The Baul Fakir Mela in New Delhi on 9th-10th November, 2019

On the Baul Fakir Mela in New Delhi on 9^th-10^th November, 2019

The Mela and its Significance

I had been to the recently concluded 2019 Baul Fakir Mela of New Delhi as a part of Banglanatak dot com, co-organisers of the same. It was a festival of music. It was a sheer celebration of togetherness – true to the essence of the alive, mystic river that Baul-Fakiri is. This river of music and philosophy, championing the unity of humankind globally, has been flowing since times immemorial.

This river of living wisdom is indeed very ancient. Great poets from medieval Bengal such as Maladhar Basu, Krishnadasa Kaviraja, Madhavi Bibi and Chandidasa had written about the Baul path in their Vaishanava Padavali songs penned six centuries ago. And the Fakir path had been prevalent in Bengal from the times of Moinuddin Chisti and Hazarat Nizamuddin Auliya eight centuries from today.

However, over time, much of this living tradition had been forgotten about except in Bengal including West Bengal and Bangladesh, and in neighbouring areas such as eastern Odisha and southern Assam. Names of great poets such of Lalon Fakir, Radharaman Sen, Abdul Rashid Sarkar, Haure Gossain, Neelkontho Mukhopadhyay, Hasan Raja, Bhoba Pagla and Bijoy Sirkar, and immortal songs penned by them in the Bengali language, have remained confined with Bengal.

However, with time, the flow of Bengali communities outside Bengal has continued across major historical landmarks. Such landmarks include colonization, Partition, post-colonial realities and the present-day globalised and neo-liberal market economies that we inhabit.

As the global diaspora of Bengali communities has increased, so have the “cut-off-ness” and the pining for roots that we see in the pen of Jhumpa Lahiri et al. It is here that the clinching significance of the New Delhi Baul Falir Mela of 2019 comes to the fore.

Nearly 200 Baul-Fakiri songs, Bengali Qawaali and Dhamail songs were sung by a whopping community of 60 Baul-Fakir musicians from Bengal before around 1500 people, if not more, at the Meghdoot Open Air Theater Auditorium of Sangeet Natak Academy, New Delhi, over a span of 13 hours across 2 days. Around 70% of the audience, meaning, more than 1000 of the audience were from the diaspora Bengali community of New Delhi. Again, the fact that more than 500 among the attendees were from the non-Bengali communities residing in and around Delhi was, in itself, no mean feat!

(Image 1: A Morning Akhra)

(Image 2: The Carnival in Full Swing)

The Songs

As parts of a unified community of listeners and musicians, the attendees lost themselves with the sadness of Radha pining for her Krishna in sung words that roughly translates to:

Go, bee, tell Krishna

That I burn in the flames of our parting…

 – From Bhromor Koiyo Giya, a song penned by Radharaman Datta in the early 20^th century and sung by Baul Arjun Khyapa in Sangeet Natak Academy before a mesmerized 500 plus audience in the lilting twilight of 10^th November, 2019 in the open-air Meghdoot Theater complex of Sangeet Natak Academy, New Delhi.

But there was blissful happiness in the tunes as well! –

With new love has Yogi

come to the garden-gates

Declaring: Victory be to Radha!

-      Penned by the early 20^th  century Baul lyricist Jadubindu from village Panchloki of erstwhile district Burdwan, West Bengal, sung by Baul Rina Das on the twilight previous to the one in which Baul Arjun had rendered those heart-melting tunes of Radha’s parting

Such and many more of the nearly 200 songs sung had not only captivated the audience through the disciplined and melodious voices of the Baul Fakir artists and the fascinating lyrics penned by Baul-Fakir practitioners from all over Bengal across a span of almost half a century, but also by the excellent instruments played alongside by experienced players.

(Image 3: The audience and the performers)

The Musical Instruments

There were the flutes and the harmoniums, there were the four or five stringed dotara-s, the ubiquitous one-stringed ektara, as were conch-shells and drums, along with quaint Baul-Fakiri folk-instruments indigenous to Bengal such as the Khol, the Kartal, the Dubki and the one-stringed ‘Gabgubi’ – an instrument that had been named ‘Ananda-lahari’, meaning, waves of happiness, by Rabindranath Tagore.  

These instruments, especially the ones indigenous to Bengal and its neighbouring areas of the eastern subcontinent, have all been crafted with great care and artistic panache by rural and indigenous artistes from Bengal. Thus, with these instruments and the spending music that the emanated all thanks to the trained, deft and dexterous Baul-Fakir musicians who played those, even the inspirations and perspirations of the rural humans of the soil from villages in Bengal who have crafted those instruments reached the diaspora Bengali and a large section of non-Bengali, pan Indian and even international populace – members from such communities have all attended and participated in the fair with great happiness.

The Veteran Musicians

Musicians who attended included the veteran singer Arman Fakir from Gourbhanga, district Nadia who had mesmerized the audience by leading his troupe of Fakir-Qawaali singers – many of whom are established and highly accomplished Fakir musicians from district Nadia such as Chhote Golam and Khaibar Fakir from the Chistiya tariqa or path of Sufism with Bengali Qawaali-s such as:

Taj Noor-e-Ambiya

Syed-e-Sultan

Allah meherbaan

Khoda meherbaan

and the one about ‘Baitul-e-Sultan’, who,

Stays, for a while, on the skies

And for a while, on earth

(Image 4: Bangla Qawaali being sung by veteran Fakir musicians Arman, Chhote Golam, Babu Fakir et al)

and Shyamsundar Das Bairagya from Murshidabad who mesmerized the audience with songs like:

Maya and Moha are your twin pillars

You have to husk the grains of rice

In the Dheki threshing-tool

of being and the universe…

and 

O Balaram, may Krishna, for whom I have given my life to,

Not go to the forests anymore…

(Image 5: Veteran Baul exponent Shyamsundar Das)

and there was the well known Bhajan Das Bairagya, the brother of a Baul poet and living legend Sadhan Das Bairagya who had set the Baul Mela rolling at 4:00 pm, 9^th November 2011 – the first day among the two day Baul Mela held at Sangeet Natak Academy, New Delhi and co-organised by the social enterprise Banglanatak dot com – by singing about the Guru, who is

Anandamoy – Full of bliss

and there was Babu Fakir, himself a devoted teacher of Fakiri music, who had set the ball rolling before an electrified and over-capacity crowd at Meghdoot Theater by entering into the stage from beyond and straight through the sublimely excited attendees and participants with his troupe of able Baul-Fakir musicians from all around West Bengal, with his arms stretched high in the air and singing a song by Fakir Lalon Shah:

Blessed be the Mother whose son is Nimai

So young was he when he hit the streets and turned a Fakir

Blessed be the mother from Bharat, who draped

His golden body with the loincloth

She who gave him the bangles of his hand

And taught him to chant for Hari…

Other veteran musicians from Bengal who made their mark and captivated the audience included Rina Das who had wrenched the hearts of everyone who had attended this carnival of Baul-Fakir music with the song

The fire burns on

The river of sadness flows on

(Image 6: Young Baulani Rina Das mesmerizing the audience)

and the dhol exponent Khudiram Das Baul who had sent the audience in a frenzy with his drum-beats, the flautist Mohan Baul whose flute had held the melody of the music within the folds of its streams throughout the two dusks and evenings of the Baul-Fakir carnival of New Delhi. 

(Image 7: Dhol exponent Khudiram)

The attendees and participants of the carnival will also find it impossible to forget the mixed-gender duet sung by Bauls Bharat and Chandana that goes thus:

This wealth, this youth and this life are not eternal

And yet, O Mind, why do you desire so much? 

Young Champs and Rising Stars

If the veterans such as the ones whose names I have mentioned here had left their marks, so had youngsters such as the 23 year old Kangal Khyapa from Joydev, district Birbhum – the village in itself being an at least eight or nine centuries old and continuing space where Baul Fakiri music had thrived. This youngster, at such a tender age, has attained sublime expertise in playing the dotara. Then there was the young Khokan Das who had accompanied the veteran Khudiram Das with such efficiency that it was a feast for the ears, eyes and even the soul for all of us who have witnessed and partaken in the Mela. It is also impossible to forget the stellar performance of Sanjay Mondal from Bangladesh, himself a PhD and ICCR Scholar and ever devoted to the music and philosophy of Baul-Fakiri through his academic vocation and his passion of singing Baul songs and making music alongside. During the electrifying second evening of the two day carnival, Sanjay Mondal had absolutely rocked the stage singing:

At the boundary of Sound and Music

Donning golden anklets

Dances the golden Gouranga

Like a beautiful woman from the city

On his beautiful forehead

A beautiful tilak has been painted

He is robed in a Namabali-robe

He looks with his beautiful eyes

And whomsoever he looks at

Gets their life flying from their body

-      a song by the legendary late 19^th and early 20^th century Baul lyricist Radharaman Dutta

Works of Bangalanatak dot com has, over the past decade and a half, has ensured revival of the Guru-Master to Shishya-pupil parampara-lineage based system of of shruti or oral transmission of community wisdom that has made Baul-Fakiri and many other folk songs survive. Thus, more and more youngsters have come to learn from veteran musician-Gurus and Mursheds from the Baul-Fakiri tradition of music, poetry and philosophy. As a result, a formidable 15-20% among the few hundred Baul Fakiri musicians who survive in West Bengal today are less than 30 years old – as an impromptu sample survey conducted at Durga Bari, Greater Kailash I, New Delhi before the outset of the two-day carnival! 

This is in sharp contrast to 2004 when Banglanatak dot com begun its journey. At that time, as field surveys had revealed, the average age of Baul-Fakir practitioners was way over in the wrong side of the 50-s. As of now, thanks to active participation from youngsters including those whose names I have mentioned in the paragraphs above, along with active training given be Master-Mursheds such as Babu Fakir to many young men and women from multiple districts of West Bengal, the average age of Baul-Fakir practitioners of West Bengal has dipped down to the right side of the 40-s!

As a part of team Banglantak dot com, co-organisers of the Baul Fakir Mela, these and many more were startling revelations, brimming with hope for a bright future of the Baul Fakiri tradition of music and philosophy from the deep roots, fertile soils and accepting riverbeds of Bengal.

The Books and CDs offered

(Image 8: Books and CDs)

And that was not all. Through the book and CDs-stall set up by Banglanatak dot com close to the stage, the attendees had a host of musical collections and books to choose from. The folk musical traditions and genres that were on offer at the stall included collections of Bhatiyali, Bhawaiya, Jhumur and Baul songs by mostly rural and entirely folk-based musicians from all over Bengal. And the books included compendiums of songs-lyrics from various sub-genres Bengali folk music such as Jhumur, Baul and Qawaali as well as graphic novels in English and Bengali, based on folk forms of performing arts such as Putul Naach – puppetry and Baul, as well as biographical sketches of many Baul Fakiri musicians across the past two centuries including but not limited to Lalon Fakir, Radharaman Dutta, Abdul Rashid Sirkar, Haurey Gossain, Padmalochan, Jadubindoo, Kangal Harinath alias Fikirchand Baba, Hasan Raja, Hari Gossain et al.

Alongside, the book-stall set up on behalf of the Delhi-based Bengal Association also contained significant literary milestones such as the pioneering Tapobhumi Narmada by eminent Vedic scholar Sailendra Narayan Ghoshal Sastri (1928-1988) 

The Online Feedback-Generation Process

An online feedback-generation process was implemented at a pilot-level in collaboration with a virtual data based services provider platform as hosted by a startup organization run by a few Kolkata based young Netizens. 20 people, randomly chosen from among the 1500 plus attendees of the carnival across both the days provided glowing feedback in the form of 5 star-ratings and comments showering rave reviews of the Baul Fakir Mela, 2009, New Delhi.

Milan – the Culmination

(Image 9: The Milan)

As songs celebrating the Milan or divine union of Radha and Krishna were being sung on all of the 60 Baul-Fakir musicians who were present on stage to usher in the culmination of the carnival, they sang, danced and garlanded each other in garlands made of thick, fresh genda flowers, the audience too was dancing in a divine state of ecstasy, many with their arms hoisted, many laughing and some crying. During those moments charged with vivacious human energy, expressions and emotions, the hope of there being many more of such carnivals across the country and the world floated up and filled the night sky of the early winter of Delhi in 2019.

Key Takeaways

Other than the music, the poetry, the philosophies, the memories and that perennial touch of the gentle streams of folk history and people’s wisdom, the Baul Fakir Mela held in New Delhi on 10^th and 11^th November, 2019 had many enriching lessons to offer.

Firstly, that the presence and a large section of young musicians from rural as well as urban areas, enriched with the lessons imparted by the learned Gurus, Mursheds, Ustaads and Pundits, has made the folk, including the Baul-Fakiri stream of people’s music from West Bengal very vibrant over the past few years owing largely to the pioneering efforts in capacity building, establishing direct market linkage and facilitating exchanges and collaborations with a global community of musicians undertaken by Banglanatak dot come, was an eye-opener to have come out of the Fair. This is bound to feel one with hope and positivity.

Secondly, the sheer numbers – from the presence of 60 of the finest Baul-Fakir musicians of West Bengal to the around 200 songs sung in course of the Mela, to the roundabout 1500 people who attended and immersed themselves in the music and enchantment – were all positive contributors towards the thumping success of the carnival.

Thirdly, there was widespread coverage to the Mela given by the Media. News about it was splashed in glowing terms, with Headlines ranging from ‘Celebrating Baul Heritage’, ‘Mystic rural wanderers bring music and philosophy to city’, the latter one being a news item published in the Times of India, established the firm presence of the Mela in Delhi for 2019. This was backed up by countless social media sharing and forwarding of audio and video clips along with photographs shared wildly by the attendees during the two days of the carnival. Cumulatively, this reveals that the Baul Fakir Mela of 2019, held in New Delhi, had made an indelible impact in the imagination of the capital city of India.

Fourthly, the timing of the Mela could not have possibly been more impeccable. Songs with lyrics such as:

The village youth, both Hindu and Muslim

Would come together and sing Baul and Murshedi songs

So beautiful were those days for us!

penned by the legendary Shah Abdul Karim sang as a mixed-gender duet by Baul musicians Arati and Prafulla during the dusk hours of 10^th November, 2019 at the Meghdoot Auditorium of the Sangeet Natak Academy, and, earlier on, in the warmly sunlit daytime by yet another Baul-Fakir musician as a solo singer, along with songs such as

Everyone asks if Lalan is a Hindu or a Muslim

What will I say? I know not the reply

We all travel from the same river-banks

The same boatman is rowing the boat

(And yet), people practice untouchability

Even on questions of food and water

penned by Lalon Fakir and sung by stalwart Baul musician Arjun Khyapa during the dursk hours of the 9^th of November, 2019 in course of the carnival reminded everyone present about the fallacies of exploitation in the name of religion and caste that grips India today.

This became more pertinent in light of the fact that the first day of the Mela, the whole of New Delhi and India were anxious as the verdict of the Ayodhya Babri Masjid case was passed by the Supreme Court on that date. Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code was enforced on various pockets of India, Delhi included. Thus, movements of automobiles, other vehicles and human beings were limited on that date.

And yet, a thunderous gathering had poured down on the carnival to become one with the music of unity and integrity of humankind both during the daytime and in the afternoon and evening of that date – being Day 1 of the Mela. This was the clinching political success of the Baul Fakir Mela, 2019, held at Sangeet Natak Academy and organized by Banglanatak dot com in association with Bengal Association.

In the words written and published in a leading Bengali language daily by veteran Baul-Fakiri scholar and expert Ladly Mukhopadhyay who had also graced the Mela throughout its entire length and breadth, “The tension of Ayodhya faded before the Baul Fair of New Delhi”.    

Visions for the Future              

Buoyed by the jubilant success of the Mela, one can hope, dream and expect more Baul Fakiri and other folk-tradition-based Melas of such nature being organized beyond Bengal in the future. The Bengali diaspora community lives across India and across the world. They not only live in metropolitan cities like New Delhi and Bengaluru but also in foreign countries. At the same time, many Bengalis, especially many from dalit communities who had become refugees during and after the Partition were made to settle in many pockets of India - Dandakaranya and Dharamjaigarh in Chhattisgarh, Udham Singh Nagar in Punjab, Koraput in Odisha and even in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Many Bengali speaking people in Assam live in constant fear of their citizenship rights being revoked. A Mela like this can be a soothing balm of peace and equality in such a situation.

At the same time, if the reaction from the attendees of the Baul Fakir Mela, 2019 held in New Delhi is something to go by, it is true that the diaspora Bengali community thirsts and yearns for a touch of their roots, and carnivals of Bengali folk music and art such as this one can go a long way in quenching this thirsty. Personally, I have seen and heard of Baul artists being invited to sing even in far flung areas such as in a settlement village-colony of Bengali post-Partition refugees in the extremely LWE impacted and densely forested district of Dantewada. If such carnivals can be taken to them, it can go a long way in strengthening to roots of the cultural ethos associated with the Bengali identity.

At the same time, the importance of collection of feedbacks and suggestions cannot be ignored. There is a need of active help and support from data analysts and ground-level feedback-collectors to get feedbacks and suggestions, best on which, I believe, Melas such as this can be made even better and even more successful. For instance, if we can designate chairs and tables at the multiple points of entry that such Mela-venues have with specifically designated personnel for that expressed and focused purpose of collecting feedbacks and suggestions, an avenue of data-based betterment does indeed open up. 
The Mela was co-hosted by Banglanatak dot com and Bengal Association, Delhi. Without their active support and involvement, it would not have been such a resounding success. Sangeet Natak Academy, New Delhi, had most graciously agreed to host the event. Thus, along with the artists and the attendees, one must also express their gratitude towards these organisations for making the Baul Fakir Mela, 2019 of New Delhi such a grand and wholesome experience.