Baul-Fakir Gostho Lila: Conversations between Ma Joshoda and the Cowherds

It could be just happenstance, but I detect a reawakening of interest in traditional folk culture in the Indian subcontinent. There's the Jodhpur RIFF festival, the work of organisations such as Banglanatak.com in West Bengal, and the new Blue Lotus Festival in Pushka. And here's a new record label, Sadhu Guru Boishnob Recordings, devoted to the Baul and Fakir music of West Bengal and Bangladesh. Their first release features lithe sinewy pieces with voice, plucked dotara and ektara lutes, duggi drum and percussion. The rather cumbersome title refers to songs about Krishna, his stepmother Ma Joshoda and the cowherds, a common subject of stories of Krishna's childhood. Bengali Baul music is one of the musical glories of the subcontinent and Rangan Momen, who has set up SGB Recordings, has selected rare songs that aren't amongst the common repertoire. The album features singers from three generations recorded in a natural acoustic in Bangladesh. There's Fakir Gonjer Shah (b1934) and Amina Parvin (b1955) from Bangladesh and Nur Alam Khan (b1975) from India – although both sides of the border share the same culture.

There are certainly more spectacular performances of Baul-Fakir music, with more elaborate instrumentation and stage flair, but these performances are the sort sung for local audiences with a natural intimacy. The CD is beautifully packaged with good photos and there's a website for further explorations. But for a non-Bengali-speaking audience it would be really useful to have song translations or summaries.