Baul Fakir Mela: 240 bauls from 5 dists to take part

Kolkata: The three-day annual Baul Fakir mela will be held at Bannabagram in East Burdwan from November 25 to 27.

Two hundred and forty bauls from 33 akras and from five districts will take part in the mela. The mela will remain open from 8 am to 8 pm and the entry is free.

Besides songs, there will be discussions of baul philosophy. The baul music is century-old and hundreds of people from Bengal and other states including foreign countries come to attend the mela. Mia Kazumi is a famous baul from Japan.

Music enthusiasts from Japan, Germany and Italy are visiting the akras to learn baul music. The original bauls play traditional instruments.

Mina Das, a baul from Birbhum was invited to sing at the international Womex festival which was held in Portugal in October.

After coming to power in 2011, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took special measures to revive the traditional music. Because of financial constraints, most of the bauls left the traditional music and took up other vocation.

More than 2 lakh folk artistes across the state get a monthly stipend and musical instruments are given to them free-of-cost.

They are given regular programmes at various fairs organised by the state government. Bauls from one akra generally do not visit other akras. But they come and participate in the annual 'Baul fakir Mela'.

UNESCO has given the intangible heritage tag to baul music which was applied by Bangladesh. West Bengal has also been included.

Music lovers and enthusiasts are inviting the bauls to different states to listen to their music. Scholars in different universities are conducting research on baul philosophy.

Banglanatok dot com and state MSME department will organise the fair in East Burdwan.

It has become an integral part of rural tourism. Homestays have come up in the area where the fair will be held. The visitors will also get a chance to come across the bauls directly and interact with them.