An unplugged folk treat

(Top left) Mamta Dasi playing Thamak and Mojibur Rahman plays on Sarinda, (bottom) Flute presentation by Shahidul Islam and his troupe, (right) Pagla Bablu rendering a song

This colourful evening, jointly organised with the US Embassy, featured an exhibition of the rare and almost extinct folk musical instruments, a discussion session and a splendid performance of the folk tunes. Jonthan Cebra, Director of the American Centre, Guido Genrich, Consul and Cultural Attaché of German Embassy, Baul exponent Sheikh Shahid and dhol player Nazrul Islam spoke at the occasion. Ferdoushi Nazma, President of PBSUS presided.

"By preserving Baul heritage and presenting it to the school children, PBSUS is helping to preserve the vibrancy of the rural culture of this country. And we are fortunate enough to be associated with the revival of this tradition," said Jonthan Cebra.

In his speech Guido Genrich asserted, "I firmly believe that eventually the Bangladeshi people and decision makers will have to actively take up the challenge of preserving their culture and heritage in modern times. This will help them realise how precious and unique their music is."

"Enriched with the spiritualism and mysticism, the songs of the Bauls and Boyatis are the life line of the country's cultural heritage. And some traditional instruments bring these songs to life. But consequent to the aggression of modern electronic instruments, the charm of these acoustic instruments is fading away. So it is high time to revive this heritage," said Ferdoushi Nazma.

What could be a better beginning to the concert than the tune of the song Shadher lau banailo morey bairagi? This instrumental composition featured a medley of instrument players from dhol to thamak, sarinda to behala, bansi to premjora or krishna kathi and others. The orchestration of these low profile players was so mind boggling that many in the audience were literally on their toes.

The individual performances of the flute troupe led by Shahidul Islam, dotara troupe led by Abinash Chandra Sheel (Son of legendary Kanailal Sheel), behala troupe led by Giasuddin Piya, sarinda by Mojibur Rahman and thamak by Mamta Dasi to the tunes of very popular folk songs like Agey janley tor bhanga noukai chartam na, Milon hobey koto diney, Kandey Hason rajar mon, Doyal baba kebla kaba, Amar lauer pichhey lagsey bairagi were the splendid performances of the evening. Apart from that the rendition of Baul songs of famous mystics Lalon Shah, Shah Abdul Karim, Kanailal Sheel and others by Baul Nayan, Pagla Bablu, Babul Sarkar, Abdul Latif, Ranjeet Das, Mamta Dasi and others also deserve a mention.

The musical event attracted a large audience. Clearly the time is ripe for the preservation of this soulful music.