<p>Parvathy Baul is the quintessential artiste. Her rather thick, long-flowing hair embodies freedom. Her Baul music too is no less liberating. <br /><br /></p>.<p>That Parvathy is committed to the art of popularising and propagating Baul music is evident in the way she talks about it. “Baul music offers complete happiness. I find freedom and a sense of tranquility when I am singing or performing it,” Parvathy says.<br /><br />Parvathy’s initial days at Shantiniketan is what prompted her to listen and pay attention to Baul form. Like any other girl brought up in a Bengali household, Parvathy began learning music and later kathak. Soon, she found herself getting drawn to painting as well. “I was initiated into Baul music in the late 1990s and since then, I have been practising it seriously,” she says. <br /><br />“I love singing and when you really like something that you’re doing, you forget everything else and completely immerse yourself in it. When I am singing, I forget about the things around me and sometimes my husband has to remind me that there’s a lot of work left undone. That’s how much I am immersed in the music,” she adds.<br /><br />Parvathy had a tough time convincing her parents as to why she wanted to take up Baul music rather seriously. “I was asked a lot of questions and initially, people couldn’t understand why I was drawn to this form. But now, after so many years, my family and friends have realised my commitment and encourage me,” she reasons.<br /> <br />Parvathy has a sizeable number of young people who come to her wanting to learn Baul music. She says that she neither runs a school of music nor teaches music formally. <br /><br />“People come to me and we just sit around and start playing music. My only concern about the young people who come to me to learn, is whether they will continue to learn or leave it half-way,” she wonders. <br /><br />She thinks Baul has evolved and grown into a full-blown form of music since the time she started learning it. “It wasn’t this popular when I started learning it but now a lot of people have begun attending concerts. It has caught the fancy of a large number of young musicians as well,” she notes. <br /></p>
<p>Parvathy Baul is the quintessential artiste. Her rather thick, long-flowing hair embodies freedom. Her Baul music too is no less liberating. <br /><br /></p>.<p>That Parvathy is committed to the art of popularising and propagating Baul music is evident in the way she talks about it. “Baul music offers complete happiness. I find freedom and a sense of tranquility when I am singing or performing it,” Parvathy says.<br /><br />Parvathy’s initial days at Shantiniketan is what prompted her to listen and pay attention to Baul form. Like any other girl brought up in a Bengali household, Parvathy began learning music and later kathak. Soon, she found herself getting drawn to painting as well. “I was initiated into Baul music in the late 1990s and since then, I have been practising it seriously,” she says. <br /><br />“I love singing and when you really like something that you’re doing, you forget everything else and completely immerse yourself in it. When I am singing, I forget about the things around me and sometimes my husband has to remind me that there’s a lot of work left undone. That’s how much I am immersed in the music,” she adds.<br /><br />Parvathy had a tough time convincing her parents as to why she wanted to take up Baul music rather seriously. “I was asked a lot of questions and initially, people couldn’t understand why I was drawn to this form. But now, after so many years, my family and friends have realised my commitment and encourage me,” she reasons.<br /> <br />Parvathy has a sizeable number of young people who come to her wanting to learn Baul music. She says that she neither runs a school of music nor teaches music formally. <br /><br />“People come to me and we just sit around and start playing music. My only concern about the young people who come to me to learn, is whether they will continue to learn or leave it half-way,” she wonders. <br /><br />She thinks Baul has evolved and grown into a full-blown form of music since the time she started learning it. “It wasn’t this popular when I started learning it but now a lot of people have begun attending concerts. It has caught the fancy of a large number of young musicians as well,” she notes. <br /></p>