Bengali Folk Music
By: thisindianlife
Category: folk music, hindu, muslim
| Aperture: | f/2.8 |
|---|---|
| Focal Length: | 85mm |
| Shutter: | 1/125 sec |
Click the play button to hear Chandana Majumdar sing:
Chandana Majumdar performed Sufi folk songs on the lawn of the India International Centre in Delhi during a showcase of Bengal’s musical heritage.
Majumdar sings Sufi songs from Bengali musicians called Bauls. Bauls composed devotional, mystical and philosophical songs that seek reality beyond the seen world. Their influences ranged from Sufi Islam to Hinduism and Buddhism. Lalon Fakir Shah was a famous Baul. Bauls deeply impacted Bengal’s rural folk culture.
The famous Bengali author Rabindranath Tagore was influenced by Bauls. He translated the following Baul verse into English in his book The Religion of Man. The quote highlights the mystic Sufi focus on celestial love:
Where shall I meet him, the Man of my Heart?
He is lost to me and I seek him wandering from land to land.
I am listless for that moonrise of beauty,
which is to light my life,
which I long to see in the fulness of vision
in gladness of heart.
The box-like instrument Majumdar plays is the harmonium, a pump-reed organ originating from 19th century France. It was brought to India by Europeans and adapted to Indian needs. The harmonium is commonly used in India for folk and devotional music.
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