BAUL-The MadCap

Baul - God's Madcap

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BAUL-on hearing this word, I just visualize a wild and free person wearing saffron robes, singing the song of life and love, keeping his face upward and playing a one stringent instrument called ‘Ektara’…the man is dancing, jumping, shaking his head madly and acting passionately….completely engrossed in the raw and mystic tune which conveys the feeling of eternal passion and divinity rolled into one….

Ore Chhere Dile Sonar Gour

Khyapa Chhere Dile Sonar Gour

Aamra Aar Pabo Na

Aar Pabo Na

Tomay Hrid Majhare Rakhibo

Chhere Debo Na

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The word ‘BAUL’ comes from the Sanskrit word ‘Batul’ which means the air around one – the air of madness… The air that is filled with the richness of nature, the fragrance of the earth and its capacity to soothe and uplift….The word ‘BAUL’ also means the madness and eccentricity of a person who renounces all his comforts and possessions to unite with the Divine Being…Their madness arouses passion which makes them to sing and dance wildly forgetting everything around them…

Engrossed in music

They are bards, composers, musicians, dancers and actors all rolled into one, and their mission is to entertain…..through their songs, pauses, gestures, and postures, these nomadic mendicants spread the message of love and ecstasy to lands far and wide……

In a land devoid of mechanical entertainment, Baul singers are a major source of entertainment….People love to watch them sing and dance, their narration of folk tales, and even commentary on contemporary issues through highly melodious songs and an extraordinarily high-pitched rendition…..Although their lyrics speak the language of the village folks, their songs are appealing to one and all….It has its own raw and mystic charm….Bauls always keep their songs simple and direct, profusely emotional, enjoyable, and needs no special knowledge for appreciation….

Music knows no boundary

Bauls croon from their hearts and pour out their feelings and emotions in their songs, but the interesting fact is that they never bother to write down their songs….It is always in their mind…It is essentially an oral tradition, and it is said of Lalan Fakir (1774 -1890), the greatest of all Bauls, that he continued to compose and sing songs for decades without ever stopping to correct them or put them on paper…..It was only after his death that people thought of collecting and compiling his rich repertoire.

Some instruments

Bengal's greatest poet the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore wrote about the Bauls: "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." The songs of bauls and their lifestyle influenced a large swath of Bengali Culture, but nowhere did it leave it’s imprint more powerfully than on the work of Rabindranath Tagore.

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."

I am......

I am a simple man. I believe in simple living. I am happy if I can take care of my family nicely, spend a good life and can perform all the responsibilities properly. My day starts with the 1st morning sun ray that touches the earth. Everyday, I wake up with a hope to make my life better. I work hard whole day to earn and at the end of the day I get the earnings which is enough to look after of my family.

I am carrying my forefathers' tradition and I am quite proud of it. Somebody should be there to carry forward their names and I am happily doing it.

But, nowadays, it seems it is not becoming enough for daily living. These days, people are more and more getting inclined towards the modernization. Modernization has touched it's magic wand everywhere and the world is changing faster than my imagination. I know, I can match the modernization by working little harder. Yes, I know I have to work harder.

I have started working harder. Summer or winter, I know the sun is also working hard to make my path tougher, but, hard working has no other replacement. I know I will be successful to get my job done in a better way. So, be it the scorching heat, be it raining heavily, be it the chilled winter I started working harder. But, unfortunately after doing all these I am only able to earn a meager two square meals a day for my family. What should I do to make my life better. Since my birth I have only learnt to earn my bread and butter in this way. What is going wrong with it. My days are becoming harder day by day. I am ready to give my service whole day, I never care for my health when it comes to give my service, I don't care of the nature of the weather, still I am lagging behind time, I am getting defeated by the modernization. When everybody is going ahead of time I am lagging behind in spite of giving my heart and soul to the work. Is this what I should get to carry the old tradition with me since this long time? After all I am a Rickshaw Puller.....

 

This is what is today's story of a rickshaw puller. A person is a rag that pulls a rickshaw is called rickshaw puller. He is often seen here and there on the road, in market complexes, near cinema halls, schools, hospitals etc.

A rickshaw puller leads a very hard life. He earns little to meet two square meals a day for his family. He never cares for his health and pulls his rickshaw for maximum hours in a day. Apart from carrying person or persons, he carries goods like vegetables, tea and other things in the form of packed or unpacked bundles.

Nowadays some rickshaw pullers are seen engaged in carrying school children. It gives them a permanent income. And what is more, they get a change in their hard life in the company of the small children.

No matter to whom they pull, but it looks very pathetic in itself. It is really a great pity. It is the dark side of our social traditions that a man has to pull two or three persons to earn his livelihood without caring the nature of the weather. In this advanced age, when there are various transport facilities, rickshaw pulling is still in existence on a mass level.

Pulling of human beings by a man is a curse upon society. Hence, rickshaw pullers must be given full support from the Government in the form of loan so that they may purchase auto-rickshaw or may start some other business thus, they will be able to earn more money by comparatively less manual labour. It will also make their family life a little bit more comfortable. They will be able to educate their children in order to make them worthy citizens of the country.

But it does not seem that rickshaw pulling will come to a complete end because it has been in existence from a long time. Even in 18th century man used to pull Palki or wood cart on foot, which was perhaps more miserable. Hence, so long it is in existence, it is the moral duty of common people to be sympathetic to the rickshaw pullers.

Sometimes it has been seen some people do not pay reasonable wages to them and start quarrelling in loud voice. Poor rickshaw puller becomes helpless and satisfies him with whatever he gets from such quarrelsome persons. We must change our attitude towards him.

He gives valuable service to us. Sometimes when it is scorching heat and we find ourselves unable to walk on foot, we take his service. We sit in the shade while the rickshaw puller pulls us wiping sweat with a piece of cloth every now and then.

We must feel the rickshaw puller's misery and be a little more lenient towards him. If we do not pay him more than the real wage, it's alright. But we should never underestimate his labour.

 

Sunshine: New hope of life

You can hide yourself in the darkness but sun will never let you down to show the true color of life....

               World is full of color you never know where when how you will get in touch with true essence of it. Our surrounding is full of surprises.This photo may be a great piece to you or may not be. This depends on your own perception, but one can not overlook the pure golden color of sunshine, when you wake up in the morning this sunlight always brighten up your face, you can not ignore the positivity of that ray, which is telling you come on, get ready for the new challenge for get away from the negative things and move on...... This is life..... this is what life is all about.....start everyday with a new hope, leave behind all your bad memories and have faith to start a better tomorrow....

Now being a true culture and tradition lover this snap signifies the world of our tradition.... this is how a typical bengali traditional house looks like..... still there are numerous hidden history to tell ..... as you can see the wooden work over the table or the art of the window cum door is carrying the essence of bengali culture for over one fifty years or more. This snap is a perfect combination of life- color- hope - and finally history.... I can see the life ,color combined with historical thoughts ..... odd combination but encouraging me to get out of my shell.....looking at it...it says hidding is not a solution, face the challenge, face the happiness of life..... enjoy the sunshine like you never did before.... \m/

I remember a story that I read in my childhood, Sun and Wind was arguing on who was the strongest...they both saw a man walking on the road wrapping a shawl around him....they both decided that the one who would be able to make the man remove his shawl would be the winner and would be called the strongest....
1st, Wind tried....it blew heavily again and again...again and again...again and again...everybody was scared...people were running here and there...the man was also very scared and he wrapped his shawl more tightly around him...the wind blew again heavily..but the more it was blowing heavily the man was wrapping his shawl more tightly...ultimately Wind gave up..
Now Sun's turn...it just came out and started shining brightly...after few moment the man removed his shawl on his own and went away...and hence sun was declared the strongest....
            Although it is just a childhood story but my thought on the above picture is somehow related to it...more specifically speaking related to the way Sun has shown it's power....how hard you try to shut the window of truth and hide it from the outside world...it will still come out and will show it's real self to the world...

A simple house simple place can actually tell us a lot about life, a lot about situations.....A small opening in the window tells me to take it as a small chance in life which you actually have to grab...you do not know what is waiting for you inside...but if you do not grab it you will loose the chance...it may or it may not be the big chance that you are expecting but it will give the way to go towards your big goal...to take you one step ahead to fulfill your actual dream....
For me this is what creativity is  all about comparing myself ,my situation with this dead creature which can only be achieved by some foolish(am I saying myself foolish...oh yes..I am!!) creative people like me..... :)  we always search for these simple things where we can relate ourselves...... :D for me it is a  path of life.....

Morning Raga

Midnight...when we all are sleeping peacefully and roaming on our dreamland...there is one man who has to wake up...who has to shed all his laziness and start his day to earn his daily bread and butter...the morning sun rays has not yet touched the earth but the man has already started his full fledged day......a morning can be so different for different people...

Hand-pulled carts are still commonly used for hauling cargo short-distances around Kolkata. Despite the exertion of the pullers, the always bear a warm smile and capture the friendly spirit of the city.

It may be a matter of surprise that the the City of Joy (Kolkata) still manages to retain the Hackneyed Rickshaw along with the present day modern transport systems.

It is estimated that there are 18,000 rickshaw pullers who earn a meager living on the streets of Kolkata – with 6,000 registered with the city government. Many people see hand-pulled rickshaws as symbols of inhumanity and want that they should be banned, but I feel these rickshaws still carry our old tradition on Kolkata roads and which make us remind those old days. Kolkata is probably the only city in India where hand-pulled rickshaws are still plying and that's what make Kolkata different from other cities and make me feel proud of being a Kolkatan...:)

This Hand Pulled Rickshaw is one of the oldest vehicles of Kolkata, India