Lalan Fakir- The Mystic Poet

Baul folksongs are synonymous with the idea of a Bengali village. The striking truth and the sheer simplicity of their portrayal are awe-inspiring. Lalan Fakir was the most prominent of the Bauls who left a mark on the Bengali psyche which is still evident.

A portrait of Lalan Fakir by Jyotirindranath Tagore; Image source: Wikipedia

A Baul singing with an ektara is a quintessential element of a typical Bengali village. Baul folk songs are an inseparable part of Bengali culture. Be it the villages or the cities, the love for Baul sangeet is astonishing. They are, quite literally, the songs of the soil as they create a special sense of connection to the divine through simple philosophies of life.

Interestingly, the word Baul is a transliteration of the Hindi word baula or bawara which means someone who is crazy. The fact that the Bauls broke away from the then-existing norms of singing and songwriting earned them such a title. In fact, they deliberately chose not to write their songs! They sang as it came to them, spontaneously. One such mystic Baul was Lalan Fakir. His name finds special mention in Baul folk music because of his immense body of work that has survived through generations and is still hummed by Bengalis.

Lalan Fakir was born in 1774 into a Hindu household in the Nadia district of West Bengal. However, a near-death experience brought him to a Muslim family in Jessore, present-day Bangladesh. Actually, he was thrown into a river in Murshidabad when he was mistaken to be dead from a disease. He had drifted unconsciously to the new place. This episode itself sums up the inspiration behind all his songs which was an amalgamation of Islamic Sufism, Hindu Vaishnavism, and the Buddhist Sahaja Path. However, the Buddhist element was the most prominent of them all. He lived for 116 years and died in 1890.

The Bauls follow the idea of Sadhana which is unlike a religion. Lalan as a Baul never followed a religion and was against the religious bigotry prevalent at the time. He took inspiration from all the religions and even mentioned them in their songs. But his greater intention was to seek the divine truth by leading a simple life of a wanderer.

Lalan Fakir did not receive a formal education, yet the wisdom that flows through his ecstatic lyrics takes us by surprise. However, the Bauls used to have discussions in akhras where men and women gathered at night. They were also Guruvadis and thus were initiated into the path of Sadhana by a Guru. Lalan’s contribution to the field of Bengali culture comes at the time of the Indian Renaissance and he is often seen as a social reformer. Much like Kabir, he composed constantly on the idea of uniting the Hindus and the Muslims. Tagore too was influenced by the Bauls and he mentioned them time and again. The concept of “God within man” was something both Tagore and the Bauls believed in.

Lalangeet is a treasure of philosophy. The huge body of work that Lalan left behind requires much more research and recognition. Professor Mohammed Mansooriddin has done a great job collecting the songs of Lalan and conducting profound research on his life. Shri Annada Shankar Ray, an exceptional Bengali writer, also conducted detailed research on the Bauls and Lalan Fakir in particular. However, more research is needed in order to discover the multi-faceted life of Lalan.