Baul music may be an unfamiliar genre for anyone who has never resided in West Bengal or Bangladesh, but this UNESCO World Heritage-listed musical style has influenced the culture of the area. The Bauls are singers who share folklore through music, but what makes these singers unique is their unconventional lifestyle and rich cultural history.

The Wandering Bauls Take Music as Their Religion. Baul music may be an unfamiliar genre for anyone who has never resided in West Bengal or Bangladesh, but this UNESCO World Heritage-listed musical style has influenced the culture of the area. The Bauls are singers who share folklore through music, but what makes these singers unique is their unconventional lifestyle and rich cultural history.

The first mention of bauls in history was found in a text from 15th century A.D. The word ‘baul’ is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘batul’, which means ‘mad’. The origin of this sect of musicians stems from the extreme spiritual attainment they achieved, which supposedly drove them mad. They renounced families and all worldly pleasures and wandered around villages in areas of what is now West Bengal and Bangladesh, singing lore and constantly striving to obtain union with the divine. Through their songs they preached about life and spirituality. In the days of yore, when the nomadic bards used to travel to various villages, the villagers looked after them, gave them food and shelter. In return, the wandering bards enriched the villagers’ lives with baul song and music. The bauls never cared enough to leave documents of their history and origin, but historians have tried to trace their origin by analyzing the lyrics of their songs.

The bauls worship music and do not subscribe to any mainstream religion. Their music is heavily influenced by the mixture of cultures which this part of the world has witnessed. The Hindu 'tantra' practices, the Sufi saints of Persia, and elements of Buddhism have all provided an important role in the development of this sect. The lyrics of baul songs are in Bengali language, the local tongue of the region.