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…
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| 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….
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| 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.
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| 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."
