Tribute to 'Mary Johnson', preserver of Baul, she created the 1st Baul Website BabuKishan.com
A tribute to Mary Johnson has been a long time coming.
Mary Johnson was an American friend, student, webmaster, event planner of Babu Kishan's since the 1990's. Mary first met Babu back in the 1990's to create his website she was a web master. Mary created his first website which was the first website of Baul ever.
Mary had a real interest in the Bauls of Bengal, but she loved Rock and Roll, and Babu Kishan had so many contacts within the Western Rock and Roll that really enthralled her.
Mary was an amazing 'Web master a techie' who created BabuKishan.com which was active with millions of views until 2006. Yes, the web site copied by all and Mary could see who the copiers were. The first website of Baul period. This is where people learned about Baul.
Anybody today who is talking expressing anything about Baul learned it first from 'BabuKishan.com' created by the one and only Mary Johnson.
Mary was a defender of Babu Kishan's when she saw someone copying from his website she would alert Babu Kishan. She was so annoyed that his 2 brothers copied everything directly without even editing what they stole from the website?
They even copied Babu Kishan aka Krishnendu Das resume, saying they were music composers, they were in fact pretending to be him, they had nothing of their own so they impersonated their elder brother, they still do? They can not ever be their elder brother?
Mary worked with a dogged determination to create and listen to all that Babu Kishan had to say, she was Babu Kishan's student.
Mary was never in a 'relationship' with Babu Kishan, they were business associates, Mary was 2 decades older than Babu?
All scholars regarding Baul copied information from this website, at least they were smart enough to rework what they had copied and Babu Kishan knew all the scholars back then.
Mary could see everybody who copied, she was especially upset that Babu's brothers were copying everything?
At one point Mary thought of getting the FBI involved because the whole web site was copied so many times over, over by a few individuals inside his family and from outside? Then Mary would see what she wrote posted by others on the net and in articles without giving credit?
Many who copied, copied wrong teachings because Mary was a student and somethings she wrote on Babu's behalf were in fact not accurate, and Babu did not have the time to correct everything.
Still today these false things are repeated over and over and copied by fake Bauls (people who use Baul watering down and reducing Baul to a drop of what it is, some copy everything including all their songs and self title themselves (they are fakes), example:
- a social media fake famous Baul Women posted online a d a workshop at 'Berkeley University' in California told audience (it was on archive.org for years). She told the audience there are 4 types of Baul, Fakir Aul Sai Dervish, (NOT TRUE) but copied from either BabuKishan.com or someone who already copied it? Did anyone catch this or did you just go oww and ahh, did you even do your research before you made the decision that what you see if real when in fact it is not?
This wrong statement, There are 4 or 5 types of Baul, is unfortunately is one of the things Mary wrote, that was not corrected before she passed away in 2006. This always was copied by Babu Kishan's family in Calcutta who used all Babu"s research and intellectual property for Purna Das Bauls book on Baul but they too reworked it. In the book, Baul Philosophy, you will see this, there are 4 or 5 types of Baul, that is how Babu knows they copied it from his website. It is laughable.
This just as one example of how 'nakal (fake) Bauls' show who they are? Yes, they are trying to be a Baul, even if their Guru was not a real Baul, as he copied from this lineage, songs, dress, dance! Then taking the name off of this lineages poets off, with no shame to say Baul's do not care who the poets are,,of course they care for preservation, yes they care and it is of the utmost importance. Then replace this lineages names with their own, appropriating what does not belong to them. They only care when they wrote a song and they will chant over and over, I composed this, I composed this, yes ok but who composed the song you sang before you chanted I composed this. When the song before belongs specifically from this Lineage, seriously you can not make up what has been going on?? Now Baul has become the cult of personality. Baul is extinct, the history and her-story of Baul was complete decades ago, you can not reinvent Baul, Bauls were indigenous people of Birbhum, they were custodians and protectors of the land of red soil.
You can not steal an indigenous tradition and make up fake lineages, the United Nations has rules about indigenous people.
https://lineagebaul.blogspot.com/2021/05/cultural-mis-appropriation-indigenous.html
https://lineagebaul.blogspot.com/2019/02/fakir-aul-sai-dervish-and-shah-are-not_51.html.
Twisting watering down the songs, dressing in the patchwork Guduri that Babu Kishan designed for his fathers travels and then following what and where ever they went?
It was Babu Kishan who first said 'Lineage Baul' he named this blog Lineage Baul? This blog started in 2009 no one used lineage back then used lineage in regard to Baul because they were not, now lineage is being used and lied about.
It is beyond bizarre and unless you know Bengali how would you know, you would not know?
Are you falling for an actor, sorry to tell you, yes you are!
The drum Nabani tied around his waist is a Baya, Baya is NOT a Dupki, it is a Baya. A dupki not even close to a baya they are 2 completely different drums?? Talk about Bizarre? The ignorance regarding Baul is outstanding.
Nabani is the only Baul who used Ektara Baya Nupoor , the drum around the waist is Baya, this style belongs to this Lineage and Nabani.
Stop using this lineage and saying you are from another lineage, there is not other Baul lineage. Dupki is a small hand drum and it was Babu Kishan who introduced the Dupki to Baul. Long before others used the instrument?
Another thing very strange is Nabani Das Khyapa Baul is the only Baul other than Babu Kishan who has had any real relationship with Tara Ma or Tarapith, other followed trying to be Nabani, however, they were not Baul, they used Khepa a name RabindraNath Togore gave Nabani (khepa Baul). Then they hung out at Tarapith using slangs acting erratic and chasing tourists. as liars telling people they met Bob Dylan when 100% they did not. These people were not Bauls, they were using Baul.
Some other new 'Baul singers' now hang out at Tarapith. Babu Kishan is the first one to talk about tarapith and Baul now it is coming out of the woodwork. He is shocked now all are trying to make false associations regarding Tarapith, anybody can have an association with Tara Ma and Tarapith, however, regarding Baul it is very specific.
Adopting elements of a minority culture for fame, gain, using trickery, creating harmful stereotypes that dilute the truth of who the Bauls are, this destroys the Essence of Baul. Cultural Appropriation by fetishizing Baul Culture, making it about a bunch of fools singing and acting foolishly, making Baul an over sexualized community, a bunch of fake tantric teachers, this has reduced and watered down the true meaning of Baul.
Yes, people make mistakes it is not easy to learn something that does not belong to you. However, when you are presenting yourself as the legendary saviour of Baul when you get so many teachings wrong and spread false narratives continually making it up as you go this is cultural appropriation and intellectual property theft.
A watering down reductionism of indigenous cultural significance of Baul. You are cheating and destroying an indigenous culture. Today Baul is extinct and they do not need actors, tourist Bauls to spread false narratives. Stop scouring my writings and cherry picking, name dropping?
The: there are 4 or 5 types of Baul was copied of BabuKishan.com types of Baul what a bunch of fools, it is a comedy, acting like they are the ones, acting is all it is and not very good acting either.
Babu Kishan's brothers passed this on in Purna Das Bauls book on 'Baul philosophy' they too just copied their elder brother directly taking his name off even his own bio data LOL, They just copy like everybody else and make up stories because they do not even know themselves, they were never interested in Baul, poetry or music?
'Baul Philosophy' the book by Purna Das Baul and Selina was taken from Babu Kishan's intellectual property and reworked. Purna Das Baul does not know English, nor can he read English. I am pretty certain at that time neither did Babu Kishan's brothers.,
This fake fame social media Baul women then had the gaul to offer Baul advertise and offer workshops using, the titles of each chapters from Purna Das Bauls book? I have proof.
LOL doesn't anybody know that they are being watched?
I have collected all the evidence, I started to do this because I could not believe what was going on and Westerners lap this up and are easily swayed by a cult mentality. Not all but by the raving I have seen they exotic looking people, exotic and sex sell. The trick is to make yourself look exotic and people from outside of India perhaps inside of India today, think this is authentic, I mean look at all the fake Guru's today?
Mary was an adept on the internet, she was a researcher, she was shocked when she found the work she had done on Baul copied from Babu Kishan's website all over the internet without giving credit to her or Babu. They did not even give credit to the website she had spent so much time building. Today it is so easy, but there are so many liars, cheaters, thefts too many to even qualify when it comes to theft of this lineage?
When Mary passed away in 2006 from lung cancer the whole web site went with her.
Babu Kishan left the business of the website and the instrument making business with Mary in the USA. In 2007 we tried to recover the website but it was already sold to a web server who was asking thousands of USD for Babukishan.com it just was not worth it to recover it.
MARY was a great friend of Babu Kishan's and a friend of mine too, this is how I know the truth of the matter.
She was so very helpful to Babu, when he came to the USA she arranged all of his Baul performances on the West Coast from Washington to California and in 2005 Babu Kishan came to Vancouver BC Canada.
Babu and Mary created a Baul instrument company named 'The Ektara Foundation'. The whole purpose was to sell instruments for the preservation of this one and only lineage. Babu would make the Ektaras and other Indian instruments, and as in Baul practice infusing them with mantra. Mary painted the instruments marketed them and created a separate website just for the selling of the instruments.
Before Mary passed away of lung cancer in 2006 when she was on her death bed she very ill and became possessively attached to Babu regarding him and their business. She called his Calcutta family making wild claims about Babu, that he belonged to her, where was he and he was with her.
Unfortunately, Babu Kishan was out of touch while on his business travels as he worked in Bollywood in movie productions around the world and sometimes he was off the grid. The key word is Babu worked always giving money to his Calcutta family.
The first thing Babu's youngest brother did was to call Babu's daughters and his wife in BOMBAY, whom he was already estranged from, shaming her and making wild stories.
The youngest brother had used Babu his whole life his call was to hurt Babu it was not kind, there was no compassion for the situation, he made wild claims twisting what Mary had said. He is a lying monster, trying to disturb Babu rather than helping him. Ask the neighbours in Calcutta who he, they all hate him.
Babu's younger brother has always been jealous of Babu and talked bad about him to Babu's own friends. The younger brother still wants to spread this story and emotionally blackmail Babu regarding Mary? He has done this to many other people.
It boggles the mind, he has already forged Babu's signature and created a fake 'power of attourney', which I believe is a criminal offence even in India? Stolen things of Babu's including his properties in Bengal and Mumbai.
Babu Kishan has worked his whole life, he is a creative Music Composer (for real), he has composed over 85% of his fathers music, he has worked since he was 8 years old, his youngest brother has not worked a day in life, only created drama with other people. As someone he once scammed, had said, he is the worst person he had ever met. He never ever took anything, not a rupee royalties for his music, nothing, he only gave to them and they. looted even more, behind his back.
Babu Kishan only ever had a 'business relationship' with Mary, they were friends, Mary was 2 decades older than Babu.
I as Babu Kishan's wife of over 18 years I know more than anybody, I knew Mary. I knew they were only friends.
I as Babu's wife understand Mary for God sake, she was in the last stages of lung cancer. Shame the criminal youngest brother and his wife, you copied the whole website that Mary created, and now you want to make up fake stories about a deceased women? Your Karma is waiting for you.
You even copied your brothers credentials? You are not your eldest brother, you have no work history in music, love having your picture taking so that you can make false associations. Other than using your father your whole life. You are not a Music Composer or musician a disturbing banjo goof and you sing like a buffalo posting pictures as if you are a recording artist?
You can not ever be your elder brother and you have tried over and over to ruin his name and taken you father to oblivion. I will not tolerate this 'emotional blackmail' from a toxic user and abuser, thief always forging Babu's signature and stealing his property, using black magic?
https://lineagebaul.blogspot.com/2022/10/another-critique-article-on-baul-so.html
This is a sad note in Babu's life as Mary passed away not long after this incident in 2006, a very sad time in Babu Kishan's life.
Babu Kishan had was in the tsunami in Indonesia a the end of 2004 and his life was in turmoil, then this was added to his pain, with no consideration as to brotherly love. And to this day the younger brother still wants to harm his elder brother?
Even though Babu had been through so many tragic events, that other would consider trauma's, he was able to navigate whatever was put in front of him. Starting from his birth with crooked limbs being premature and not expected to survive. To his parents abandonment, then getting him back when he was 8 only to put him in an orphanage?
Then the 1971 War between Indian and East Pakistan now Bangladesh, many terror attacks in Mumbai, and surviving the Tsunami on December 26, 2004 he kept on going.
His grandfather Guru Nabani Das Khyapa Baul who was initiated by Bhama Kepa into Tarapith Burning Ground practice, initiated Babu Kishan at birth to Tara Ma, Kali Ma and Mahavidya sadhana (practices).
However, mother nature (Prakriti Ma) on Dec 26, 2004 showed Babu the biggest burning ground in Indonesia, he saw before him hundreds of thousands of dead bodies and stayed behind to help? It is estimated that 167,540 died in just Indonesia.
Mary helped Babu Kishan as a friend through the 2004 tsunami event, when his whole family turned their backs on him. Deliberately not understanding and carrying on a long time character assassination?
Mary was a great soul and helped Babu through such a difficult time.
Mary was a talented human elder friend of Babu Kishan's. A super creative, she worked hard all her life. Mary was an artist, a cartoonist, a tech person and video game developer in Sillicon Valley. She was a rare and supportive individual dedicated to the preservation of Baul who was always helpful to Babu Kishan.
Rest in Peace Mary, many thanks and blessing to you. You are loved, all your hard work is appreciated and thought of often! Thank you so much for all the hard work and devotion to Baul.
If anybody talks bad or thinks bad about you Mary Johnson, that bad vibration will return to them a thousand fold.
