Baul music is a heart-to-heart conversation that talks of finding joy and happiness, living a free and unshackled life.
Everyone aspires for this simple truth, and when they see the abandon and joy of the performer on stage, they are moved deeply. In Baul, music, dance and poetry - everything is a tool to transform, to bring transformation inside. It is a spiritual path, an ancient yogic tradition.
(Parvathy Baul)
Schedule & Tickets:
Performances & Workshops
About Her Performance
Parvathy Baul’s appearance on the stage dazzles her audience.
Her whirling body, the slow chakra of her open dreadlocks, the jingling whisper of her brass anklets and the complex discourse of her lyrics: her performance induces joy beyond the familiar.
The philosophical depth of Baul songs combined with Parvathy Baul’s infectious energy creates an electric atmosphere.
We refuse to remain the same once Parvathy Baul performs. ‘Sahaja’ or ‘simple’, she calls this rasa (sentiment).
(The Hindu Newspaper / kindlemag.in)
Parvathy Baul is one of the most recognized female Baul performers in the world.
​
Having offered satsang-performances in over 40 countries in some of the most renowned venues around the world such as The Noh Theatre (Kyoto), The World Music Institute (New York City), Musée du Quai Branly (Paris), The National Theatre (Hungary),
Parvathy Baul is carrying forward the legacy and mission of her gurus to build a bridge between the ancient world of the spiritual Masters, and the modern world.
As a sadhika (spiritual practitioner), teacher and lineage holder of the Baul tradition, the depth of Parvathy Baul’s mesmerising performance is rooted in her deep spiritual practice.
Offering their recognition of the tradition, in 2005 UNESCO declared Baul songs as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”.
In Parvathy Maa's words:
A Baul is about celebrating the divine every day: through the body, through music, through life - through every little detail of life. In Baul, the prayer and practice are through song and dance. When you use music and dance, you communicate through the heart. It’s experiential.
​
After a song, the listener or spectator is transported to another level.
​
The Bauls say this can come only when the one who is singing and dancing is transported: then they can take others along with them.
That’s why my Guru used to say: "sing something you love." First, I must love, for others to receive.
My solo performances are steeped in tradition. They are not meant for entertainment, but are a transformational tool - bringing an awareness towards the self in a very meditative way.
​
What people are truly moved by is the vibration of the sounds. The words may be in different languages, but the music is the same.
Baul music is a heart-to-heart conversation that talks of finding joy and happiness, living a free and unshackled life. Everyone aspires for this simple truth, and when they see the abandon and joy of the performer on stage, they are moved deeply.
More about Parvathy Baul
Parvathy Baul is the lineage-holder of two the most respected Baul Gurus of the previous generation, Sri Sanatan Das Thakur Baul and Sri Shashanko Goshai.
​
As per her Guru Sanatan Das Baul’s vision, she created Sanatan Siddhashram: a centre for practising and preserving the Baul tradition, a place to protect the ancient wisdom and carry it forward into the modern context of the upcoming centuries, and a shelter for Bauls during tough times. It also fosters a weekly yoga, arts & crafts and nature-awareness program with children from neigbouring communities, and provides free monthly ayurvedic medical camps for villagers.
​
The center is now developing into a spiritual university, Sanatan Siddhashram Adhyatmika Viswa Vidya Satra. Parvathy Maa thereby aspires to create a robust practise space for diverse ancient Indian knowledge systems such as Yoga, Tantra, Ayurveda and ritual performing arts from different Indic traditions.
She founded the non-profit organisation Ekathara Kalari and India’s first international women's performing arts festival, Tantidhatri.
As part of her initiative “Madhukori Baul Yatra” to create awareness for Baul spiritual wisdom, she has been giving performances, talks, and workshops in over 40 countries for over twenty years.
​
As a sadhika (practitioner) who has renounced worldly life, Parvathy Baul devotes all the proceeds from her activities to building and maintaining the centre and its projects.
​
Recognising her contribution to the Baul tradition, in 2019 the Government of India conferred upon her the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, which is the highest award for performing artists.
​
Parvathy Baul has written and composed numerous songs, has released 5 studio albums and wrote / edited two books about Baul. Her songs, artworks and video documents can be found in the Tropenmuseum (Amsterdam), MEG Ethnography Museum (Geneva), The British Museum (London).
Composition & Poetry by Parvathy Baul
Workshops:
Learning with Parvathy Baul
Background
“ Baul is about using the medium of art to experience inner transformation.
Basically, we are working with the body and voice, and how that can connect you to your soul, how it can become a prayer. Baul is not to become a singer: in Baul, singing is a tool for spiritual realisation. Baul gaan (songs) are synonymous with gyan (wisdom). They are wisdom wrapped in melody.
When a Baul is singing or dancing, more than a performance, it is generating energy. The more you sing and dance, the more energy comes inside. So it's a complete flow of shakti (energy) in the body.
Through our music we try to touch that state where there is no effort required (sahaj). It looks like a lot of effort, a lot of movement, a lot of music, the voice going high and going down. But the inside is very still, there is no movement.
Through music, we are actually in a meditation. Call it a dynamic meditation. Or you can say meditation in motion.
Baul is about going beyond music, dance and poetry, through all movement to achieve an inner stillness.
And singing a Baul song is like lighting a fire. On a cold night, we sit around it and receive its warmth and light; we receive the wisdom of the Baul song.
If we understand the language, we can immerse with the language, with the mind. But if we don’t, then we immerse with our soul, with our body, to the sound.”
(Parvathy Baul)
What happens in the workshop
Parvathy Maa will teach a Baul song and speak about its deeper yogic meaning.
With Parvathy Maa’s guidance, you will practise body movements that correlate with the song, so that you get a first-hand experience of the Baul tradition in and through our your own body.
​
There will also be space for Parvathy Maa to answer questions.
The nearness (sannidhyam) to sincere spiritual practitioners enriches us with purification of heart, attraction to the divine, enthusiasm, joy and courage to approach life’s challenges.
​
As the workshop and retreat are intimate gatherings with only few participants, it is a rare opportunity for those who desire more immersion into experiencing the Baul tradition, teachings, and association with Parvathy Baul in an approachable or more so - sweet and loving relationship.