Debojyoti Mishra initiates fundraiser for Baul community

As we are facing a global

pandemic

, Indian tourism has been hit drastically. One of the tourist sectors affected is Shantiniketan in West Bengal which is home to the

Baul

community or culture. As they lead a certain lifestyle amongst themselves, they are stranded without daily food for survival and are unable to reach out for help.

The Bauls are a group of mystic minstrels of mixed elements of Sufism and

Vaishnavism

from Bengal region, comprising Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Barak Valley.

Now noted musical composer Debojyoti Mishra has set up a fundraiser for the Baul Community on the crowdfunding platform Ketto.

Bauls constitute both a syncretic religious sect and a musical tradition. Bauls are a very heterogeneous group, with many sects, but their membership mainly consists of Vaishnava Hindus and Sufi Muslims. They can often be identified by their distinctive clothes and musical instruments.

Lalon Shah

is regarded as the most celebrated Baul saint in history. Although Bauls comprise only a small fraction of the Bengali population, their influence on the culture of Bengal is considerable. In 2005, the Baul tradition of Bangladesh was included in the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

The money collected through this fundraiser will be used to help the Baul community with basic food for for the coming three months. The monthly kit includes 30 kg rice, 1 kg dal, 1-litre oil, 8 kg potato, salt and turmeric and Rs 2,000 as monetary help.