Folklore, religion and the songs of a Bengali madman : a journey between performance and the politics of cultural representation / by Carola Erika Lorea.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lorea, Carola Erika, 1987- author.

Series:

Jerusalem studies in religion and culture ; VOLUME 22.

Jerusalem studies in religion and culture, 1570-078x ; VOLUME 22

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bhabāpāglā, 1902-1984.

Bhabāpāglā.

Bauls--Religion.

Bauls.

Bauls--Songs and music.

Religion.

Physical Description:

xvi, 332 pages ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, [2016]

Summary:

This book explores historical and cultural aspects of modern and contemporary Bengal through the performance-centred study of a particular repertoire: the songs of the saint-composer Bhaba Pagla (1902-1984), who is particularly revered among Baul and Fakir singers. The author shows how songs, if examined as 'sacred scriptures', represent multi-dimensional texts for the study of South Asian religions. Revealing how previous studies about Bauls mirror the history of folkloristics in Bengal, this book presents sacred songs as a precious symbolic capital for a marginalized community of dislocated and unorthodox Hindus, who consider the practice of singing in itself an integral part of the path towards self-realization.

Contents:

1 Why Songs, and Why Bhaba Pagla's Songs? 1

2 How to Study Bhaba Pagla's Lyrics? 5

3 Filling the Gaps 8

4 Limits, Obstacles and Strategies to Overcome Them 10

5 Researching Sources 13

6 Structure of the Book 20

1 Context: Bauls, Baul Literature and the Absence of Bhaba Pagla 28

1 Digesting a Critical Debate: Bauls' State of Art 28

2 Representing Bhaba Pagla in Academic and Popular Literature 44

3 Escaping Classifications, Disappointing "The Communists": Perspectives on Bhaba Pagla's Absence from the Literature on Bauls 52

4 Lack of Individuals, Focus on Traditions 71

5 The "Archeology of Knowledge" on Bengali Oral Traditions - A New Perspective for the Development of the Field 77

2 Composition: The Songs of a Migrant Avadhuta 85

1 The Composer: From Bhabendramohan to Bhaba "the Mad" 85

2 The Compositions: A Return Trip from the Voice to the Ink 122

3 Performance: Music for Money, Songs for Salvation 153

1 A Multitude of Performative Contexts 153

2 The Performers: Footprints of Dust in the Limelight 181

3 Enactment of the Performance: Sound, Text and the Sadhana of Singing 199

4 Transmission, Tradition and Technology: Training and Learning in the Bhaba Pagla Community 235

1 Transmission and Its Media 235

2 Technologizing of the Wor(l)d: The Impact of Audio-Video Reproduction Technologies on the Guru-Disciple Line of Transmission 240.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 284-324) and indexes.

ISBN:

9789004324701

9004324704

9789004324718

9004324712

OCLC:

950430793

Publisher Number:

99969104797