One does not have to be a singer to be a Baul, but there has to be a movement towards inner perfection, says renowned Baul Master Parvathy Baul on the sidelines of the ongoing Baul Retreat here.
The retreat is for those who want to understand this ancient tradition, says Ms. Parvathy. Thus at the retreat are musicians, dancers, healers, doctors and international students. There are also some who have attended the first such retreat at Thiruvananthapuram last year.
“Participants at the last retreat said their lives had been touched, and that something had changed,” says Ms. Parvathy.
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The retreat at Puducherry is being organised by Ekathara Kalari, Thiruvananthapuram and Aurodhan, Puducherry. It consists of workshops on songs, poetry, philosophy and movement, yoga sessions and performances, and is on till October 18.
Participants are introduced to key musical instruments in Baul like the Ektara, Bama and Shree Khol. Leading the retreat is Baul masters Shahjahan Munshi from Bangladesh, and Biswanath Das Baul, Lakshman Das Baul, Nitai Chandra Das and Parvathy Baul from West Bengal.
Included in the UNESCO’s ‘Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity’ list in 2005, Baul are mystic musicians from Bangladesh and West Bengal, India. Believed to be several centuries old and practiced initially in rural areas, Baul has been passed down the ages through the guru shishya parampara (learning through direct mentorship).
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More than just music
While the guru shishya parampara is central to the Baul tradition, today Baul is not well understood, says Ms. Parvathy. This could be because the Baul singers have always followed a strict lifestyle, away from the public eye, and becoming a Baul singer requires one to be completely devoted, she says.
It is to share the spirit of Baul that the retreat has been organised, says Ms. Parvathy. The team is also planning another retreat in January in Thiruvananthapuram.
“My master told me I must be a bridge between this ancient tradition and the present,” she says. While Baul is becoming more popular, it is not just music and entertainment, she says.
“Baul is a yoga, it is a practice of body, breath, music and dance, and is an artistic, aesthetic medium for inner transformation. The aim of the retreat is to become an observer of transformation,” says Ms. Parvathy. Echoing this sentiment, Tomomi Paromita, from Ekathara Kalari, says she was drawn to Baul because it is ‘more than just music’. Ms. Tomomi from Japan was in India to learn classical music when she met Parvathy Baul more than three years ago, and decided to learn this tradition.
Learning from the masters
An important part of the retreat is the interview sessions with Baul masters. “The participants understand how to produce the sound. It helps them to look through the eyes of the master, gain their unique perspective,” says Ms. Parvathy.
Mr. Shahjahan who sang for the participants a piece on the element of the divine being present everywhere, shared with them his story. He became blind at 15 and could not study further. It was when he heard the sound of the dholak instrument at his neighbour’s house that he was drawn to music, he said.
“The interviews help us understand the life of the master, to know how he arrived at the ‘bhava’. How the master worked and how this can be translated into our life,” says Ms. Parvathy.
She hopes the participants here can create and contribute to the Baul tradition. “One cannot create without understanding. It is only from experience that one can create,” she says.