Baulsphere;
By Mimlu Sen; Random House
Pages: 287; Price: Rs 395
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Indian history is going through a very gentle shift. What could be trapped into pages of the socio-political writing today leaps out through delightful personal histories. This is not only hugely readable but also adds to the archival value.
Baulsphere is one such book. To the baul (the free spirited wandering minstrel) the “wisdom is in the art” writes Mimlu Sen whose own story is as extraordinary as the woman herself. It is as if she is a born baulani even before she meets Paban Das baul, at a concert in Paris while living in ménage e trios, with her two children from a French partner, whom she shares with another woman. She decides to follow the singer back to Calcutta and soon after, leaves on the baul trail. Traversing various districts, she grows closer to him and become his life partner or khepi. We get glimpses of Kenduli where the biggest baul fair is held to Shantiniketan in Birbhum district. She pens “In Birbhum, you will find worshippers of Shiva and worshippers of Shakti. Here you will find an amazing mixture of cultures and languages: fakirs, dervishes and Bauls, Hindus and Muslims, Vaishanvas and tantrics, and among the forest people, the Santhals, and the Mundas; both Christians and animists. Birbhum belongs to everyone.”
It also included Rabindranath Tagore who founded Shantiniketan here and popularized baul music and sheltered many of them; Nabin Khepa being one such. In fact, the above para very much sums up the baul history and the influences of their songs therein. If there is public awe towards the bauls, often seen to busk on trains, how many of us really know their side of the story of poverty and hopelessness; their migration to the slum quarters of the small industrial towns of the state. In fact, there is, very little of the romantic pastoral life in Baulsphere. But yes, we get to the heart of the baulspace through their akhras, ashrams and rituals in which there is feminine liberty, no oppressive religion and much sharing, not just of the chillum.
Bauls have been well documented in films, photographs and books but Baulsphere offers a peek into a more private space of a baul like Paban Das who is rated one of the finest of our times. In his patchwork jabba he is almost a cult figure having collaborated on a number of projects in the West.
The god is in the little details in the book. We come to know and learn a great deal about the baul worldview, the accompanying instruments like khamak, dubki, ekatara, dotara and their simple yet exquisite craftsmanship. For instance, the atchla or shoulder cloth bag, beautifully stitched, has five opening, each representing the four elements and the cosmos.
In these changing times, the book bequeaths the modern generation a space for a continuous dialogue with its past heritages and in helping to know about the fast shrinking space of our art forms.
Book Reviews 
Baulsphere;
It also included Rabindranath Tagore who founded Shantiniketan here and popularized baul music and sheltered many of them; Nabin Khepa being one such. In fact, the above para very much sums up the baul history and the influences of their songs therein. If there is public awe towards the bauls, often seen to busk on trains, how many of us really know their side of the story of poverty and hopelessness; their migration to the slum quarters of the small industrial towns of the state. In fact, there is, very little of the romantic pastoral life in Baulsphere. But yes, we get to the heart of the baulspace through their akhras, ashrams and rituals in which there is feminine liberty, no oppressive religion and much sharing, not just of the chillum. 
