Bengal: Bengali Traditional Folk Music

Bengal, a historically important and culturally distinctive region in the northeast of the Indian subcontinent that today is separated by the India-Bangladesh border, is the source of the Baul song tradition.  Inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Baul songs originated from the Bauls—a mystical and unorthodox community of mostly itinerant singers and musicians whose music and way of life are a significant influence on Bengali culture. In addition to Baul songs, the album presents a boatmen’s song (bhatiyali), a bhajan, and a kirtan. Instrumentation includes flutes, drums, cymbals, and small lutes.

Track Listing

101	Baul song	Purna Chandra Das and party	05:12
102	Baul song	Purna Chandra Das and party	04:37
103	Baul song	Haripado Deva Nath	03:17
104	Bhatiyali song	Haripado Deva Nath	03:21
105	Flute	Deboo Bhattacharji	06:40
106	Flute	Ahmad Shafui	02:37
107	Flute	Ahmad Shafui	02:11
108	Bhajana	Rathin Ghosh and party	11:42
109	Kirtana	Rathin Ghosh and party	12:05
110	Song	Firdausi Begum	03:01
111	Song	Sham Sunhar Karimar	03:02