GLOBAL APPEAL OF BAUL

Introducing Baul to the urban mileau were Nirmalendu Choudhury, Gosto Gopal and Naboni Das. The latter among the more recognized, was popularly known as Khepa Baul hailed from Birbhum in Labpur village. His son Purnadas Baul popularized the genre and reached out to a global audience. Baul singing — once the soul of rural Bengal — is being given a new lease of life. The music form, at its peak when Purna Das Baul shared the stage with singers Bob Dylan and Peter Gabriel decades ago, is being propped up by music lovers. Today, age has caught up with both him and another popular folk and baul singer Amar Pal who may not exude the same energy and vibrancy which spectators witnessed during their prime when they were in better form.

The song of the wandering minstrels — who roamed the countryside of Bengal in their saffron robes, singing spiritual songs with a one-stringed instrument — is being feted in films, by Bangla bands, writers and groups supporting folk music. Percussionist and music composer Tanmoy Bose says, “Baul geeti in itself was not lost. But better packaging was required to present it to an urban audience,”. So Bose brought in other instruments, apart from the traditional ektara and dotara(one-stringer and two-stringer), to rev up Baul geeti in the band Talatantra. “What they present today is neither a remix nor fusion. It is a more structured form of Baul geeti which appeals to urban audiences,” he says. On the other hand, there are some — like Baul veteran Purna Das — who believe that the musical form requires no pepping up. “Neither Bauls nor their traditional songs can ever be erased from the minds and hearts of the people,” says Purna Das, whose music has taken him to 140 countries.

Baul music, adds Parvathy Baul, another well-known singer, keeps evolving, and is therefore a living tradition. She has been taking the music to areas outside Bengal with her husband Ravi Gopalan Nair, who belongs to Kerala. “We have organised Baul concerts in villages in Kerala,” she says.

Writer Mimlu Sen points out that traditionally the audience for Baul singers consisted of rural folks from Bengal. “The audience was deeply religious and often from the poorest of the poor — the Vaishnavas, village troupes of kirtan singers and sadhus as well as ordinary farmers, tailors, tinkers, cops, robbers, hookers and con men,” says Sen, whose 2009 book “Baulsphere” focused on her journey with her partner of long years, singer Paban Das Baul.

But over the years, the profile of the audience has been changing, with a spate of domestic and international festivals, and with popular Bangla bands taking up Baul tunes. Bands such as ‘Bhoomi’ and Bonnie Chakraborty’s ‘Oikyotaan’ too have been highlighting Baul music. “Oikyotaan means a thousand melodies transforming into a unique song. The idea was to make folk music accessible to a global audience,” says Chakraborty. The founder and lead singer of ‘Bhoomi’, Surajit Chatterjee, stresses that the appeal of Baul music is universal. “More often than not, the theme is spiritual; it spreads the message of brotherhood, love for fellow human beings and common folk. Considering the turbulence in our society, these songs soothe our soul,” he says.

It’s not difficult to make Baul geeti match contemporary music, the singers stress. “Keeping with the spirit of Baul music that keeps including the new, our compositions often merge with contemporary music influences,” adds Chatterjee. “The drum, guitar, violin, keyboards and English flutes play along with traditional instruments such as the khamak, ektara, dupki and ghungroo when the instruments gel with the mood of the song.” Clearly, Bauls — who celebrate life — are not going to hang up their ektaras. The voice of the bard is as clear as ever.

BAUL INFLUENCE IN FILMS AND LITERATURE

Recently a Bengali film ‘Moner Manush’ based on Sunil Gangopadhyay’s novel of the same name was made by Goutam Ghosh. It was premiered on the same day in India and Bangladesh, creating a milestone in cultural synergy between the two countries. The film, an Indo-Bangladesh co-production has won the Golden Peacock award at the International Film Festival of India in Goa. The film is a partly fictionalised, partly real documentary of the strange life of Lalon Phokir, who over time became an institution unto himself. The film is structured within the discussions between Lalon Phokir (Prosenjit Chatterjee) and Jyotirindranath Tagore (Priyangshu Chatterjee), during the time the latter was sketching a portrait of the former. The essence of Baul philosophy comes across brilliantly in Ghose’s musical – and it merits this tag because, “it has 32 songs that form part of the verbal interaction between and among the characters.” It is also an educational film, shedding light on a little-known sect, on their unique ideology and lifestyle and their resurrection in modern times through cinema, theatre, literature and so on.

 Aan milo aan milo (Devdas, 1955, Sahir / Geeta Dutt and Manna Dey) – remade from SD Burman’s own Bengali hit “Rongila re” is a shining example of minimal use of instruments with the prominent ektara resounding – a typical Baul instrument.

The most notable influence of Baul culture in literature can be observed through the works of Rabindranath Tagore. In his long career as a musician, Rabindranath Tagore experimented with different genres of eastern and western music traditions but his experimentation with the traditional Baul songs of the Bengal took his talent, both as a lyricist and a composer, to a new height. ‘Tagore was deeply moved by the lyrical beauty and tune of Baul songs. The spiritual romanticism of Baul philosophy influenced Tagore so deeply that he went as far as calling himself Rabindra Baul. Later, he even played the role of a blind baul in his play Phalguni’, said eminent Rabindra Sangeet singer Rezwana Chowdhury Bannya. Tagore himself termed his Baul-influenced songs as ‘Rabindra Baul-er Gaan’ and many of such songs like Tora Je Ja Bolis Bhai, Tumi Je Surer Agun, Sedine Apad Amar Jabe, Sabai Jare Sab Diteche, Roilo Bole Rakhle Kare, Phire Chal Matir Tane, Phagun Haway Haway, Kanna Hasir Dol, Ami Tarei Khuje Berai, O Amar Mon Jakhan, Kon Alote Praner Pradip, Jodi Tor Dak Shune, Je Tomay Chhare Chharuk, Je Tore Pagol Bole, Gram Chhara Oi Rangamatir, Megher Kole Rod Heseche and others are very popular even after a century of their compositions. Even the tune of his song Amar Sonar Bangla, the national anthem of Bangladesh, is directly influenced by a Baul song titled ‘Ami Kothy Pabo Tarey.’

CONTEMPORARY BAUL SINGERS

BAPI DAS BAUL

PABAN DAS BAUL

      

PURNA DAS BAUL

Among the modern Baul singers, the names of Purna Das Baul and his son, Bapi Das Baul are prominent. Purna Das Baul is undeniably the ruler of the Baul clan today. Purna Das and Lakshman Das are two blessed sons of Nabani Das whose effort popularized the Baul Tradition quickly and many great Baul singers came up within a short period. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, first President of the modern state of India, acknowledged Purna Das as Baul Samrat in 1967. In this capacity, Purna Das Baul Samrat was awarded the Indian President's Award by Shri K. R. Narayan, tenth President of India, in 1999. Purna Das and his troops extensively performed at many western countries and were compared with many world-famous stars of folk songs; even New York Times described him as "India's Bob Dylan". His son, Bapi Das Baul, moved from Kolkata to Paris in 1993 and is now known for his fusion work with the groups Senses, Baul Bishwa, Zap Mamma, Fun-Da-Mental, Trans Global Underground, State Of Bengal, Studio Pagol and others in the musical scenes of Paris and London. He started singing with his parents and some baul brothers in the formation “Baul Bishwa” which means "the world of Bauls". Bapi is very faithful to his traditions and roots which are also present in his music. He uses traditional instruments on stage. On the other hand, he is always seeking for new things and improvement.  Paban Das Baul, another noted Bengali baul singer and musician is known for pioneering traditional Baul music on the international music scene and for establishing a genre of folk fusion music. 

A Baul is by definition a type of Sanyasi who can’t have any worldly possession; he earns his minimum livelihood by ‘Madhukari’ i.e. begging alms by singing songs. With the trend of commercialization of present generation, Baul tradition is also no exception but highly influenced. Many of the popular Bauls of present days are more a Singer than a Baul, although there may be many Baul having originality but are less known or unknown to us. Here are some contemporary Bauls:

1) Babukishan Das

2) Dibakar Das

3) Parvati Baul

 4) Laxman Das

5)Monomatho Das

6) Gour Khyapa

7) Noni Khyapa

8) Sanaton Das

9) Dhananjoy Khepa

10) Radhashyam Das

11) Doyal Khepa

12) Bhakta Das

TAGORE & THE BAUL TRADITION

The songs of the Bauls and their lifestyle is influenced by Bengali culture, but nowhere did it leave its imprint more powerfully than on the work of Rabindranath Tagore, who talked of Bauls in a number of speeches in Europe in the 1930s. Rabindranath Tagore was greatly influenced and inspired by Bauls. He wrote: "One day I chanced to hear a song from a beggar belonging to the Baul sect of Bengal...What struck me in this simple song was a religious expression that was neither grossly concrete, full of crude details, nor metaphysical in its rarefied transcendentalism. At the same time, it was alive with an emotional sincerity, it spoke of an intense yearning of the heart for the divine, which is in man and not in the temple or scriptures, in images or symbols... I sought to understand them through their songs, which is their only form of worship."

Rabindranath Tagore became a Baul acolyte when the legendary Sri Nabani (Gosia) Das Khyappa Baul gave Tagore the name Ravi (Robi) Baul and in return Tagore gave Nabani (Noboni) the name Khyappa Baul and named him 'Mirror of the Sky'. The Pous Mela in Shantiniketan was created by Rabindranath Tagore in honour of Nabani Das Baul to bring together intellectuals, poets, and creative artists from around the world. Here is a famous Rabindrasangeet (Tagore song), heavily influenced by Baul theme:

Amar praner manush achhé prané
Tai heri taye sakol khane
Achhe shé nayōntaray, alōk-dharay, tai na haraye—
Ogo tai dekhi taye jethay sethay
Taka-i ami jé dik-pané

(The man of my heart dwells inside me.
Everywhere I behold, it's Him!
In my every sight, in the sparkle of light
Oh I can never lose Him –
Here, there and everywhere,
Wherever I turn, right in front is He!)

The mystical nature of Tagore's lyrics is also a product of his affinity to these wandering bards. Edward Dimock Jr. in his The Place of the Hidden Moon (1966) writes: "Rabindranath Tagore put the Bauls on a higher-than-respectable level by his praise of the beauty of their songs and spirit, and by his frank and proud acknowledgement of his own poetic debt to them." The Baul pattern also inspired many other successful poets, playwrights and songwriters of the 19th and 20th centuries.

LALON SHAH- THE PRECEPTOR OF BAUL ASCETICISM

Fakir Lalon Shah (1774-1890) is the main pioneer and the greatest spoke-person of the marginalized Baul tradition of the undivided Bengal. Rejecting the religious institutions and their constitutional dogma, Fakir Lalon Shah has created a world which is based on human and humanity. This multifaceted personality was a social-minded persona and the-then society’s problem had touched him deeply. So, through his songs he has raised his voice against class, caste, religious malice and so many social issues which we can still observe in our Pan-Indian society. This self-learned folk-poet’s conscious outlook towards society and poetic power was amazing. For the uniqueness of theme, language, music and rhetoric of his songs, it attracts the great minds like Rabindranath Tagore. The main contribution of Lalon Shah is, that, he has given a lower class’s folk-religion’s songs to the height of a literature. The voice of Fakir Lalon Shah, his songs and philosophy are now not limited within Bengal and Bengali speaking area, rather these have spread all over the world. Now Lalon Shah has become the symbol of world fraternity, humanity, equality and peace.

Lalon had no institutional education. By his devotion he acquired deep knowledge on the religious doctrines of the Hindus and Muslims, the manifestation of which is found in the songs composed by him. He composed nearly two thousand five hundred devotional songs. His songs are rich in mystic trend of thought and in artistic skill. Composed in simple language his songs are significant and impressive, and are indicative of ideal of human life, humanism and non-sectarian attitude. His disciples used to sing his songs. Even in his life time, a colossal Baul community developed consisting of his disciples and of their disciples. His disciples like Kangal Harinath Majumder, Dudu Shah, Pagla Kanai etc earned reputation as composer of Baul songs.

THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN BAUL COMMUNITY

Somewhat less celebrated are Baul beliefs and practices: they are fiercely opposed to the caste system and sectarianism and, at least in the context of their sexo-yogic rituals and philosophy, extol women over men. Despite the importance of women among Bauls, scholarly and popular discourses on Bauls marginalize Baul women by depicting the ideal Baul as male and as unencumbered by social constraints and worldly concerns. For Baul women, these ideals pose distinct challenges to their position and reputation as women in rural Bengal, where gendered norms limit women’s actions. However, as musical performers hoping for patronage, behaving as a Baul can ensure their livelihood.

Women have a significant role in the religious and metaphysical sadhana (seeking) of Bauls. They are inseparable companions of the men, and Bauls insist on love and respect for their women. "He who does not know the feeling of tender love, must be avoided always," goes one song, and another says: "A woman is not a treasure to be trifled with." But gender bias dies hard. Baul women (Baulanis, as they are called), though constant companions of the men, have almost always remained in the background - dancing, providing the rhythm and lending their voices to the chorus. In other words, always playing second fiddle to the men. It is only recently that they have come to the forefront.

A wandering life dependent on the charity of listeners is by no account an easy one; and it is all the more difficult for women. But for Baulanis, there can be no other way of life. In all their wanderings, Baulanis have never deviated from their basic philosophy, but that has not deterred them from incorporating the changing times in the themes of their songs. The careful listener will find subtle differences between the songs of Baulanis and those of their male counterparts. The modern Baulani is very much aware of her feminity, and her songs of liberation and emancipation of the self can also be applied in the context of the social status of women. An example of this can be found in the words of Subhadra Sharma, a Baulani from Nadia: Kobe hobe swajal borosha rekhechhi shei bhorosha/ Kotodine jabe amar bhagnadosha (My hopes rest on the purifying rains that will come and liberate me.)

BAUL BELIEFS AND PRACTICES

Baul beliefs are derived from many sources. Tantric Buddhism was strong in Bengal from perhaps the fifth century A.D. until the Muslim conquest in the early thirteenth century. Sufism or Islamic mysticism then arose in the area and became intermingled with the rising tide of devotional Vaishnavism (in Bengal, focusing on the relationship between Krishna and his mistress Radha) and its tantric offshoot, Sahajiya Vaishnavism. Shakta religion, the worship of the goddess (in forms such as Kali or Devi), grew from an esoteric meditative tradition to widespread devotional love, and it was also a strong influence on the Baul tradition. Shaktism was incorporated in the Baul songs both as worship of the physical woman and as imagery from Kundalini yoga. In Baul song and poetry, the deity may be called Bhagavan, Radha/Krishna, Shiva/Shakti, Allah, the man of the heart, the unknown bird, the great bliss (mahasukha), or infinite light.

Baul practice shows tantric influence, both in the importance of having a female partner and in its acceptance of Sexuality as a path to religious experience. The god is associated with creativity and is understood to dwell physically in the sexual fluids of the body. These fluids meet during sexual Ritual, which takes place when the male and female essences are believed to be strongest. At this time, the male and female aspects of the divine are understood to be fully present, and the god (often understood to be a divine couple, the god and goddess) can be perceived by the performers of the ritual. Many poetic metaphors are used to describe this process: the union of water and milk, catching the fish at high tide, the piercing of the moons. When the deity is fully manifest in the body, the body is recognized as a microcosm of the universe. As a Baul proverb states, "What is not in the body is not in the universe."

Baul religious belief and practice are expressed in song, there is no revealed text and no single founder. Some songs emphasize spontaneity (sahaja) and the states of religious ecstasy and creativity that come of their own accord, without effort. These states are highly valued by Bauls. Other songs describe the role of disciplined religious practice (sadhana), which seeks to induce the state of ecstasy (bhava).