Baul music is the soul of Bengal and is essentially the music of self searching. It’s about 500 years old. Chaitanyadev’s Bhakti Cult movement, which is seen as the first social reform movement in Bengal, may be the basis of evolution of Baul music. Chaitanya started his music, called ‘Keertan’, reached out to the oppressed ones and mobilized people against the social divide (due to gender, region, class, caste) and the social evils like ‘Sati’ (Where the widow was forcefully burnt alive along with the dead husband). Then comes, Lalan Fakir, who used to live at Kushtia in Bangladesh and he may be called as the father of Baul music. Living the life of an esoteric, denouncing the material world, they urge people to rise above the narrow divides created by caste, creed and religion to find love, peace and harmony. Do not look for God anywhere, look for Him in the human body. Only then will you get Him, feel Him and be able to know your own self too.
Baul is a philosophy and Baul is a music. The Bauls and Fakirs believe that ‘Murshid’ or the Guru is the steersman who can lead a devotee to God. The philosophy gets passed on from Guru to his disciples. Bauls are Hindus and Fakirs are Muslims and both the communities practise the same philosophy with little difference in nuances. One can see the impact and influence of Sufism, Vaishnavism, Buddhism and Nath doctrines on the Baul-Fakir philosophy.
The unique Guru-Shishya Parampara through which the senior Bauls teach the music and philosophy to the young Bauls is a specialty of this art form.
Traditional musical instruments Ektara, Dotara, Khamak, Dhol, flute are essential part of Baul and Fakiri music.
Baul and Fakiri artists are largely found in Nadia, Birbhum, Bardhaman, Murshidabad and Birbhum districts of West Bengal. Bauls and Fakirs of Nadia are known for their Akhra-based practice. These A....
Baul and Fakiri artists are largely found in Nadia, Birbhum, Bardhaman, Murshidabad and Birbhum districts of West Bengal. Bauls and Fakirs of Nadia are known for their Akhra-based practice. These Akhras are the seat of practice, where junior singers and musicians from the local areas come to learn from their gurus or masters by playing and singing with them regularly. There is a living art museum in the Fakirs' village at Gorbhanga in Nadia. The actual skill transmission, although informally, take place in these Akhras. Many times it is seen that singers from one district travel to different Akhras in other districts and stay there for days to learn.
However, there is no monetary transaction in skill transmission. The Bauls in Nadia are known for singing Mahajani Pada written by the Baul Gurus.
The tradition of Baul music spread in Birbhum district with the influence of poet Rabindranath Tagore. He had a deep interest in this traditional music form and use the melody of Baul songs in the songs composed by him. The Baul artists of Birbhum take more popular approach to attract the audience. Santiniketan, famous for Visva Bharati Ashrama established by Rabindranath Tagore and a popular tourist destination plays a role in popularizing the traditional music to the urban audience.
Baul music is quite popular in rural and urban areas. The artists regularly perform at districts of West Bengal and also visit to the cities across the country. Accomplished Baul musicians are also invited to perform abroad. There is a lot of interactions in recent years between urban folk singers with Bauls and thus Baul music is now an integral part of urban folk singers too, about 300 of them regularly perform the same. There are quite a few Baul Fakir Melas, including Joydev Kenduli in Birbhum (the oldest Mela), Gorbhanga in Nadia (2010), Shaktigarh in Kolkata (2006). Compilation of 1200 Baul songs has been published in multivolume music CDs. Baul songs are now being broadcast through internet radio (www.bongonet.net) and become part of a mobile app named ‘Folks of Bengal’.
Babu Fakir (Nurul Islam Khan) is from Gorbhanga, Nadia district. He started learning Fakiri songs after being inspired by his father. He is a versatile Fakiri and Bangla Qawwali singer. He came in touch with banglanatak dot com in 2004 and was trained in Bangla Qawwali. Once trained he has been performing at home and abroad and has performed at Tagore Society-London, Milap Fest-Liverpool 2010, London Anando Utsav 2010, Barbican Festival London 2011, The Cité de la Musique, Paris 2011, Ethnomusicology Workshops, Geneva, Switzerland 2011, Damascus Festival of Spiritual and Religious Music – Damascus, Syria, 2012, Germany – ITB Berlin March 2013, Copenhagen World Music Festival Aug 2017. He specializes in songs of Lalan Shah, Duddu Shah, Panju Shah and devotional songs (Keertan) and also trains the youth of his area.
Armaan Fakir was initiated into Marfati music by his Guru Gani Fakir of Bangladesh in Kadria Tarika, a form of Fakiri music introduced by Abdul Kader Jilani. He is practicing Bangla Qawwali since 1995. Earlier he used to sing the songs of Lalon Fakir. His father Shamsuddin Khan, better known as Shamu Pagal, was his first Guru. He has a huge collection of songs of various lyricists. He has immensely contributed to the publication of the book ‘Sahaj Geeti’ a collection of 740 Baul / Fakiri songs. Alongside singing, Armaan is also well known for his philosophical verses. Arman, Guru of Fakiri music, also trains the youth of Gorbhanga in his Ashram, a repository of folk culture. He has trained the actors of the film Moner Manush on Lalan Fakir by Gautam Ghosh. Arman Fakir leads a Bangla Qawwali team and has performed in India and abroad. Arman has rendered his voice in albums like ‘Gorbhangar Gaan’, ‘Lokjan’ and ‘Nadia’. The Sufi songs which are mostly sung in Urdu or Hindi get a Bengali expression in his renditions.
Armaan Fakir of Gorbhanga, Nadia has a huge collection of songs of various lyricists. Alongside singing Armaan is also well known for his philosophical verse. He has trained the actors of recently made film on Lalan Fakir by Gautam Ghosh. He has rendered his voice in album like ‘Gorbhangar Gaan’.
Amanat Fakir specializes in Baul and Fakiri music. Born into a family of traditional singers, he grew up learning Muslim wedding songs from his mother and the Panchali – a form of musical storytelling, from his father. As a child, he would sing Alkap in a music group led by his elder brother. At 22, he became a disciple of the famous Mehbub Fakir who broadened his horizons considerably and went on to learn from brilliant performers like Jahiruddin and Khodabaksh whose tutelage turned him into a name to be reckoned within the world of folk music. His performance received appreciation from all over West Bengal and also from Assam and Delhi.
Akkas Fakir, a singer who has been trained since from 7 years of age, is very popular nowadays for his baritone voice. Initially he was a follower of legendary Daata Baba but was later introduced to Bangla Qawwali by Arman Fakir. Akkas as a key member of Arman Fakir’s Bangla Qawwali team has performed in home and abroad. He has an Ashram of his own where Fakiri music is practiced regularly. Akkas has rendered his voice in albums like ‘Lokjan, Bijoyer Gaan’, ‘Nadia’, ‘Bhavnagar’ and ‘Gorbhangar Gaan’.
Chote Golam is one of the talented Qawwali singers of Jalangi, Murshidabad. His Baritone voice has made him popular in various parts of West Bengal. He started his training from his father Fakir Alimuddin Mondal and then he introduced himself into bangla qawwali with the help of his guru Abdur Rashid Sarkar from Bangladesh. He and his qawwali team has performed in many parts of Kolkata, Delhi, Goa, Bangalore and other places.
Born in 1995 in Jaydeb near Santiniketan, Birbhum district, Sadhu started singing and playing music instruments at the age of 10. His inspiration and guide was his illustrious father, eminent Baul singer Tarak Das Baul, also known as Tarak Khyapa, who died an untimely death in 2017. Sadhu is a promising Baul singer who is also deft in playing Dotara, Khamak, Harmonium, Ektara and Dugi. He has performed in many cities across India, including Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Silchar and Tatanagar. He has also performed at the Sur Jahan World Peace Music Festival in Kolkata and Goa.
Born in 1996 in Jaydeb near Santiniketan, Birbhum district, Kangal started singing and playing music instruments at the age of seven. His inspiration and guide was his illustrious father, eminent Baul singer Tarak Das Baul, also known as Tarak Khyapa, who died an untimely death in 2017. Kangal is a promising Baul singer who also plays many music instruments, such as Dotara, Khamak, Harmonium, Ektara, Dugi, Tabla, Khol, etc. He has performed in many cities across India, including Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Tatanagar and Siliguri. He has also performed at the Sur Jahan World Peace Music Festival in Kolkata and Goa.
Born in 1956 in Murshidabad district, Lalu belongs to a family with a musical tradition. He was inspired by his grandfather to become a musician. Lalu debuted as an artist in 1971. Over the years, he was groomed by veteran musicians like Safkat Mondal, Meher Shah, Soleman Biswas and Late Lokman Fakir. Apart from being a vocalist, Lalu plays music instruments like the Dotara, Ektara, Dugi and Harmonium. He has performed across West Bengal and also in Delhi, Mumbai, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Assam, Manipur and Tripura. He has also performed in Bangladesh.
At 63, Bhajan Das Bairagya today is a renowned Baul singer famous for his skills in playing instruments like Ektara, Dugi, Khamak and Harmonium. Trained by his Guru Sadhan Darbesh, he has performed in New Delhi, Goa, Pune and Bhubaneswar. His only performance outside India was in Japan in 1991.
Subhadra Sharma is one of the most famous female Baul singers (Baulani) from Chapra, Nadia. She has learnt her skills under Guru Christian Samuel Mondol and knows songs of different great composers. She has sung for the album like ‘Baulanir Gaan’. Apart from performing across most of the metro cities of India, Subhadra has led Baul Fakiri team at the Damascus Festival of Spiritual & Religious Music, Syria in 2012 and Namaste India Festival in Japan in 2011. She is currently participating in the 2015 Gannat Festival in France.
Girish Mandal also known as Girish Khyapa, is an eminent Baul singer from Bardhaman district in West Bengal. He also plays various traditional instruments, including Dotara and Ektara. He has performed and conducted workshops across India. Girish performed at the International De Folklore De Noyon Festival in France and Transform-Trondheim World Music Festival in Norway in 2017. He also participated in a cultural exchange program with Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in the United States and visited Washington D.C. as part of the initiative in 2018. There he attended the Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2018 and performed at the Library of Congress and Freer Sackler Gallery.
Mohan Tati, a self taught artist of Bankura district in West Bengal, is quite a phenomenon. He learnt the finer nuances of playing the flute by listening to the radio and honing his inborn skill as a flutist. Mohan performs with the Baul Fakiri and Jhumur genre of music regularly and has travelled to Denmark, UK, Germany and Japan. Mohan also led folk orchestra group of Bengal to international festival on ICH in China. He has performed with leading world musicians including Sabina Rakachyeva of London.
Khokon belongs to a family with a rich musical tradition and was groomed in playing the Dhol, a traditional Indian drum, at a very young age by his father and grandfather, both of whom were respected Dhol players. He was later groomed by veteran Dhol player Sidam Das. Khokon has performed across West Bengal and also in Delhi, Mumbai, Goa and Assam. He has also performed in Sweden, the Czech Republic and Bangladesh.
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This research project, Heritage Sensitive Intellectual Property and Marketing strategies: India (HIPAMS - INDIA), is funded by the British Academy's Sustainable Development Programme, supported under the UK Government's Global Challenges Research Fund 2018-2021.
