Talk:Baul

I am not sure Bauls should be referred to as Hindus. -ppm

The first song seems to me to be a Rabindra Sangeet. --ppm 23:32, 11 August 2005 (UTC)

Revision.

I would like to rework/rewrite this article entirely.

Reason: With all due respect to previous contributors, it looks like a bit of a haphazard, brief, rough draft lacking sufficient interest or attention from them, failing to capture the basics or the spirit. [NO offence intended to anybody!]

As a Baul enthusiast, I would like to give it a shot. If you don't like it, it can always be reverted back to the previous state, or perfected further by others.

What do you think? Does it need a major overhaul ?

Any objection/support ?

--Monmajhi 02:38, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

Rather than going after the whole article, a better way to start from scratch would be to work on a temp page first. Why don't you start working in Baul/Temp. We can see what type of overhaul you are proposing, and later merge your content from there into this article. Thanks. --Ragib 04:07, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

> Ok. I will try to come up with the initial draft as soon as I can. But it will still take some time anyway.--Monmajhi 08:42, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

>> After a 2nd reading, I've revised my opinion about the existing article, a little bit. It's not bad , simply put, it's too brief if you take out the section on Tagore on Bauls -- and that's the only part that I didn't like.

Other than that, rest of the article is OK and needs expansion/elaboration only.

--Monmajhi 12:12, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

lalon, hindu or muslim?

dear sirs I just would like invite you to check better the religious origin of Lalon Fakir. Actually I know that he was a hindu baul and then became muslim because an islamic family saved and guested him. This was remarkable, he was one of the few gurus with half muslim and half hindu followers. Regards Raimondo — Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.147.15.11 (talk • contribs)

True, but from what I know of him, he was a universalist ... not favoring any particular religion, but rather the whole humanity. His songs have this theme. --Ragib 16:05, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

It is not SO bad....

After all, it is difficult to do justice to the Bauls in a short article.

With syncretism it is good to mention also that many rural movements are syncretist and that people in the area often follow a blend of Sufi and Hindu beliefs.

There are many arguments that follow personal agenda - that they are purely Hindu, that they are not, that they are chiefly Sufi, that Sufis are not really Muslim...there is much controversy really and it is only by speaking with one source that an observer gets the idea there is one opinion!

...But...it is Capwell, not Chapwell. Please do correct the source name.

And I think one of the sources listed(Jean Openshaw) would stress how it is difficult to determine if a song is 'baul' or not. It is not so easy. She writes extensively on this problem in her dissertation on Rejo Khepa. Also it is difficult to identify a 'real baul' by appearance or instruments, as so many town boys 'dress up' for the melas and sing with great gusto in the patchwork coat made by 'Joy Guru Tailors, Bolpur', and because 'baul dress' is used by other groups too. It is even difficult to define exactly what a 'real baul' believes, because there is so much diversity of belief.

I think a good treatment would include that it has always been a fluid and mercurial group, and that there are many different degrees of 'true baul', together with much controversy and debate.

sujon