Seminar on Baul Tradition- An Eternal Journey towards Mysticism

Описание: A seminar titled 'Baul Tradition - An Eternal Journey towards Mysticism' was organized by the Centre for Cultural Studies and Development (CCSD) at national capital's India International Centre on February 15, 2020. The idea behind the seminar, as CCSD Secretary Paulami Guha pointed out, was to bring forth the essence of Baul tradition, its philosophy, modern day relevance and importance.
The two sessions of seminar had an esteemed panelists comprising of prominent scholars, musicologists, and professors -- Dr Selina Sharma (Vice Secretary, Vraja Kala Sanskriti Sanstha, Vrindaban) Dr Indranil Acharya (Professor of English, Vidyasagar University, Midnapur), Dr Intaj Ali (Asstt Professor of English, Netaji Subhas Open University, Kolkata) Dr Swapan Mukhopadhyay (renowned folk singer & an empanelled artist with AIR, Kolkata). The seminar sessions were aptly chaired by Dr Urmimala Sarkar Munsi (Professor in School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU).
The seminar emphasized in a lively and engaging manner -- the need to search for the real and original Baul song and its tradition, its scope, relevance and importance in the space of traditional Indian music.
Interesting and fundamental questions were raised followed by some engaging debates and discussions about what is an original Baul song and who is a Baul, the existing Akharas, gender equations, connects and disconnects with religion, existence as an alternative culture, its mysticism, understanding of body & sexuality, relevance in modern times, how Bauls are being misused by politicians for its election campaign and how to protect, revive and popularize the Baul tradition.
Dr Selina Sharma emphasized on the "Guru Tattva: the Core essence of the Baul Spiritual Journey". She highlighted the Bāuls’ ultimate message to the world –mānuṣa bhojo, mānuṣa pūjo... Worship man, serve man...- do respect man, do respect the human being as the sacred most abode of divinity, hence do let the human race live in peace and harmony nourished by mutual respect through realizing the divine energy that dwells in each and every human being.
Professor Indranil Acharya dwelt upon "Rabindranath Tagore and the Canonization of Baul Tradition" meaning how Rabindranath Tagore was influenced by Baul song & culture and how he was instrumental in recognising and popularising the tradition.
Dr Intaj Ali in his paper titled ‘Baul & Beyond’ attempted to focus on ways through which a Baul sought to represent the socio-cultural life of Bengalese in different parts of the world through their magical performance, social discourse and hybridization of Baul songs through fusion.
Dr Swapan Mukhopadhyay who presented his paper ‘Baul Tradition: An Eternal Journey towards Mysticism’ said: "In Baul Sadhana, we search for “Moner Manush” connected with the cosmology and philosophy of a secret path of life. It’s a soulful music that breaks all mental and physical barriers."
Chairperson Dr Urmimala Sarkar Munsi gave her concluding remarks by saying “In this hyper technological space for any tradition to exist one has to have a digital presence. Also due to lack of funding by the Government bodies their own practise space has become restricted. So the basic problem is that the next generation finds it disheartening to get into the Baul tradition.”She further pointed out that we always try to impose our classical format of understanding of traditions and handing them over to the next generation. We really don’t understand the oral tradition and passing over their practise that becomes much more organic.
The seminar on Baul tradition held on 15th February was followed by a Baul Gaan concert by internationally renowned artist Shri Swapan Adhikari Baul & troupe from West Bengal on 16th February 2020 at C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium, India International Centre, New Delhi. The various Baul songs with deep rooted metaphysical themes and beautifully synchronised in simple words enthralled the audience greatly. What attract the listeners are its simplicity, purity and mysticism surrounding baul gaan rendition. The audience included the likes of renowned writer-artist Tara Gandhi Bhattacharya (grand-daughter of Mahatma Gandhi), who was quite impressed by performance.

Both Seminar & concert received good media coverage in print, electronic as well as social media. DD Bharati Channel of Doordarshan did the recording of the concert and telecast it on 7th March 2020 at 9PM on DD Bharati channel. A souvenir was brought out on this occasion & the pages contained all the Seminar papers presented by the scholars.
Full report can be viewed on www.ccsdindia.org