[Reader-list] Second posting for the Independent fellowships.

[Averee Chaurey]

Shantiniketan, Viswa Bharati - World University established by Rabindranath 
Tagore ,the great poet saint is the platform where the wandering minstrels  
of Bengal meet. It is the time of Poush Mela and I decided to go to 
Shantiniketan to come face to face with the Bauls.

It is the Poush Mela where along with different stalls attracting visitors 
the Baul Akhra (Baul’s  den) exists. Its generally at the rear end of the 
Mela, where the Mukta Mela (Open Forum) is constructed.The note of Flute and 
Ektara emerged clearly through the cacophony at the fair grounds.

It was a  chilly morning  but already music buffs had gathered at the Akhra 
to hear the Baul recited. I got to interview some Bauls and two female 
Bauls. It is  strange that female Bauls are rare yet women are held in high 
esteem in their lives. Without the woman, the Bauls’ ‘Sadhana’  is 
incomplete. It is strange that the Sanginis are there to sing along with 
them, yet there are hardly any female Baul  singers worth mentioning.

Yet when I interviewed the two female Baul singers they seemed at peace with 
themselves. They respect their male singers and have no problem with them.  
One of the female singers mentioned that she was so much in love in the 
Bhakti  music and that she was not interested in the daily chores of 
cooking,  fetching water etc  that she left home and took the shelter of a 
guru.

Each Baul had their own story to tell. I realized that though most of them 
live in abject poverty they enjoy every moment of their lives. For example 
,when I met Madhusudhan Baul he did talk about monetary problems and how 
they can only earn in the  Melas, or resort to begging as the only way to 
earn   - he too got transformed when he started singing. It was a joy  
emerging from within.

I have been listening to Baul music from my childhood but I never realized 
that their music is also the music of protest. I then read some of  Tagore’s 
articles and found that since Baul Music had a rustic flavour, which is deep 
rooted  in the soil, Tagore  too had used some of the tunes  in his 
patriotic songs.

What Madhusudhan Baul sang was interesting . It was the time when minds of 
people especially in Bengal were engrossed with the controversy involving 
Saurabh Ganguli, the cricketer & Greg Chappell. His song revolved around the 
theme.

But somewhere I felt that the traditional practitioners are few and far 
between.Among them is the octogenarian Sanatan Das Baul, who started 
proceedings   in the festival this year. I remembered him as a child. My 
father  used  to be very fond of him and always told me, “ see the way he 
enacts  on the stage.”I remember  how he danced on stage while singing . 
Sanatan Baul is quite outspoken. He  said, ‘These Bauls are not real Bauls, 
they only sing. All the time they are busy pursuing money.’ ‘Where is the 
Sadhana? ?’

Yes, the  core question of the Bauls is ‘Sadhana’- this is the spiritual 
search. The one question that every Baul has in their mind is ‘Who am I’. 
For the Baul,” self realization is the most essential part of their sadhana 
fundamentals”, said Sanatan baul. Sadhana is determined by three essential  
components. These are 3 basic  truths – ‘ami’- one self, ‘Tumi’ – you  and 
the supreme divinity and Guru –the Master, “Guru” plays the central role on 
the way towards self-realization.  Without ‘Guru’ the Baul cannot reach 
anywhere as he is the  spiritual teacher  through whom the link between 
‘ami’and tumi’, between the self and supreme soul can established.

These are the experiences and the stories I am gathering in establishing the 
true identity of the Baul.