Ripped from the roots...

Folk artistes performing at Jatra

The practice of an art keeps it alive. The artistes who practice it are equally important as the art itself. Certain art forms that are unique to our culture make us what we are, different from other communities of the world. They make us Bangalees. Baul music is such an art that is very unique to our culture. It's a form of folk music that talks about spirituality, love and God and they come straight from the hearts of the village dwellers of our country. The musicians who follow this philosophy are called Bauls. These artistes have indefatigably contributed to the enrichment of our Bangalee culture over the centuries.

Public performance is the only way of making a living for these artistes but due to recent political and social unrest, these artistes are reluctant to perform in public. Hence thousands of family members of these artistes are caught in the mire of poverty.

Over recent years, band musicians in Bangladesh, such as Bangla, have earned enormous support from the fans of Bangla rock-folk fusion for promoting our folk music. Two of the band members, Buno and Anushey, own the home decoration and handicrafts store, Jatra located at Banani, Dhaka. As a part of their efforts to promote Bangla folk musicians and uphold the Baul culture, Jatra hosts folk musicians performing live indoors, everyday between 4:30pm and 7:30pm.