How do you feel about the Dhaka Folk Fest 2015, is it worth all the fuss we are making?
Of course, it is. Baul refers to a singer who sings to many and Folk Fest is a great platform to reach more listeners than usual. But, due to time constraints, we could hardly perform even though we had an electrifying and welcoming audience. I must take an opportunity to apologise to them for only singing one song and sincerely hope scopes will be better in the upcoming events.
How do you think we should preserve baul songs as it is a main component of our folk and oral culture/literature?
By recording them and though fusions. In my case, Anusheh-Maa (Anusheh Anadil) pulled me in the recent scenario and convinced/guided me to cater to a newer and younger demographic. I had been singing for 40 years but only could reach every common ear when my Gurukey Gopone Rakhbo and Bhaab was released in 2013. Later, I worked with DJ Rahat in Guru Go and Salma in my recent album Onurager Ghore.
Yes, you are probably the only baul we have who had danced to DJ beats with sunglasses on in front of fancy red Corolla… (Laughter)…I wore a hat, too. You see, I do not mind westernisation by which one refers to the huge range of percussive settings and inclusion of instruments ranging from piano-saxophone to sarangi-sarod. As long as all the tunes fall in proper places and creates lovely grooves, without hindering the meaning and essence, it works. When we began, all we had were ektaras or flutes, but now we have many more and with music becoming more dynamic, I see no “sin” in using them.
Your name accredits to several institutes/bands like Bhaabnagar Sangeet Ashram, Shikor, Bahok, Baul and you happened to have travelled a lot recently. How do you differentiate your experiences in different settings?
Abroad, the audience is overwhelmingly upper-caste but tolerant, while here you never know when one random listener will get offended as many do not approve the way I love and live lalon. Every religious scripture have held humanity really high and lalon’s lyrics sing in the same standard. I believe when everyone would start to understand this, we bauls would have a better setting altogether. Actually, lalon can be a great escape from the recent agitations caused by communalism.