PICTURES ARE WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS!!
Before the MID 1970's, no Bauls wore this dress, they all followed this dress because all Bauls always followed 'Purna Das Baul' and before him his father 'Nabani Das Khyapa Baul', there are no mistakes here.
There are so many sweet hearted village Bengali's that follow Baul, so innocent and we have loved them to follow us, this is to clear up some of the people who are changing the narrative and making up stories for a long time now. When the lineage holder is away, the younger people have not got a clue and if it looks exotic it must be real, duping westerners is not cool.
Babu has always encouraged and supported other, that is why he recorded, preserved and encouraged all to follow Baul. He just did not expect what is going on today, with a few ruining it for everybody making up lineages, stories and using every thing from his lineage but taking his name off.
Now: take note how Baul dress is changed as more read this blog, lol, Saffron Bauls, you have to be worthy to wear Saffron dress, now we have Baul singers who are actors or singers wearing saffron because they have to wear something to pose as a Baul?
BABU KISHAN'S DESIGN - for film and for his Dad's travels around the world. Purna Das Baul had been traveling world wide since the 1950's and all over India as a state Singer for Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi. Nabani Das Khyapa Baul was a state singer for Nehru during the freedom Movement. It works like this, this lineage are the pied pipers of gathering people through their song and Vaishnava Baul Kirtan.
Fakir is NOT Baul, I have seen some people posting video's of Fakir saying they are Baul, they are NOT, they are Baul like but Lalon did not do Baul practices. Fakir wear white or black, they sing Lalon songs which are not Baul. They have adopted the ektara but that does not mean because a person has an ektara they are Baul. Too many people are speaking about Baul and do not even know what Baul is?
Fakir may be all fine, but they are NOT Baul? Fakir, Sai, Dervish, Aul are NOT Baul, it was a Vaishnava reformer who lumped them all together because he did not know who was who, he just hated anybody (by his language) who was not orthodox Vaishnava. Bauls are not orthodox they are Krishna inspired Sahaja, not Buddhist inspired but yet you will hear this because outsiders do not know anything about Baul other than what they read and just about everything written about Baul is wrong.
Just because Babu Kishan is the first to compose music for Lalon Poetry in the early 1970's does not mean Lalon Fakir songs are Baul. Nobody knows how this all came about. Just because someone is a poet does not mean they are a Baul. Sadhana and knowing who the poets are who wrote the songs, where the songs came from and initiation mean one is a Baul. Everyday someone new laches onto Baul and just makes a mess out of this lineage.
When a Baul singer says, or records songs, 'by Baul Masters', it means they don't know who wrote the songs, they purposely cutting the names of the poets off the songs, or ignorantly covering the names and playing innocent? There are poets and they have names, new Baul singers are way too tricky.
This is Cultural Appropriation. I know Babu Kishan knows all the names of who wrote what Baul lyrics, who recorded the Baul song, and the name of the poet, if you truly were a Baul or from a lineage you would know?
Cutting names off and using a random cover name like "Baul Master" is cultural misappropriation especially when you follow this lineage "Ektara, Baya, Nupoor, but make up a different lineage.
Baul believes in the Human, they always named their poets. Do some deep life long research use the name the poets!! Do not randomize, water down and reduce Baul history or her-story - or the Human Baul poet who has a name, by just saying "a Baul Master" you will know the person does not know anything about Baul? When it comes to Lalon Fakir they are sure to use his name, even though he was a poet and not a Baul, it is all copy and paste from writers who knew nothing and know nothing about what a Baul actually is or even where Baul is from.
All - Das Baul or Dasi - are from this lineage if you see any "DAS BAUL" he follows this lineage and they should know who's songs they sing, Das Baul is this lineage, there is no other lineage of Das Baul, those who say otherwise are cheaters, riding on the coat tails of this lineage but taking the names off and promoting a person they call Guru with titles, making up another lineage that never existed?
THE FIRST ORIGINAL PATCH WORK dress called the 'GUDURI' DESIGNED BY (BABU KISHAN) aka Krishnendu Das the eldest son of 'Baul Samarat Purna Das Baul', FOR HIS FATHER (PURNA DAS BAUL). No one in India or the world would know about Baul if not for Nabani Das Khyapa Baul, Purna Das Baul or Babu Kishan.Babu Kishan is the eldest Grandchild of and first Grandchild of Nabani Das Khyapa Baul he spent his first 8 years in Nabani's lap in rural Birbhum and was initiated by Nabani Das Khyapa Baul. He spent his life with his Grandmother Brajabala Dasi who knew all the stories, was an oral Sanskritist and the most pure simple women and very much his Guru too.
Babu Kishan style.
^^^^^^^^ ALL BAULS FOLLOW EVERYTHING PURNA DAS BAUL (PADMA SHRI) Does and did. How he dressed, beads around the neck and how this lineage dances, Nabani style Ektara, Baya, Nupur. The Dotara is copied from Gopal Das Baul son of the Ekachakra Nityananda Mandir in Ekachakra - he was Nabani's daughter's husband.
Manju Dasi was the first Baul Women to travel around the world, starting in the 1960's and the first Baul to add harmonium to Baul music, no one used the harmonium in Baul music until Manju added on her tours with her husband Purna Das Baul.
In those days travel was not what it has been in the past 20 years, all communication and arrangements were done by letter writing all done by Babu Kishan for his Mom and Dad since the 1970's through 2000. Today it is so easy to travel and make contact by internet and say I am this, I am that, I am legendary and say I am the first Baul Women, history and herstory were complete decades ago, all you see now is copy copy copy and make up stories, fundraising to preserve Baul when Baul is already preserved decades ago?? Anybody can fake it til you make it, when others have laid a foundation and when you take credit for what they already have done that is cheating. There is no comparison. Today new Baul singers just follow the path Babu created, singing his recorded songs even singing his own poetry without a mention who wrote his own songs, even if you are blind there is no excuse?? They copy and dance as Nabani acting like they are the one, mentioning a Das Baul guru who is not a Guru but followed this lineage, even right the Kali Mandir in Laguna Beach without knowing how Babu's connection??
This lineage is the only lineage and the only pioneers of Baul throughout India and around the world. No one even knew about Baul before this lineage took their small Baul lineage out of the village of Birbhum to India through Nabani DAS Khyapa Baul and around the world with Purna Das Baul, Manju Dasi and Babu Kishan aka Krishnendu Das Baul. The rest who followed copied, made up lineages and stories.
Nabani added to an extra string to the Khamak the Mystic Drum, all Bauls play with the 2 strings now and Nabani named it the "Ananda Lahari". So if you see any Baul playing the Khamak with 2 strings that is Nabani style too. Now watch how all my writing is copied and pasted and used as general Baul knowledge?
BEFORE BABU KISHAN'S DESIGN - HE DID A THEATRE production CALLED 'CHAITANYA MAHAPRABU' THIS IS HIS DRESS FOR HIS DAD (PURNA DAS BAUL)
REGULAR BAUL DRESS BEFORE THE PATCH WORK GUDURI below -NO BAULS USED (EKATAR 'Gopi Yantra" - BAYA side drum - NUPOOR - ankle beels) BEFORE NABANI AND OF COURSE PURNA DAS BAUL IS HIS ELDEST SON, SO OF COURSE HE FOLLOWED HIS LINEAGE AND HIS FATHER.
NABANI DAS KHYAPA BAUL - MIRROR OF THE SKY - HOW THIS LINEAGE DRESSED BEFORE THE NEW DESIGN BY BABU KISHAN - NOTICE NABANI STYLE EKATARA BAYA (DRUM) THAT IS NABANI'S STYLE ONLY, ALL FOLLOW HIM
Nabani Das Khyapa Baul style, Nabani was an adept Siddha Baul Avadhut. ALL BAULS FOLLOWED NABANI. Photo by Rabindranath Tagore.
Babu Kishan in traditional lineage Baul style. He is more than a regular Baul, he is a Music Composer for Indian Cinema, poet, Lyricist, that does not mean Bauls are Indian Cinema composers, they are not, Babu is different, he has his own talents regarding Music and was awarded the Youngest Music Composer in India when he was 13, he is rare. Many Bauls follow him and are trying to compose and produce music, that is not really Baul, it is just the person Babu Kishan who has an ear for music because he was born an oral Sanskritist and loves languages, Indian Philosophy, Vaishnava Tantra, Shaivite Tantra and Indian Music including folk, classical, Bhjana, Kirtan ect... this is not Baul it is Babu Kishan.
Before Nabani Das Khyapa Baul no Bauls, used Ektara, Baya (hand drum) and Nupoor (ankle Bells). Yet, this is what is presented by someone who has made up a lineage, Babu Kishan knew all the people who followed by from the 1960's, the truth must be told. Too many westerners do not know the language and follow who looks exotic, if it looks exotic run in the other direction, the blind leading the blind.
When you see anybody, any Baul using these instruments they are following Nabani Das Baul. It does not matter who they are and guaranteed they are singing the songs from this Lineage or many sing Bengali folk songs, not even Baul songs.
If you see any Baul use a dotara they are following Radharani's husband Gopal Das Baul, he is the first to use the Dotara in the 1940's he was the son of the Pujari of the Ekachakra Mandir in Ekachakra and disciple of Nabani who married him to his daughter Radharani.
This lineage sings Baul songs and Baul Kirtan and all Vaishnava Baul songs and kirtan come from this Lineage and have always come from this Lineage. This is the Lineage of Nityananda of Ekachakra, Nabani and Purna Das Baul all come from Ekachakra Birbhum.
There is not other Lineage.
BABU KISHAN ALSO, INTRODUCED THIS STYLE IN A BENGALI FILM CALLED TAGORI AND HE MADE A NEW DESIGN FOR WOMEN BAUL WORN BY SANDHI ROY IN TAGORI. NOW BAUL WOMEN COPY THAT STYLE TOO.
TOGORI IS A STORY ON HIS AUNT RADHARANI. TODAY'S WOMEN BAULS COPY THE STYLE FROM THE MOVIE TAGORI (1980) ISH.
HISTORICAL.
This is Babu Kishan'S own designed patchwork quilt style he developed in the 1970's for his Dad 'Purna Das Baul' and as you can see below all Bauls follow this lineage in Dress, Dotara and Ektara, Baya and Nupur. I wonder what Nabani would have thought. Babu Kishan thinks it is great, but tell the truth, don't copy everything, follow what they do and then take their names off and make up stories??? Do not make up Lineages and cheat people.
This Guy say's he had played with Bob Dylan and all the people that Babu Kishan hung out with ?? He is no more, but he followed this family and Babu knew him. He had nothing to do with Bob Dylan.
Nabani Das Khyap Baul Ektara Baya Nupoor (ankle bells).
It should be noted that Golemale Gomale is a song first recorded by Purna Das Baul the song is Nabani Das Khypa Baul Lyrics, this Baul dressed in Babu Kishan's dress must know this. This is what I am talking about singing the songs from this lineage and then Writing Bangla Baul song as if he wrote it. ?? Another picture of this guy, it says all rights reserved.
Well - All rights are reserved on this song too.
WOMEN BAUL SINGER WEARING THE TAGORI (MOVIE) STYLE DRESS THAT BABU KISHAN DESIGNED For THE MOVIE TAGORI on his Aunt Radharani. But hey who would know??
BAUL WOMEN DO NOT NORMALLY DRESS THIS WAY NOR DO THEY HAVE JATA.
SO THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF OTHER PICTURES ALL WEARING BABU KISHAN'S DESIGN AND FOLLOWING NABANI STYLE EKATARA BAYA NUPOOR (ANKLE BELLS).
WHO FOLLOWS WHO??
Yet, making up lineages?
NEXT I WILL PROFILE BAULS WHO SING THE SONGS FROM THIS LINEAGE BUT GIVE NO CREDIT TO THE WRITER OF THE SONGS BUT SAY THEY ARE FROM A DIFFERENT LINEAGE.
THIS POST MAY GROW OVER TIME.
THIS BLOG IS A RECORD.
Nabani did not wear a patch work Guduri (dress) this is completely Babu Kishan's style that was followed and popular with all Baul singers.
