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Purna Das Baul AcademyWelcome to the home page of the Purna Das Baul Academy, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the legacy of Purna Das Baul and the Bauls of Bengal. Through performance, teaching, research, and education—as well as service-oriented activities—the Academy seeks to enhance awareness of, and invite participation in, this rich tradition of music, poetry, philosophy, and spirituality. Please enjoy exploring this site, and feel free to contact us for further information. Purna Das Baul The direct descendant of Ananta Goswami, a well known Baul guru in the late nineteenth century, Purna Das Baul represents the eighth generation of a traditional Baul lineage. He spent his childhood accompanying his father Nabani Das Kapha Baul, the legendary Baul singer, mystic poet, and yogi, who was a close friend of the Nobel Prize winning poet Rabindranath Tagore. Purna Das Baul is responsible for raising awareness of this unique Baul tradition in the rest of the Indian subcontinent and the West. He was recognized as Baul Samrat ("King of the Bauls") by the then president of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad, in 1967. He received another President's Award for his work in 1999 from Shri K. R. Narayan. In India, Purna Das has brought Baul music to the attention of a wide public through concerts, performances at religious festivals, and numerous recordings. He first came to the U.S. in the late 60s, invited by Albert Grossman, manager of Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary. He was befriended by Dylan and poet Alan Ginsberg, with whom he resonated as "Western Bauls." In 1968, Purna Das appeared with Dylan accounting system on the cover of the latter's album, John Wesley Harding. In addition to working with Dylan and The Band, Purna Das shared the stage with artists such as Ravi Shankar, Mahalia Jackson, Joan Baez, and Gordon Lightfoot. Purna Das performing at In addition to numerous recordings in India sony vaio vgn-cr21sr , Purna Das Baul has released a number of recordings in Europe and North America on labels such as Electra, Nonesuch, CramWorld, and Womad. Purna Das Baul's CD "The Bauls of Bengal" (CramWorld, 1994) was included in the Rough Guide's World Music: 100 Essential CDs. Purna Das Baul is known for a singing voice of remarkable range, operatic power, and hauntingly evocative spirituality. His soulful, ecstatic song and dance typically brings audiences to their feet with enthusiasm. In India, his concerts draw crowds of many thousands. In India, Purna Das Baul and his family have actively supported the Baul community by setting up an ashram in Shantiniketan best game/a>, a traditional center of Baul culture, that houses Bauls who are involved in various community projects such as helping AIDS patients and educating the nearby communities about AIDS through their songs. He also works with various children's organizations by performing at their centers and hospitals. He has recently started regular visits to the local prisons to perform for the inmates. In all of these sessions he uses his songs and music to inspire his audience to solve their problems in spiritually creative ways. In these endeavors, he is always accompanied by his wife Manju Das, and son, Dibyendu Das. |
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