Part ONE - The only Pioneering Women Baul History
Indigenous Fraud, Indigenous Identity Theft!
Manju Dasi was the only Pioneering Baul Women to take Baul out of Bengal to India and then the World starting back in the 1960's.
Manju was a Legend and she made the only 'Women Baul History'.
Today no one should compete or delete the accomplishments of Manju or make claims because this part of Baul history was complete decades ago. There are only a few if any of the authentic Bauls alive today.
Bauls were Guru's and the spiritual messengers to the villagers, they were the Hare Krishna singers and dancers, delivering messages of humanity and the highest Divine Love in a Mystic Trance.
Today we have preachers, newspapers, books, TV and the internet.
The villages have changed, the world has changed Bauls were the indigenous peoples of Birbhum. Todays Bauls are tourist attractions, they acting and all wanting to repeat the history telling I am this I am that.
Today's Bauls are trying to remake the wheel it just is not possible, Baul has done everything and is completely Archived and Preserved.
Today the stories being said are culturally appropriated stories of new lineages and trying to remake the wheel by changing history and herstory.
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Manju Dasi
Today no one should compete or delete the accomplishments of Manju or make claims because this part of Baul history was complete decades ago. There are only a few if any of the authentic Bauls alive today.
Bauls were Guru's and the spiritual messengers to the villagers, they were the Hare Krishna singers and dancers, delivering messages of humanity and the highest Divine Love in a Mystic Trance.
Today we have preachers, newspapers, books, TV and the internet.
The villages have changed, the world has changed Bauls were the indigenous peoples of Birbhum. Todays Bauls are tourist attractions, they acting and all wanting to repeat the history telling I am this I am that.
Today's Bauls are trying to remake the wheel it just is not possible, Baul has done everything and is completely Archived and Preserved.
Today the stories being said are culturally appropriated stories of new lineages and trying to remake the wheel by changing history and herstory.
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Manju Dasi
1943-2010
The world has changed, back in the 1960's, 70s, 80's, 90's the world outside of India had never heard of Baul.
It is only this family (lineage) that paved a road for all New Baul singers to follow and follow they did, from signing all their songs, to dressing like them, to traveling to all the places they traveled to and meeting their friends.
This is natural to follow Bauls, if the whole world followed Baul Humanity would be better off, the only problem is the world stopped supporting Baul and Baul stopped being authentic, it because a fight to survive and this brought what is called the Nakal (fake) Bauls who followed Nabani Das Baul and Purna Das Baul in the 1970's but cut their names off and put there own names on, even poisoning to Purna Das Baul one time at the Joy Dev Mela so that they could take his place on the stage. This story will be told in the book.
Lets call these new Bauls the 'the fake it til you make it Bauls', mostly refugee's from what today is known as Bangladesh. Stories that have never been told only because Baul is now watered down, reduced, it has been deconstructed and the history of Baul will be washed away completely if it had not been preserved and archived by Babu Kishan with the help of many including the late Manju Dasi. Never in a million years would they have thought that others would come and make up stories because Baul was actually a very small sect and now others have come 'riding on their coat tails'. They have taken their names out of the picture and created stories of lineages and Guru's who followed them.
It is only this family (lineage) that paved a road for all New Baul singers to follow and follow they did, from signing all their songs, to dressing like them, to traveling to all the places they traveled to and meeting their friends.
This is natural to follow Bauls, if the whole world followed Baul Humanity would be better off, the only problem is the world stopped supporting Baul and Baul stopped being authentic, it because a fight to survive and this brought what is called the Nakal (fake) Bauls who followed Nabani Das Baul and Purna Das Baul in the 1970's but cut their names off and put there own names on, even poisoning to Purna Das Baul one time at the Joy Dev Mela so that they could take his place on the stage. This story will be told in the book.
Lets call these new Bauls the 'the fake it til you make it Bauls', mostly refugee's from what today is known as Bangladesh. Stories that have never been told only because Baul is now watered down, reduced, it has been deconstructed and the history of Baul will be washed away completely if it had not been preserved and archived by Babu Kishan with the help of many including the late Manju Dasi. Never in a million years would they have thought that others would come and make up stories because Baul was actually a very small sect and now others have come 'riding on their coat tails'. They have taken their names out of the picture and created stories of lineages and Guru's who followed them.
Picture 1940s' Birbhum Bengal
Nabani Das Khyapa Baul the only Baul who initiated Rabindranath Tagore into Baul. A young Purna Das Baul
1895 - 1969
Baya, Ektara, Napoor and (a mystical voice) were only worn by Nabani Das Khyapa Baul, everybody followed Nabani this was his signature. Any Baul who replicates this follows Nabani, any Baul who sings his songs copies Nabani Das Baul, please observe if you see his name mentioned, if it is not this is a Cultural Mis-Appropriation.
Nabani Das Khyapa Baul was the symbol of Baul, everybody follows this lineage otherwise how would they even have songs to sing? All recorded and archived, preserved by this lineage and I repeat decades ago.
"Ektara, Baya, Napoor & a Mystic Voice' are the symbols of Nabani Das Khyapa Baul. All who wear them follow Nabani Das Khyapa Baul.
Nabani Das Khyapa Baul the only Baul who initiated Rabindranath Tagore into Baul. A young Purna Das Baul
1895 - 1969
Baya, Ektara, Napoor and (a mystical voice) were only worn by Nabani Das Khyapa Baul, everybody followed Nabani this was his signature. Any Baul who replicates this follows Nabani, any Baul who sings his songs copies Nabani Das Baul, please observe if you see his name mentioned, if it is not this is a Cultural Mis-Appropriation.
Nabani Das Khyapa Baul was the symbol of Baul, everybody follows this lineage otherwise how would they even have songs to sing? All recorded and archived, preserved by this lineage and I repeat decades ago.
"Ektara, Baya, Napoor & a Mystic Voice' are the symbols of Nabani Das Khyapa Baul. All who wear them follow Nabani Das Khyapa Baul.
Nabani Das Baul and Purna Das Baul were the only Bauls to wear the Nagpur and play the Baya and Ektara that is their style it belongs to this lineage, the Das Baul and Dasi Lineage originates from Ekachakra Birbhum Bengal. It does not come from any other place.
It was this LINEAGE that pioneered and brought Baul outside of India and with them they brought many New Baul singers, I will provide a list in the book. This gave many a chance to travel for the first time ever and be part of this history. Please remember back in the 1950's 60's 70's 80's no one had the internet, one only rarely used a telephone to make an international call. It was letter writing to the extreme and those contacts in the 1970's were all done by Babu Kishan and Manju (his mother) they were a 2 person working machine and that was hard work, the work Manju and Babu Kishan did was extreme hard, they paved the road for any new Baul singer today, which is a super duper easy road to follow because of them compared to what they did.
Babu Kishan, Manju Dasi and Padma Shree Baul Samarat Purna Das Baul
Manju Dasi is a highly awarded Women Bauls singer, a Classical trained Singer and Folk Singer the thing about her is that she never ever talked about her awards or her history as a Women Baul, she only focused on her husband Purna Das Baul.
Maybe, it was the generation, she only cared about her husband's success and only dedicated herself to that success. We will list her awards in Babu Kishan's new book. To write about Manju's Legendary Baul life would have to be a book all by itself, dedicated just to her. Then another book dedicated to Brajabala Dasi the last authentic Baul Women in History. Each of these Baul Women in this lineage and family deserves a book, they are history and to change or claim that history or her-story in the light of Baul extinction should be a crime against humanity, if the UN says that Baul is an oral history of humanity to change the stories, to make up lineages, to steal the songs of this lineage and put other poets names on should be a crime.
Manju was the first Baul to add a Harmonium to Baul song and kritan, before her no Baul used a harmonium, yet you will see it in every Baul performance and nobody has a clue how it got there. The Harmonium is not indigenous to Baul or Indian Music either.
Maybe, it was the generation, she only cared about her husband's success and only dedicated herself to that success. We will list her awards in Babu Kishan's new book. To write about Manju's Legendary Baul life would have to be a book all by itself, dedicated just to her. Then another book dedicated to Brajabala Dasi the last authentic Baul Women in History. Each of these Baul Women in this lineage and family deserves a book, they are history and to change or claim that history or her-story in the light of Baul extinction should be a crime against humanity, if the UN says that Baul is an oral history of humanity to change the stories, to make up lineages, to steal the songs of this lineage and put other poets names on should be a crime.
Manju was the first Baul to add a Harmonium to Baul song and kritan, before her no Baul used a harmonium, yet you will see it in every Baul performance and nobody has a clue how it got there. The Harmonium is not indigenous to Baul or Indian Music either.
The same with Brajabala Dasi she never ever said, she was this or that, she was the last authentic Baul women and she was so dedicated to Nabani Das Khyapa Baul, she understood his sadhana and his sadhu ways, she lived a life understanding as he wandered through India, Nepal and Tibet.
Manju (Sandhya Dash) was a famed talented Indian Classical singer before she met Purna Das Baul, she was already traveling around the country with greats such Raj Kapoor, Sharmilla Tagore, Vaijanti Mala, Salil Chaudhuri with IPTA traveling even in those days to Nepal, Burma in the 1950's. The IPTA wanted some folk music singing for the 'Kashmir Indian Armies program' they wanted different kinds of Indian Folk songs. Manju already had 'Sangeet Visart from Allahbad University' based on Indian Classical but she needed original Folk songs from Bengal. She contacted All Indian Radio and they put her in touch with Nirmalendu Chowdhury (1922-1981) a Bengali Folk Singer and she learned whom she learned 2 or 3 folk songs, he was the Legendary Folk King of Bengal at that time.
Manju was told to meet Purna Das Baul a young Baul singer who was up and coming and already had music on the radio. At the time Purna Das Baul was a newcomer from a village in Birbhum, he was not accomplished in the way of the city of Calcutta. Manju looks and looked and it was not easy to find Purna Das Baul because he had no fixed address in Calcutta at the time.
She was told Purna Das Baul could be found at the 'Hindu Mission' or at his supporter 'Kali Das Gupta a Purna Das Baul well wisher and an Assamese Folk Singer', who had a house in Ballgunge in Calcutta where Purna Das Baul used to stay sometimes.
Manju met Purna Chandra Das Bauls when his popularity had just started on the 'Radio Station' and he had just started to record at Hindustan Records. At this time there were no other Bauls in Calcutta or on the radio, this is important to understand only because many people are making up stories, even in Calcutta there were no Bauls, they were only deep in Birbhum and not anywhere else.
When people have nothing to loose they make up all kinds of stories.
She was told Purna Das Baul could be found at the 'Hindu Mission' or at his supporter 'Kali Das Gupta a Purna Das Baul well wisher and an Assamese Folk Singer', who had a house in Ballgunge in Calcutta where Purna Das Baul used to stay sometimes.
Manju met Purna Chandra Das Bauls when his popularity had just started on the 'Radio Station' and he had just started to record at Hindustan Records. At this time there were no other Bauls in Calcutta or on the radio, this is important to understand only because many people are making up stories, even in Calcutta there were no Bauls, they were only deep in Birbhum and not anywhere else.
When people have nothing to loose they make up all kinds of stories.
Somehow she finally met up with Purna Chandra Das Baul at a Radio Station and Manju said, to Purna Das that she wanted to learn some Baul music, he was staying at the Hindu Mission at the time in South Calcutta. Manju then learned her first Baul songs from him her future husband and the only focus of her life right to her last breath, way too young, way before her time. Manju (Sandhya at the time) went on to sing the first Baul songs ever sung in Kashmir on a singing program. When she came back from Kashmir and her travels with the group her whole interest in music from Classical music to Baul and the Folk music of India began.
The rest is history Women's modern Baul History and will be detailed in BabuKishan's 4th book coming soon.
The rest is history Women's modern Baul History and will be detailed in BabuKishan's 4th book coming soon.
The 'Rasa Tattva Baul Music' and that is the story of how she fell in love and met and became a Women Baul, where they began their life together at Kali Ghat. If it were not for Manju there would be no Purna Das because she completely made him famous because she was city wise and British educated and she had a permanent job as a Music Teacher at Calcutta Little Children Society and the Dance teacher was Sharmila Tagore and they became great friends. Sharmilla Tagore is todays Bollywood Actor Saif Ali Khan's mother and Indian Cricketer Nawab Pataudi wife.
All Music composed, produced and Marketed by Babu Kishan, Manju's first and eldest son. The top album has been reproduced and they have take Babu Kishan name off, this will be looked into.
