-Shameek Ganguly(07010315)

IntroductionWandering minstrels of BengalNarrated stories and sang songs of high spirituality and carried social messages to the masses Mostly illiterate in nature but educated via their own oral tradition

Whats so special of them??Rational outlook at a time when most of the world lingers in the dark agesModernist compositionsCritics to anti-social practicesRich oral tradition Influenced Bengal unto some sort of a Renaissance in the 19th and 20th centuries

Structure of presentation

Origin of Baul traditionWord " Baul " refers to three terms: betul, " mad ", " out of rhythm "; vayu, " air ", or the inner flow of energy which gives life and harmony to all sentient beings; and uliy, a term of Arabic origin, which means " holy man ".

Origin of Baul tradition(contd)Cultural analysts have traced back the baul tradition back as far as 7th century ADExact origin unknown since modern Baul compositions show influence of Sufism, Buddhist Tantrism, Vaishnav ideology, and more recently, even ChristianiatyMostly in and around modern day Bengal and Bangladesh

Social background and general get-upCan come from a Hindu or a Muslim background ; in both cases, they are usually rebels against orthodox practices and social institutions.Usually hail from backward classesAre mostly abandoned children brought up by other Baul gurus.Live together without marriage or wander from village to village or are married people

Techniques used in Baul oratory*Highly modernist in nature * Use of imagism very distinct * Images mostly refer to everyday lifes concrete images *Witty and sometimes rhetorical in nature *Metaphysical in nature in some parts *Revolve around the main spiritual or social message it intends to deliver

Message of the baulsThe God Within MONER MANUSH No religion No need for temples No idol worship or sacrifices Devotion lies in a commonplace life Brotherhood Harmony outside and within Importance of free thoughtService to needy ushers mental peace Easy acceptance of other cultures

Janomo morono (Practice of Dying) O my heart! Do the practice of dying, shall bring freedom From the bondage of birth and death Born to die, die to be born again. Death, birth, nothing but endless suffering. Aa, O, Am, three Vedas situated in muladhara, Swadhishtana and manipura This fact, the master practitioner knows; He craves not after mundane mortal delights.

- Paravathy Baul

Amar Sonar Moina Pakhi

Influence upon the societyMocked and dismissed by society until early 20th centurySlowly led to social uprising in the Bengali society Aroused people like Raja Ramohan Roy and Swami VivekanandaThus invoked the Bengali social revolution in the rising middle classes of BengalInfluenced many poets such as Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and ISKONAn ascetic Vaishnava monk and social reformer in 16th century Bengal One of the earliest known Bauls who attacked untouchability and castismHis legacy lives on in the form of the world renowned organisation, ISKON founded by his followers

Rabindranath Tagore: Baul-der- SamratTagore greatly influenced by Baul songs in his middle agesSeveral compositions dedicated to the Baul school of thoughts Geetanjali illustrates several such songs written in the form of Baul songs

AmAr prANer mAnuSh Achh prAN tAi heri tAye sakol khAne Achhe sh nayntArAy, Alk-dhArAy, tAi nA hArAye-- ogo tAi dekhi tAye JethAy sethAy tAkA-i Ami J dik-pAn The man of my heart dwells inside me. Everywhere I behold, it's Him! In my every sight, in the sparkle of light Oh I can never lose Him -- Here, there and everywhere, Wherever I turn, right in front is He!- Rabindranath Tagore

The Baul religion is completely based on ones experience in the realization of the divine. It is the disciples feeling of longing for the Supreme and the resulting madness that demonstrates that he feels reunited with the Divine Robert Menger (Renowned American cultural historian)

Baul tradition and Occident literatureSome Western literature on Bauls of Bengal:

The Bauls of Bengal , Robert Menger The Music of the Bauls of Bengal, Charles Capwell (English musicologist)Seeking Bauls of Bengal, Jeanne Openshaw, Professor of Literature, Edinburgh UniversityThe Path of the Mystic Lover: Baul Songs of Passion and Ecstasy, Bhaskar Bhattacharyya, Nik Douglas, Penny Slinger .. And so on.

Place of the Bauls todayBaul tradition continues to live on in the hearts of Bengal and BangladeshSome contemporary Bauls are Purnadas Baul, Kheparam Baul, Parvathy Baul and many othersIn 2005, the Baul tradition was included in the list of "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO International concerts organized by NGOs around the globe including UK, Europe and America

Personal ViewsThe Order OfMadness!!

BibliographyWikipediaSouth Asian Cultural society (SAC webpage)YoutubePurnadas Bauls Webpage*Khepa Das Bauls Webpage*Google ImagesWorld Culture EncyclopaediaBauls of Bengal website

* These websites are maintained by an NGO Lokesh