Truth Talk:
Babu Kishan Musings:
Article # 1 (fo be continued).
Tell the truth rather than lies, stop changing narratives and making false associations! You can not compare this lineage with any of the Baul's out there, there is absolutely no comparison. In some ways it is even an embarrassment to even waste my time explaining but obviously people do not have a clue, the younger generation has no idea, they just follow what looks cool and is seemingly popular. To the ones that know me, sorry for this, but what is going on for the past few decades must be qualified.
More to come because I am telling all now!
Do not use my life stories or my lineage stories to promote yourself. Full stop.
I am not comparing our lineage with the 'new Baul followers' there is no Comparison, followers of what I have no idea, it is about showmanship, drama and acting with no substance?
I have put Baul in Indian Cinema, recording Baul music with major (music labels). I was the first Baul to do press conferences and introduced Baul to the world in a big way. My family introduced Baul to India as Nabani (Grandpa), Purna (father) and myself were state singers for Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi. A huge story and history - Baul History, no other Bauls have ever done what we have done. However, many others are talking a big talk these days??
I introduced Baul to radio, TV, now all the Bauls that follow us. I introduced thousands of foreigners to Baul and Bengal before any of the people speaking Baul were even born. When we introduced Baul there was only our family, there were no Bauls in Bangladesh or other Bauls a few aunts and uncles especially Laxshman Das Baul who had many precarious people hanging around because of course he is Nabani's son too.
I grew up with my Uncle Laxshman and my Aunt Radharani. Laxshman Das Baul lived in Nabani and Brajabala's home in Birbhum. Life had changed for the Bauls as with all indigenous peoples, modern life does not support the old ways.
Because of my fathers popularity as the greatest of all time Baul singer, who was so popular for his Baul song and recordings this created a huge following of Baul, all trying to do the same and I must say I encouraged it and helped many Bauls. Many refugee's from East Pakistan what is now called Bangladesh flooded the streets of Calcutta in 1971 and they heard Purna Das Baul or perhaps even knew him from Bangladesh because he was wildly popular. They started to follow Baul, there is a huge difference from Lineage Baul and people who follow Baul, they are not rooted in Baul and basically, 'fake it til they make it'.
Those Bauls are Baul singers ONLY they may do sadhana but not Baul sadhana because they do not know it and can only take it from a book, those are the ones that sing our songs, copy our dress, ektara, baya and nupoor, and they follow us around the world, but lately making up lineages??
I wrote the first 3 books on Baul in the 1980's, my father has a book although most of the notes were taken from my research I am not happy with the book, it is very surface.
My 3rd book was released by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar in LA in 1986 I wonder how many talking about Baul were even born or still in diapers? Please give me a break.
I have watched way too long. When you do not know the truth, stop your speculating and cherry picking. I have been around Baul for 60 years it was extinct 40 years back, my Dad Purna Das Baul notice no 'Guru Shri Shri' because everybody knows who he is, stop playing a dangerous game.
I already preserved Baul that long ago. Due to the wishes of my Baul Guru, Grandpa Nabani Das Khapa Baul and Grandma Brajabala Dasi, my Boro Baba and Ma. Literally they were my first parents as they did not let my premature, crooked body die.
Taking pictures with people who you did not work with.. does not make any senses nor are the stories real stories, making like you worked or did all the work?? My siblings are good at this, I have let this go too, but I have thought, oh well they are my brothers? Yet, my youngest brothers behaviour is very disturbing.
Seems like everybody wants to be only users and are working hard trying to attract people for fundraising purposes? To fundraise one needs a narrative. I am realizing that some people have no shame and make up a narrative. Which causes the greatest harm to an ancient lineage, really a cultural genocide.
Before you fundraise for yourself, fundraise for others. I have been fundraising for other for decades, this is Baul. Baul does not go to the village and people run out touching their feet, no it is the other way around you bow down before others. You are not there to be Baba or Maa or trying to be the next Ammachi??
I have worked tirelessly for my lineage for decades. For my family, always giving to others freely, for decades educating who and what is Baul. I have taught Baul at Universities since the 1970's and am the only Baul ever to teach at University worldwide. What you have now is not Baul, first they are using Baul saying their Guru is a Baul Guru, he is not. Then they are giving wrong teachings, I know this for a fact, more to come.
I am the only one educated enough to teach Baul at the University level, as a paid lecturer with accurate teachings because I am from Baul. I am a born in an oral Sanskrit tradition and classical trained in Sanskrit. 12 years at the Ramakrishna Mission, BA Indian Philosophy, MA Indian Music with a huge body of work in India and around the world. BabuKishan.org
Baul is so much more, it is a inner thing because you come from Baul, your father/ mother, Grandparents are your Guru's, Baul is not just song and dance and lineage is not one generation? Ours is 9 generations to Nityananda Mahaprabhu of Ekachakra and thousands of years before.
I have lived it before any of the people talking about Baul today they were not even born by the time I had preserved Baul yet they are fundraising to preserve Baul?? I have met all the scholars on Baul and I have met all the people who follow our family, all of the Bauls.
My Guru is Lineage Guru who never called himself 'Guru or Sri Sri ?? You can't even compare? Nabani actually took the Gosai part off our name and would say do not touch my feet, touch your own. This is Nabani Das (Khyapa- or Khepa name given by Tagore) and the people of Birbhum, you do not name yourself Khyapa of Khepa how cheap we are today??
Nabani was the highest level one can reach, all Bauls followed him.
Nabani never fundraised for himself, he was a Siddha Avadhut, and the last authentic Baul to walk on earth and he only helped secretly feed others, healed others taking their karma and transmuting and his did this through the Freedom Movement, pandemics and when the British starved Bengal.
If you hear Das Baul or Dasi, Nitai or Khepa that comes from our lineage. You can not even compare out lineage with any of the Bauls out there or over the past 50 years.
Stop all made up stories !!
I have watched for decades, but never felt like I needed to say anything. I was just happy that people were following my lineage and pioneering family and the template I made.
To even use the name legendary is arrogant, to use the term pioneering is arrogant, beyond.
Nobody in the history or her-story of Baul ever used Guru except me on 'FB' I have an account called Baul Guru, I never call myself that, it is mostly to provoke those that are now trying to make up lineages and lol now they are using that too.
But now it is too much, I am seeing too many false narratives by Fake Bauls who are claiming lineage when there is no lineage. Nobody used lineage before, or made up lineages but this new breed of "fake it til you make it" use these terms, they follow me and copy everything I do but say they are a lineage holder, you are NOT. More to come, I am just getting started.
This is intellectual property theft of my own life, my lineage and my stories and yes we already know about the songs, everyday I see another Baul singing my families songs, using my tunes and my own poetry, normally I would not care, that is why I am silent but I realize now something else is going on?
I knew Carol for decades, I helped her relentlessly in Bengal. In the USA doing Master Classes on Baul and Bengali Language. She had me sign research grant forms but when reality came through, she brought a random Baul to Seattle. Then wrote about The Bauls of Bangladesh and Lalon Fakir which was always my subject because I am the first to bring famous Bangladeshi's to Calcutta and recorded them while they sung Lalon Fakir songs. Lalon Fakir was a great poet but not a Baul he did not practice Baul sadhana.
People need to learn the tricks scholars use to make a business for themselves. This is what happens to indigenous cultures all the time and it has happened to Baul many times. There are Bauls and fake Bauls you need to know this.
Understand, I am not talking about the sincere people of the villages of Birbhum who actually innocently and respectfully follow Baul, those people follow Baul because of us and I have always wanted to help and encourage them. I am talking about the fundraisers, the one who actually are changing the narrative intentionally for their own benefit, the ones who take our names off and make up new lineages.
My mission was to alway help anybody that was sincere, to preserve my lineage and have many great Baul singers.
I am not in Bengal so this is easy to do little by little duping people, nice smile sweeter than sweet all costumed up. I am not selling anything, or fundraising as I always have fundraised for others and inspired others. I guess now is the time so that these false narratives and fake Bauls stop all this lying. Yes, we want people to be inspired by Baul but not fake made up Baul, watering down and reduces the stories.
There are not four types of Baul, that is fake, yet repeated over and over, what a joke and at Berkeley University?
Baul is always from family, to say otherwise is fake, this is how Baul was passed down through oral Sanskrit, and yes we had manuscripts, many of which I donated to the ASIATIC Society in Calcutta, those manuscripts belonged to Nabani.
Today what you say on the internet can be seen and the false narratives are so blatant, saying things without a blink of the eye, with no shame. This is dangerous especially when I have given my life freely and when I taught Baul back in the 70's 80's 90's on ward world wide, there was no internet.
I had the first Baul web site back in the late 1980's that is how anybody knew anything about Baul including my brother copying and pasting all to their own pages, my younger brother even took my resume and copied it as his own. I am really tired of all the games.
As my wife does research, she puts this all in front of my face? Writers writing books on Baul making vague associations saying even the Bauls were associated with Bob Dylan ect.
Excuse me, that is my story, these people are my friends, I worked with them, I composed music with them and to see my name taken off my stories and a full page picture of a random Baul, not even a Baul Guru pasted beside my story as if he is the one??
Wow how cheap, talk about following on my coat tails.
No Sanatan Das Baul never had anything to do with Bob Dylan or any of my associations so why put his picture next to my story, oh except he went to Kali Mandir in Laguna Beach, don't really know why because I knew Usha Elizabeth Harding before anybody there now?
2007 @ Kali Mandir in LAGUNA BEACH. In the 1980's before I introduced Usha Elizabeth Harding to Kali / India this Kali Mandir was originally to be a Baul Ashram.
I will tell if you poke me enough, I am going to tell you exactly who Santana Das Baul was and I know what I did for him, which was lots. I am the one who introduced him to All India Radio but he does not have a good voice so nothing came of it. When Shanti Dev Ghosh did not allow him to sing at the Tagore's Paus Mela I made him allow all these people who followed Baul. Shanti Dev Ghosh did not like any of them, he said they are not Baul and destroying Baul and Nabani Das Bauls legacy. You know what in retrospect he was right, but I continued to help all the people that followed Baul encouraging Shanti Dev Ghosh to allow them.
Seriously, they follow us around, well I hope they are reading this and I am going to challenge every one of them.
I knew Usha Harding first of the Kali Mandir in Laguna Beach, I was the one who took her through the back door at the Dakinishwar temple in Calcutta. If not for me she never would have been able to take the picture of Dakinishwar Kali Ma. I instructed the pujari's to allow here to take the photo. I took her there so she could take the picture of Kali on her book and actually encouraged her to write the book and start a Baul Institution and Kali Mandir in California, she does not mention this but then she knows I know everything.
I was there behind the scene from the inception of the Kali Mandir in Laguna Beach, I introduced Usha Elizabeth Harding to Kali in India and to the Bauls in Shantiniketan and at the Joy Dev Mela in Kenduli Birbhum.
I also, introduced many many foreigners to India, Bengal, Baul and the Ramakrishna Mission. I fundraised endlessly for the Ramakrishna mission even after I left after 12 years there.
"When Babu, Purna Das’ eldest son invited me to come to the 1986 Joydeb Mela,"
- Usha Harding - Purna Das Baul's 'eldest son' is Babu Kishan aka Krishnendu Das Baul - It should be noted Babu Kishan is my Bollywood name, people in Bengal knew me as Krishnendu Das.
https://ushaharding.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Bauls
Manohar Khyepa Baba was a disciple of Nabani Das Khyapa Baul, he stayed at our house all the time, I composed music for him? Again, he followed Baul but a poet, he never said I am a Baul.
I knew him well, my Dad loved him, he was part of our family. And by the way Manohar Khyepa followed Baul, he was not a Baul he was a POET.
I introduced Usha to all my Indian friends in California for fundraising for Laguna Kali Mandir. I had a huge contingent of Bengali friends in California and western friends from the late 1970's onward.
I know more than anybody because I was there first. I introduced Usha Harding to my family, she came to India and I took her to Shantiniketan to meet my Grandma Brajabala Dasi and to give the lay of the land, we attended the Joy Dev Mela in 1986.
Well the rest is history, my family was always associated with the Kali Mandir in Laguna Beach and of course what we do other follows and then act like they are the one, this has been happening for decades.
I have seen a picture of Sanatan Das Baul there? and the rest follow, I have no idea why they follow me and my DAD around the world. I am long gone from that scene but you should know. Who follows who! They wear my clothing designs, a Women Baul wears my design from a move about my Aunt Radharani in a move I helped on called Tagori. I am not stupid I see everything.
Then I brought my friend Charlie Steiner back in the 1980's to Bengal and introduced him to my family, he video taped them, how do you think he knew about Baul? I met him decades ago in New York. Then he went on his own and video taped some others who follow Baul, he does not know the difference from who is real and who is not as most of the people who talk about Baul do today?
But I did notice in one Steiner's video's of Sanatan Das Baul from the Joy Dev Mela he is wearing the patch work dress Guduri that I designed for my Dad. He is dancing like Nabani, he is using Nabani style Ekatar, Baya and Nupoor (bells) there is no separate Lineage.
All Bauls did whatever we did, they followed us around, making contact with my contacts. More to come!
Why are Bauls that are from another lineage wearing my design, why are they singing our songs, why are they following everything we do? This is a question you might ask yourself when you hear someone screaming Guru and Lineage and Lineage Holder. Their lineage is a lie and they only started this lineage thing after I started this lineage Baul blog.
Please note, all Das Baul and Dasi follow this lineage. Regarding Baul Women, Manju Das was the first for everything, she did what is being done today decades before any of the Women today were born. Have a little respect, this changing the narrative, swaying the narrative is really a sickness, and then to pretend you do not know?
Baul is a very small sect, the real authentic Bauls are gone. What is going on today is copy and paste and that is ok but lying and story making is not, it reduces Baul, saying you are legendary and pioneering is a lie.
I will tell Sanatan Das Baul's story and he is NOT a Baul Guru he is not from lineage Baul, he followed Baul one generation, he may be from some other lineage perhaps Vaishnava but I don't think so and I am positive he is not a Baul Guru. He followed my family and was very jealous of my Dad, this story has yet to come out and more will come as my Dad was poisoned and almost died at the Joy Dev Mela many moons ago, keep up the lie and it will all come out. I will give you one guess who the suspect was in the poisoning.
I know the whole family before the people talking about him were born. He was NOT a Baul Guru and there is no Lineage
Reality is: #BabuKishan is the only Baul who brought the attention back from the:1967’s memories of his fathers first visit to the USA.
His father even forgot about Bob Dylan even though he was on the cover of John Westley Harding, it was Babu who found this out and made associations with all.
Purna Das Baul - Babu's father had a brief association with Bob Dylan. It was Babu Kishan who had association for decades with Bob Dylan, Allen Ginsberg, George Harrison, The Rolling Stones he jammed with them from the 1980's on. Babu preformed in 40 concerts around the USA with Bob Dylan and The Band they are good friends. Babu released all of Bob Dylans music in India and all of Asia. There is so much more, the story is huge. So why on earth would any writer (western Baul) have the gaul to write about Babu's life, take his name off and make an association.
I saw online some Bengali's who were making a movie of the late Gour Khepa, it is hard to believe they have actually taken my stories of Bob Dylan and used stories of my Dad's life, which have never had anything to do with Gour Khepa. Gour Khepa never ever met Bob Dylan. A bunch of liars.
Everybody is living in our dream but with their names. I have known Gour Khepa for decades and that group of people who followed Baul. They followed our family, they dressed as my Dad, they sang our songs. I remember, I was there, I saw all and knew them all.
I have many stories about Gour Khepa and that group, that I am going to tell in time, he is a refugee from Bangladesh he came into Baul as a 'fake it til you make it', he followed Baul he was not a Baul, he always used slangs, cheap grade slangs and raped a western friend of mine. It is a complete LIE he never ever performed with Bob Dylan nor had anything to do with any of the people that are my life story.
Baul is a Guru Sampradaya, Guru Shishya, today things are different. You can not become a Baul Guru by making up a fake lineage and saying you are a lineage holder. I have seen thousands of Guru since I was born and I have worked in Bollywood for 35 years in Tollywood (Calcutta) and Bollywood in Mumbai. The Guru business is a good business today, I know the game, I can see a game when I see one.
After spending 50 years all around India teaching, questioning, composing music for many of the Guru's I can see the game. Now we have Bauls acting and wanting to Be MA and BABA, making up stories.
A Guru should be an adept and have been trained in Sanskrit all Indian Philosophies and know the complete history of what they are teaching, it is not a, fake it til you make it or riding on the coat tails of those you copy? For sure not a copy and paste.
Cultural Appropriation = Speculation = erasure of Culture and history/her-story.
Everybody is making documentaries, everybody making up stories, it is a joke, one after the other and they do not even know what Baul means except for a book definition which is wrong.
Fundraising to preserve Baul and they do not know what Baul even means other than what they read in books. LOL how messed up?
These documentaries can be big money too. I have recently seen a guy I met here in Vancouver make a Baul documentary, LOL he never said a word to me, first part of his trailer a bunch of Sadhu's who we know are not Baul smoking ganja, this is how Baul is representing Ganja (marijuana) and sex or fake holiness?
I worked hard for decades without any help or interest from siblings or any of these so called Bauls, my own Kolkata family, they just used and had fun. The others just wanted help for themselves, to become famous.
Reality is I made connection with American Folk Hero #BobDylan to .. #AlbertGrossman, #SallyGrossman, #AllenGinsberg, #TheBand #GeorgeHarrison and #RollingStones and father of American Rock Jornalist #AlAronowitz in the 1980s 
I already have preserved Baul decades ago, and this is the exact reason why I am late getting it out there, thank God I have released my work and full stories because I am positive no they would be lifted and stolen for fake fundraising purposes.
#instagram #socialmedia #instamusic #instanews #univercity #festivals #bhaktiYoga #theTimesofIndia if want or need real story:
