The Honey Gatherers: Travels with the Bauls, the Wandering Minstrels of Rural IndiaMimlu Sen is living a bohemian life in Paris when she witnesses an electrifying performance by three wandering minstrels from rural India. They wear flowing, multicoloured robes and play frenetic rhythms on strange instruments made of wood and clay, capturing the many moods of nature and passion. After her turbulent past, including a year in a Calcutta jail, Mimlu instantly knows it is time to set off on the journey of her life. One of the minstrels, Paban Das Baul, is a gifted young musician with a growing international reputation. Mimlu defies prejudice to travel with him deep into the heart of Bengal, the rural hinterland behind Calcutta where few tourists ever go. In this fascinating and unusual book, she describes how they make their way across country, from shanty town to village, from monastery to festival, perched on the roofs of buses and squeezed inside trains, encountering tantrics and sages, exorcisms and witch sightings, catfish that climb trees and esoteric secrets - and fall in love. With Paban's encouragement, Mimlu too performs for alms - 'gathering honey' in the traditional Baul way - and is initiated into a hidden world of song, sensuality and adventure as wild and unpredictable as the landscape itself. |
Contents
campfires witches and shantytowns | 37 |
festivals stars and a singing heart | 65 |
secret arts of love and initiation | 83 |
Copyright | |
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The Honey Gatherers: Travels with the Bauls, the Wandering Minstrels of ... Mimlu Sen No preview available - 2010 |
Common terms and phrases
Agrodwip akhra ashram Baba bamboo Bangladesh Bankura banyan Bardhaman Baul festivals Baul gurus Baul singers Baul songs began Bengal Birbhum bird body Bolpur Boral Borthakurma brother century chanting clay colours couple courtyard crowd Damodar River dance Deepak Dibakar disciples divine dotara Duniya Durgapur ektara eyes face fakirs father fish forest friends garden Gour Khepa Hare Krishna Hari Goshain head heart India Jagannath Jhautalla joined Jonny Joydeb Jumman Kali Kalighat Katoun Kenduli khamak Kolkata Krishna Lakhon Lallan leave listened lived looked mahotsava mantram meal Mela Mohammedpur morning mother Nabani Nadia night Paban Paban and Swapan Paris play poet Promulya Radha realised returned rice river sadhana sadhus sages sang sari Shantiniketan Shiva sing sitar sleep smiled spirit Subal Tagore tantric Terai told took traditional train tree turned Ulangini Vaishnava veranda village voice walked West Bengal wife women young