercourse. The persons who intend to be initiated are taken to a secluded place or hut. It is called the 'secret chamber'. The guru or their spiritual guide then comes to them and give them necessary instruction not witnessed by others. Only three, the guru, the man and woman are there. Here the persons to be initiated undergo certain process or rituals with the guru which is never disclosed to others. On the following day, the couple is taken to a purifying bath either in a river or in a pond. A 'khilka' is a new white cloth which stands as the symbol of 'kafon' as used by the Muslims for a burial cloth, is given to the couple who undergo initiation process with this end in view that the persons who are being initiated are also taken as dead to the life which they led previously. They are now considered dead while still living. In Baul terminology, it is taken as 'jyante-mora'. 'Jyante' is one who is alive or living. And 'Mora' is taken as dead. The couple are next taken to the shade of a big 'chadoa' or cover which is held by four persons, of them, two are women, taking the four corners of the 'chadoa' or shade while the others who are already initiated help the initiating couple dress in a 'khilka'. The male initiate is then covered with a 'pagree' or turban. Underneath his outer garments the initiate is then made to wear a  very tight-fitting underwear known as 'dor-kowpin' or 'kapni'.It is a tiny loin cloth worn by the ascetics of India and Bangladesh. This consists of a cord which is tied round the waist and over which a yard-long piece of white cloth about six to eight inches wide is draped in front of the genitals and pulled between the legs and over the cord in the back. The remainder of the cloth is then secured by twisting it round the part passing the buttocks. The initiate is then given a shoulder – strap cloth bag known as 'anchla-jhola' to carry small items. The initiate receives a kind of necklace or 'tasbi' (a rosary) from the guru. He is also given a water pot and a stick. His female partner known as his 'sheba-dashi' or one who is always ready to serve the male partner is then dressed. She however receives the assistance of female Bauls who dress her in a white sari without border together with 'khilka'. The male counterpart uses a white 'lungi'. The dress of the initiates is called 'bhek', the garb of ascetics. The guru then takes the pair to the secret chamber and confers 'vij-mantra' or 'kalma', a mystic word or words which the initiates recite as is instructed by the guru. The guru then offers 'prem-bhaja' consisting of a flour mixed with four fluids of the human body  (urine, male semen, and menstrual blood of women or phlegm and faeces).This prem-bhaja is sometimes made into the shape of  small marbles while at other times it is formed into small round cakes.

   The guru also instructs them on different methods of sex-yoga sadhana leading to birth control because after they are initiated they are not be allowed to have children .The initiates then take the name of Allah, Hari, Muhammad, Krishna, Karim and Kala. The intiate and his female partner also are asked to drink 'pancarasa' (a mixture of urine, menstrual blood, semen, human milk and faeces).
   As the two are initiated, they are brought out from the secret chamber blindfolded with both hands tied with a white strap. Then a mock funeral procession is held. The couple are led by the guru to the Mazar of either his dead guru or to the mazar of another senior guru. Generally the 'Diksha' or initiation ceremony takes place during 'urus' of Lalon Shah at his Seuria Mazar located at the Lalon Academy premises. They now move around the mazar seven times singing mourning  or funeral song, a kind of dirge which recounts how the initiate and his female partner have forsaken or renounced once for all their previous life. They also sing in the name of one Bharati Goshain, who in her life renounced rich and aristocratic life and took begging for her livelihood that they will move from door to door begging as they do not care for anything worldly. The funeral procession then moves to the village afterwards returning again to the Mazar where a feast is arranged by the initiate and his female partner for all the Bauls present. It is called 'sadhu-sheba' or service to the mystics or sadhus.  After the feast the initiate and his female partner are required to stay with their Guru for seven days during which time they learn from him their new way of life. Henceforth the initiate and his female partner can not return to normal life. They can not conduct normal social life or participate in any social activities. They have no claims or responsibility towards the members of their family which they have forsaken. If they suffer in life they can not complain.
   It may be pointed out here that in the secret chamber when the guru ceremonially gives 'Vij-mantra' to the initiates they sit on the ground facing the guru. They are then instructed to look into the eyes of their guru through the gap in their own hand created by fixing palm and fingers in a triangular sign symbolising the female genital organ. They then prostrate before their guru. After that the guru takes initiates' right hand, lifting the thumbs and pressing them against each other. The initiates then repeat certain sacred mantras after which the guru offers them a few grains of rice and a glass of water known as 'chal-pani'.
   
   Sadhu-sheba
   Among the Bauls, Lalon Shah or shain is held in high esteem. He is the oldest Baul spiritual leader who died 113 years back at the age 116 in the village Seuria where his mazar is now located. The Sadhusheba was introduced by him when he organised annual Baul festival on the occasion of Dol-Purnima, a festival observed by low-caste Hindus and the Vaisnavas on the full moon night in the month of Bengali month Falgun corresponding to English spring season.
   Lalon Shah used to call his festival as 'massava' or 'mahotsava'. On the occasion, people belonging to low caste group and Muslims used to visit him. For three days, the festival continued. The food he served and the rituals connected with it was called 'Sadhu-Sheba' or service to saints. In the Baul cult meat of all kind is strictly forbidden. Fish, vegetable, curd are served. The meals are served three times a day. In the morning a sparse breakfast is served. It is called Balya –Sheba. Lunch and supper are called 'Purna-Sheba'. These two are full meals. When taking meals together the Bauls will pronounce Alek Shain or Allah alek shain jointly in one voice.
   
   The Baul Song
   The Baul Song is the religious song of the Bauls. It is now the most popular folk song of Bangladesh. The Baul songs have points of similarities with the Carya songs of the Buddhist Sahajiya mystics, the earliest specimen of Bengali language and literature.
   The Sufi songs, Sama, are in many ways similar to Baul songs. In Persian literature, the Baul belongs to an obscure religious cult because of its excessive focus on sex and deha-vada in its philosophy of life. Dr. Mohammad Moin, a professor of Persian language and literature in the University of Tehran in his ' Persian Dictionary' (1978), mentioned the Baul as one who was infatuated or madly in love. This Baul was known as a wanderer in the desert singing songs in a carefree manner. In Arabic and Persian language the word Baul is also used as consort. It is derived from a Hebrew word 'Baal' that refers to a fertility god, named Baal. He was a popular god but was severely condemned in the Bible and the Quran.
   The Baul as a Sufi sect was not unknown in the history of Bengali language and literature. The word first appeared in a book named ' Yusuf-Zulaikha' written by Shah Saghir and ' Laili Maznu' by Daulat Uzir Bahram Khan. Both the poets belong to early fourteenth century.
   The author is the Treasurer at the Islamic University in Kushtia and the director of the Folklore Research Institute. He has been researching Bauls for the last forty years. Karim, who is the former director of the Lalon Academy in Kushtia, has written about twenty books on the subject including, The Bauls of Bangladesh, The Myths of Bangladesh, The Aborigines of Kushtia, Rabindranath O Banglar Baul, Palliunnayane Rabindranath.

Edited by Qwest - 17 years ago
Posted: 17 years ago

Bhakti Utsav
The Path of Bhakti
I know the sound of the ecstatic flute
But I don't know whose flute it is.
A lamp burns and has neither wick nor oil.
A lily pad blossoms and is not attached to the bottom!
When the flower opens, ordinarily dozens open.
The moon bird's head is filled with nothing
but thoughts of the moon,
and when the next rain will come
is all the rain bird thinks of.
Who is it we spend one entire life loving!


Purna Das Baul
He is an outstanding seventh generation exponent of an authentic baul family where tradition is passed down from father to son. Known to the world as the Baul of Bengal, child Purnadas accompanied his father Nabani Das, the legendary Baul singer, philosopher, and close friend of Rabindranath Tagore. From singing baul songs on trains and platforms for a living to conquering hearts with his innovative cadences in Calcutta, Purnadas' is a fascinating journey. He debuted on the international stage in 1962 and has since travelled all over Europe, the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia and the Far East. Besides performing at concerts, Purnadas has appeared on radio, television and films and collaborated with artists such as Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Mahalia Jackson, Allen Ginsberg and Gordon Lightfoot among others. He was a visiting professor to Vishwa Bharati University, Shantiniketan, has written books on Baul music in Bengal and his albums and CDs have been distributed throughout the world. He has also participated in many storytelling festivals and held workshops at many universities across the world.

As the man who brought his unique 600-year-old tradition to Indian cities and the West, Purnadas is rightly called in India as Baul Samrat or the King of Bauls.

Edited by Qwest - 17 years ago
Posted: 16 years ago

Son of Purna das Baul
Edited by Qwest - 16 years ago
Posted: 16 years ago

The Baul way of Life

 

Bauls are India wandering minstrels of West Bengal whose ecstatic songs and dance reflect their joy, love and longing for mystical union with the Divine. To them the human body is the holiest of holies wherein the Divine is intimately enshrined as the "Moner Manush",the man of the heart. Baul philosophy emphasises love for all human beings as the path leading to the Divine Love. Romantic love to the Baul is the link between the human being and God. In fact, they believe that God is the eternal lover of the eternal woman which is the human soul. The word "Baul" is derived from the Sanskrit word "Baul" which means "mad". Bauls are free thinkers who openly declare themselves to be mad for the God who dwells within us all. Among others, Bauls use the following instruments:


 

Instruments

 

1. TABLA - the high drum

 

2. DAYA - the bass drum: commonly known as a set of TABLAS. Capable of a myriad of different sounds and tonal combinations, these are the most popular drums of North Indian classical music.

 

3. EKTAR - literally "one string". This two string drone instrument is used to accompany singers into he folk traditions of many regions of India. In addition to plucking the strings, the skin head is also struck like a drum to provide rhythm accompaniment.

 

4. GUNGAROO - these ankle bells add to the orchestration as a singer plucks and beats his ektar, creating a kind of one-man-band effect. Classical dancers use a much heavier set of gungaroos with many more bells to create startling rythmic counterpoints to the slapping of their feet against the floor.

 

5. DOTAR - a folk instrument much like it's classical cousin, the sarode, and not unlike it's western relative, the fretless banjo. Plucked with a coconut shell pick, the strings are depressed with the fingernails of the left hand, rather than the finger pads as in a guitar or violin. the finger nail becomes like the slide on a slide guitar. My dotar has an electric pickup built into the bridge, which is normally made of bone.

 

6. CHIMTAS - combination rhythm instrument fire tongs, and weapon used by Sadhus (wandering mendicants all over India)

 

7. HARMONIUM - portable pump organ, introduced to India by the missionaries, this little reed organ has become one of India's most popular instruments, perfect for 2 finger typists like myself - the left hand pumps the bellows while the right hand plays the keys.

 

8. KANJIRA - small frame drum. Used by both folk and classical musicians. This one has a goat skin head, but usually the head is made from a lizard skin.

 

9. KARTALS - finger cymbals. Great for making a lot of noise while singing Kirtan (chanting the names of God).

 

10. SMALLER KARTALS - for the quieter moments.

 

11. GUBGUBBI- (also known as Khammak) - an inverted bongo drum with two gut strings attached from the inside of the hide to the membrane on a small cup. You put the bongo drum under your arm, pull on the cup and pluck the strings. This is the most popular instrument of the Bauls of Bengal. It's also called "anandalahari" - waves of bliss.

 

12. GOPICHAND - this one string instrument allows you to change the pitch by squeezing the bamboo sides. The tighter you squeeze, the lower the note gets, until the instrument breaks and you have to get a new one at the corner gopichand store

 

13. DHOLAK - 2 headed barrel shaped drum popular in all sorts of Indian folk music.

Edited by Qwest - 16 years ago
Posted: 16 years ago
Thanks for the post Dada.. You have introduced me to some new instruments 😊

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