Just About Everything

Happy New Year! May this year bring more of the things that you love… happiness, good health, peace, passion, prosperity, and most of all love for the environment ! I am starting off my first post with this beautiful baul  song video from the Baul Fakir Utsav 2019 at Shaktigarh, Jadavpur. Baul songs are folk songs from Bengal that have an influence of Vaishnav Hindu and Sufi songs. Spiritual, and sung with so much passion and simplicity that every time I listen to Baul songs, I feel overwhelmed. You may be interested in the following as well: Baul mela  at Jadavpur, Kolkata, Jan 2013 Baul Mela , Jadavpur, 2014 Baul Mela  2015 at Jadavpur, Kolkata,India Baul mela  2016, Jadavpur,India Baul song video at the Baul mela 2017 at Jadavpur, Kolkata

My favourite time of the year is here again. The weather is nice and cool, and there is music in the air. I managed to attend the baul mela, in Shaktigarh at Jadavpur Kolkata, last weekend.This two-day event happens every year in the 2nd weekend of January. I try not to miss it if I am in the city. I am sharing a beautiful baul performance from the baul mela. You may be interested in the following as well: Baul mela  at Jadavpur, Kolkata, Jan 2013 Baul Mela , Jadavpur, 2014 Baul Mela  2015 at Jadavpur, Kolkata,India Baul mela  2016, Jadavpur,India

The folk songs by bauls are so spiritual and insightful, that they always leave a powerful impact on me. I am so completely mesmerized by the music, and the powerful lyrics of these songs. There is something so soulful and beautiful about these folk songs that I can’t get enough of it. Here is another baul song video from the baul mela that happened earlier this month at Jadvapur in Kolkata.

Baul mela 2015 Last weekend was Baul weekend at Jadvapur, Kolkata. Like every year Baul mela was organized at Shaktigarh, Jadavpur. And like every year it was indeed a treat listening to bauls sing till the wee hours of morning. Not only was it a musical treat, the mela had a lot of interesting stalls; musical instruments, paintings, fabrics, and delicious food as well! Among other things, my favourite sweets, pattishapta and hot jalebis were indeed the hot favourites. Definitely the best way to begin the year. Absolutely out of the world! I am including a Baul song video at the end of this post. Baul singing at Baul mela Jadavpur Bauls at the Jadavpur mela musical instruments Pattishapta- A bengali sweet Jalebis- fried and crispy sweets

Baul Mela Jadavpur 2014  Baul mela is quite a popular gathering of bauls from various parts of India and Bangladesh. I love baul songs. This gathering happens every year in Shaktigarh math in Jadavpur, Kolkata. It usually happens during the first weekend of January. You don’t need to buy tickets; the entrance is free for all. But it gets so crowded that it is difficult to find a place. Since the Baul performance goes on till 2 am in the morning, it is a good idea to go there around 12 am, you will definitely find a suitable place then! I could not watch the entire series of performances but managed to watch a few. There is something so beautiful and spiritual about baul songs. Here is a video of one of the baul performances.

December, January, and February are the most happening months in Kolkata. The city is on a high, with music festivals, book fair, and a whole lot of other activities. After all, at Kolkata we only get to enjoy three months of winter and that is when the weather is at its best behaviour. Come summer almost everything wilts under the heat and humidity, and the city pretty much reaches its lowest low as far as festivals and fairs are concerned...I don't want to think of summers just now; even though winter is almost gone, I am still hanging on to it. I wish winter would stretch for six months at least. Kolkata and music go hand in hand. I think a huge percentage of Kolkatans enjoy good music. I wonder why we don't have more bands playing in Kolkata. Just like Baul music there is something deeply spiritual about Sufi music. A group of performers,who performed at the festival, are known as Manganiyars, and they are from Rajasthan. Some of the top Sufi performers performed at th...