The Mirror of the Sky

The Mirror of the Sky PDF Author:
Publisher: UNESCO Collection of Represent
ISBN:
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
Throughout their 600-year history the Bauls of Bengal, India have kept no official scriptures. Their esoteric spiritual teachings on the use of breath, sex and devotion are encoded in the words of their songs/poems. This is a translation of 204 songs, including an extensive introduction to the history and faith of the Bauls, and the composition of their music. Includes a CD of authentic Baul artists, recorded over the last forty years -- an exquisite presentation of a rarely documented genre.

The Mirror of the Sky

The Mirror of the Sky PDF Author:
Publisher: UNESCO Collection of Represent
ISBN:
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 294

Get Book Here

Book Description
Throughout their 600-year history the Bauls of Bengal, India have kept no official scriptures. Their esoteric spiritual teachings on the use of breath, sex and devotion are encoded in the words of their songs/poems. This is a translation of 204 songs, including an extensive introduction to the history and faith of the Bauls, and the composition of their music. Includes a CD of authentic Baul artists, recorded over the last forty years -- an exquisite presentation of a rarely documented genre.

The Music of the Bauls of Bengal

The Music of the Bauls of Bengal PDF Author: Charles Capwell
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description


Folklore, Religion and the Songs of a Bengali Madman

Folklore, Religion and the Songs of a Bengali Madman PDF Author: Carola Lorea
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004324712
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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Book Description
This book explores historical and cultural aspects of modern and contemporary Bengal through the performance-centred study of a particular repertoire: the songs of the saint-composer Bhaba Pagla (1902-1984), who is particularly revered among Baul and Fakir singers. The author shows how songs, if examined as 'sacred scriptures', represent multi-dimensional texts for the study of South Asian religions. Revealing how previous studies about Bauls mirror the history of folkloristics in Bengal, this book presents sacred songs as a precious symbolic capital for a marginalized community of dislocated and unorthodox Hindus, who consider the practice of singing in itself an integral part of the path towards self-realization.

Contradictory Lives

Contradictory Lives PDF Author: Lisa I. Knight
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199396841
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
In this multi-sited ethnographic study, Knight explores the everyday lives of women of the Baul tradition of musical mystics in India and Bangladesh. She demonstrates that Baul women construct a meaningful life as they navigate between conflicting expectations of Bauls to be carefree and of women to be modest.

Baulsphere

Baulsphere PDF Author: Mimlu Sen
Publisher: Random House India
ISBN: 818400270X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
Freewheeling Mimlu Sen lives in Paris, where one day she witnesses an electrifying performance by three Bauls, mystic minstrels from Bengal, who spin like pillars of dust. Their music inspires her to return to Calcutta, and to go on an extraordinary journey with one of them, Paban Das Baul, from her respectable home in the city to his humble village, and further on, into the verdant Bengali countryside that is their common heritage. Paban takes Mimlu through the itinerant Baul’s route—from the festival at Kenduli with its marathon performances, to tranquil Shantiniketan, where Bauls frequently stop en route and disrupt quotidian life; Agrodwip, deep in the Vaishnava world, to Nabasana, where mesmerizing guru Hari Goshain presides over Baul games and ultimately, her initiation; and to Boral, where she holds her own big Baul festival, a mahatsava. Along the way, she encounters tantrics and tribals, exorcisms and witch sightings, catfish that climb trees and esoteric sexo-yogic secrets—and she falls in love. Baulsphere takes you into the heart of rural Bengal, and into the fascinating world of the Bauls. Passionate, enthralling and searingly lyrical, it is a stunning book.

Nine Lives

Nine Lives PDF Author: William Dalrymple
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408801248
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
A Buddhist monk takes up arms to resist the Chinese invasion of Tibet - then spends the rest of his life trying to atone for the violence by hand printing the best prayer flags in India. A Jain nun tests her powers of detachment as she watches her best friend ritually starve herself to death. Nine people, nine lives; each one taking a different religious path, each one an unforgettable story. William Dalrymple delves deep into the heart of a nation torn between the relentless onslaught of modernity and the ancient traditions that endure to this day. LONGLISTED FOR THE BBC SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE

Women, Religion and the Body in South Asia

Women, Religion and the Body in South Asia PDF Author: Kristin Hanssen
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 135135759X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 269

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Book Description
Noted for their haunting melodies and enigmatic lyrics, Bauls have been portrayed as spiritually enlightened troubadours traveling around the countryside in West Bengal in India and in Bangladesh. As emblems of Bengali culture, Bauls have long been a subject of scholarly debates which center on their esoteric practices, and middle class imaginaries of the category Baul. Adding to this literature, the intimate ethnography presented in this book recounts the life stories of members from a single family, shining light on their past and present tribulations bound up with being poor and of a lowly caste. It shows that taking up the Baul path is a means of softening the stigma of their lower caste identity in that religious practice, where women play a key role, renders the body pure. The path is also a source of monetary income in that begging is considered part of their vocation. For women, the Baul path has the added implication of lessening constraints of gender. While the book describes a family of singers, it also portrays the wider society in which they live, showing how their lives connect and interlace with other villagers, a theme not previously explored in literature on Bauls. A novel approach to the study of women, the body and religion, this book will be of interest to undergraduates and graduates in the field of the anthropology. In addition, it will appeal to students of everyday religious lives as experienced by the poor, through case studies in South Asia. The book provides further evidence that renunciation in South Asia is not a uniform path, despite claims to the contrary. There is also a special interest in Bauls among those familiar with the Bengali speaking region. While this book speaks to that interest, its wider appeal lies in the light it sheds on religion, the body, life histories, and poverty.

The Honey Gatherers

The Honey Gatherers PDF Author: Mimlu Sen
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1407031325
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Mimlu Sen is living a bohemian life in Paris when she witnesses an electrifying performance by three wandering minstrels from rural India. They wear flowing, multicoloured robes and play frenetic rhythms on strange instruments made of wood and clay, capturing the many moods of nature and passion. After her turbulent past, including a year in a Calcutta jail, Mimlu instantly knows it is time to set off on the journey of her life. One of the minstrels, Paban Das Baul, is a gifted young musician with a growing international reputation. Mimlu defies prejudice to travel with him deep into the heart of Bengal, the rural hinterland behind Calcutta where few tourists ever go. In this fascinating and unusual book, she describes how they make their way across country, from shanty town to village, from monastery to festival, perched on the roofs of buses and squeezed inside trains, encountering tantrics and sages, exorcisms and witch sightings, catfish that climb trees and esoteric secrets - and fall in love. With Paban's encouragement, Mimlu too performs for alms - 'gathering honey' in the traditional Baul way - and is initiated into a hidden world of song, sensuality and adventure as wild and unpredictable as the landscape itself.

The Path of the Mystic Lover

The Path of the Mystic Lover PDF Author: Bhaskar Bhattacharyya
Publisher: Inner Traditions / Bear & Co
ISBN: 9780892810192
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
Carrying on the living tradition of mystic minstrels, the Bauls roam the countryside of eastern India enacting the spiritual love dalliance of Radha and Krishna through songs and dances. The Path of the Mystic Lover explores the Bauls' lifestyle and philosophy, describing their sexual and ritual practices as well as their sacred teachings.

Testimony

Testimony PDF Author: Robbie Robertson
Publisher: Crown Archetype
ISBN: 0307889807
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 571

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Book Description
New York Times Bestseller • On the 40th anniversary of The Band’s legendary The Last Waltz concert, Robbie Robertson finally tells his own spellbinding story of the band that changed music history, his extraordinary personal journey, and his creative friendships with some of the greatest artists of the last half-century. Robbie Robertson's singular contributions to popular music have made him one of the most beloved songwriters and guitarists of his time. With songs like "The Weight," "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," and "Up on Cripple Creek," he and his partners in The Band fashioned a music that has endured for decades, influencing countless musicians. In this captivating memoir, written over five years of reflection, Robbie Robertson employs his unique storyteller’s voice to weave together the journey that led him to some of the most pivotal events in music history. He recounts the adventures of his half-Jewish, half-Mohawk upbringing on the Six Nations Indian Reserve and on the gritty streets of Toronto; his odyssey at sixteen to the Mississippi Delta, the fountainhead of American music; the wild early years on the road with rockabilly legend Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks; his unexpected ties to the Cosa Nostra underworld; the gripping trial-by-fire “going electric” with Bob Dylan on his 1966 world tour, and their ensuing celebrated collaborations; the formation of the Band and the forging of their unique sound, culminating with history's most famous farewell concert, brought to life for all time in Martin Scorsese's great movie The Last Waltz. This is the story of a time and place--the moment when rock 'n' roll became life, when legends like Buddy Holly and Bo Diddley criss-crossed the circuit of clubs and roadhouses from Texas to Toronto, when The Beatles, Hendrix, The Stones, and Warhol moved through the same streets and hotel rooms. It's the story of exciting change as the world tumbled through the '60s and early 70’s, and a generation came of age, built on music, love and freedom. Above all, it's the moving story of the profound friendship between five young men who together created a new kind of popular music. Testimony is Robbie Robertson’s story, lyrical and true, as only he could tell it.