Banyan Roots
Banyan Roots is a podcast series in which songs and discussions from the Baul and Fakir, musical mystics of West Bengal, India and Bangladesh, guide conversations on history, ethnomusicology, and spirituality. Come curious listeners—musicians, scholars, spiritual seekers, and anyone drawn to traditional music and living devotional practices. Featuring original field recordings of spontaneous jams and interviews with Baul musicians and teachers, each episode explores different themes of Baul philosophy - from awareness of the body and the breath, to the tangled roots of Bengal’s devotional traditions: Vaishnava Kirtan, Sufi Qawwali, and even traces of Vajrayana Buddhism. Listeners will be taken on an immersive journey through the remote villages of Bengal, experiencing aurally the chaotic streets, the heated debates, and the intoxicated mad music. Banyan Roots is produced by Gene Nemirovsky and distributed by Amplisounds Radio.
Episodes
This first episode explores Deho Twatto “theory of the body” in the Baul context, where the body itself is the starting point for spiritual understanding.
Songs:
Baul Howa Sohoj Kotha Noy Composer: Kangal Horinath Singer: Babu Fakir
Khachar Bhitor Ochin Pakhi Composer: Lalon Fakir Singer: Selina Fakirini
Chirodin Pushilam Ek Ochin Pakhi Composer: Lalon Fakir Singer: Nurbaba
Searching for the Man of the Heart explores how Baul songs use the metaphor of the house to describe the human body, which, for the Baul, is the starting place for realization. In this episode, listeners hear lyrics with cryptic images that point toward what the Baul call the praner manus “the man of the heart”–a personification of one’s inner truth.
Songs:
Dhonno Dhonno ...
The Baul songs in this third episode challenge divisive religious identities and beg for a society where all humans treat each other well. It will share some background on the painful history of the partition of India as well as dive deeper into the life story of Lalon Fakir, the legendary Baul saint from the late 18th century.
Sob Loke Koy Lalon Ki Jat
Composer: Lalon Fakir
Singer: Babu Fakir
Emon Manob Somaj
Composer: Lal...
“Rejecting Caste – All are Brothers of my Heart" is a further exploration of manus twatto - the theory of humanity, this time focused on jat, or caste. Some Fakiri singers will discuss what caste felt like to them and what the great poet-saint Lalon Fakir had to say about caste.
****
Songs:
- “Jat Gelo Jat Gelo Bole”
- Composer: Lalon Faki...
In the Garden of Krishna’s Love is the first episode to explore bhakti - devotion, and specifically songs showing devotion to Hindu Gods and Goddesses. We will hear from Baul masters on the importance of devotion in one’s spiritual progress as well as learn the historical significance of the Bhakti movement in India.
**********
Songs:
Bhakti Bina Se Dhon Mele Na
- Composer: So...
Kwajababa and the Bengali Sufi Tradition is the second episode to explore bhakti - devotion, this time with a focus on Islamic symbolism. Some songs will be extolling the 12th century Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, also known as Khwajababa.
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Songs:
1. Pakhi Tui Pakha Mele Composer: Latif Sarkar Singer: Robi Das Baul
2. Shab e Hijr Voh Dam ba Dam Yaad Aaye Composer: Nawab Muazzam Jaah Shaji Singer: ...
Light of the Guru is the third episode from the Banyan Roots series to explore bhakti - devotion, this time with a focus on the teacher. We will hear discussions from three master singers on the importance of following a guru or teacher in the Baul or Fakiri tradition.
Songs:
Guru Amare ki Rakhben Kore Choron Dasi Composer: Lalon Fakir Singer: Babu Fakir
Bhobo Node Amar Keho Nai Composer: Gopal Fakir Singer: Nur Baba
In the Sunset of Our Lives, the final episode of this podcast series, will illuminate the importance of non-attachment in the Baul/Fakir path, and share some ancient Buddhist roots of the meditations hinted at in these cryptic songs.
Songs:
Pakhi Kokhon Jani Ure Jay Composer: Lalon Fakir Singer: Nurbaba
Ekdin Matir Bhitore Hobe Ghor Composer: Manir Sarkar Singer: Ochin Pakhi
Dekhite Dekhite Bela Composer: Manir Sarkar Singer...
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