Baul Singers: The Mystic Minstrels of West Bengal and Bangladesh

Who are the Bauls? Where do they come from, and why are they so famous for their music? In our latest blog, Aradhana Thakur, an Independent Researcher and Writer, throws light on the Baul singers and their music, a sacred oral tradition of India.

Jagannath Das Baul says, “To be a Baul is to live wholeheartedly”.

The Baul songs of Bangladesh were inscribed in November 2008 (Third Session of the Intergovernmental Committee, Istanbul) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (originally proclaimed in 2005) as one of the “masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity” in South Asia.  Derived from the traditions of Sufi and Fakir mystics who were deeply in love with God, Baul music is believed to be the path to attaining spiritual liberation. And I can assure you, anyone who was to hear this music would agree with that. Fakir Lalon Sain was a Baul of Bengal who is often referenced by many modern Bauls for the wisdom woven throughout his songs. One of Sain’s famous sayings was, “In this world, it’s futile to have differences with Him”.The Bauls do not identify with merely living in a particular geographical region. They do not belong to a specific religious sect, worship any deities or belong to a caste system. An individual is a Baul if they believe in and accept the philosophy of sahaja (a simple way of life which emphasises focus on the spiritual perception of the world instead of a materialistic view), sadhana (spiritual practice one must undergo to attain connection with the divine) and the religion of love. Baul music without the concepts of sahaja and love is meaningless. An unorthodox devotional tradition, the Bauls have been influenced by Hinduism, Vaishnavism and Sufism over the years, yet they are distinctly different. Bauls believe that God and the higher power are within us, and before looking for Him in places of worship like temples, churches and mosques, we need to look for Him within ourselves. Bauls consider the human body a temple and the soul a controller of the temple. Their deep faith in love is a state of mind that helps them give simple answers to all complexities of life. 

Famous Baul singers from Bangladesh and West Bengal include Abdur Rahman Boyati, Bapi Das Baul, Basudeb  Das Baul, Uttam Das Baul, Gautam Das Baul. Bidit Lal Das, Debu Bhattacharya, Kangalini Sufia, Paban Das Baul, Parvathy Baul, Saidur Rahman Boyati, Shah Abdul Karim, Shyam Sundar Baishnab and Shushama Das. The beautiful melodious baritone voices are complimented by the sounds from their musical instruments like the ektara  (a one-stringed drone instrument played primarily by the Baul singer), dotara  (a multi-stringed instrument made of wood  used for accompaniment) and dhol (a small hand-held earthen drum). Other instruments include the mandira, banshi, khol, khamak and dung. Other percussion instruments include the baya or khol drum and small cymbals called kartal and manjira.

Baul music is considered one of the most representative cultures of Indian folk traditions abroad. The Baul tradition was on the verge of extinction but has now recently regained popularity among not only the people of the villages of India but also amongst people living in the cities across the world. Several countries like France, the USA, Australia, Japan, Mexico and the United Kingdom have reverberated the global resonance of this oral tradition. The efforts to keep the tradition alive are also being made by certain Baul singers who have become ambassadors of this tradition in different countries. Paban Das Baul and his partner Mimul Sen are leading examples. Paban Das Baul is known for pioneering traditional Baul music on the international scene and establishing a folk-fusion genre. In 1988, Paban Das Baul started collaborating with Sam Mills, a London-born guitarist. Their collaboration resulted in the acclaimed album Real Sugar (1997), a Peter Gabriel's Real World Records release, marking one of the first fusions of Bengali and Western pop music. The first journey of the Baul singers to the West was in the early 1960s. Purna Das Baul, his brother Laxman Das Baul and their entourage travelled to New York to perform at multiple concerts. The concerts were organized by Bob Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman after hearing Baul music on a trip to Kolkata. Purna Das Baul has singlehandedly paved the way for Baul singers worldwide and is a globally renowned musician. Purna Das Baul has shared the stage with exemplary artists like Bob Dylan, Ravi Shankar, Allen Ginsberg, Gordon Lightfoot and John Myers. His collaboration with Allen Ginsberg and Bob Dylan resulted in the 1967 John Welsley Harding album. Purna Das recalls when Bob Dylan once told him, “If you are India’s Baul, I am America’s Baul.”
Other than the Baul singers, individuals from different spheres have contributed to preserving this oral tradition. If you haven’t heard this melodious music, you can embark on a journey to Bannabagram Baul Ashram in Burdwan, West Bengal, where you can enjoy Baul music as a year-round feature. An interesting read on the Bauls is The Mirror of the Sky: Songs of the Bauls of Bengal by Deben Bhattacharya. Deben Bhattacharya brings the mysterious beauty and passion of the Bauls to his readers with his translation of 204 ancient songs. He also includes an extensive introduction to the history and faith of the Bauls and the composition of their music, complete with a CD of Baul artists, with some recordings dating as far back as forty years. A rare and exquisite example of this rarely documented art form, The Mirror of the Sky, is a must for lovers of music, poetry, and passion.  Kolkata filmmaker and author Ruchir Joshi directed the documentary Egaro Mile (Eleven Miles) in 1991 to explore the tradition and contemporary practice of the Bauls.

Bauls believe in flowing with the tide and changing with the times, which has led them to preserve their tradition in the current times. Music has a language that links the heart of millions of people worldwide. The Bauls live their music, and that is why the world listens.