Mar 25, 2021

Jhumur-kotha (ঝুমুরকথা) 2021- Few dialogues on Jhumur songs of Purulia in present day

Jhumur, one of the ancient traditions and oldest folk art forms predominant mostly in Purulia district (West Bengal) and the...more

Oct 05, 2019

Process of making a Dhak, majorly manual and imaginative

The word “Dhak” comes from the Austric word “Dhaka” included in the Sanskrit language. The word later became a...more

Aug 04, 2019

River, Boat, Boatmen and their Songs – A Spiritual Coexistence

Bengal, if demarcated by the language, comprising of West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh, has an enduring myth, that it is...more

Oct 15, 2018

Gokul Chandra Das: Playing Dhak beyond Puja and religious rituals

Dhak, Bengal’s very own traditional percussion instrument, is commonly considered to be an integral part of the Puja, making occasional appearances during the religious festivities and then kept aside only to get covered in dust. Over the years...more

Aug 15, 2018

Sufism or Fakiri – A bridge between society and freedom

In a world so scarred with a burgeoning culture of religious intolerance and fanaticism, Sufism breathes in an air of love, tolerance...more

Apr 12, 2018

Poro Bolan: A ritual on death and life to blur the existing power structure

According to Gurusaday Dutta Bolan is a ballad dance. His opinions- “The word Bolan means recitation and the dance...more

Mar 30, 2018

The Bhutias of the Darjeeling Hills: The narratives around the practices of saving religion

Buddhism was introduced in Tibet in the middle of the seventh century A.D. The religion at that stage was based upon...more

Feb 22, 2018

A new history since migration of a small ethnic tribe, Birjia

The tribal society is not static but changes with time as everything on earth goes through some changes...more

Jan 03, 2018

Oraons, the traditional agriculturists, can produce crops even in the stones

The oral history and other historical research suggest that the Oraons are the offspring of the famous Indus Valley civilization. Their story of...more

Nov 18, 2017

Mech: The story of a kingdom in the Dooars

Before the British occupied the Duars during the Anglo-Bhutanese war in 1865, western Duars was covered by...more

Oct 02, 2017

Rabhas, struggling to preserve their identity

A number of groups, who speaks a more or less common dialect or language and share a common mythical history, are grouped under a...more

Sep 18, 2017

MotilalDhaki.Com: Real Durga(s) in the masculine world of Dhak

Born under the supervision and care of renowned Dhaki, Shri Gokul Chandra Das of international fame, the band of female Dhakis of...more

Aug 21, 2017

Tibetans in India…Story of ‘No Return Home’

India and Tibet had an amicable mutual relationship, much before, when Tibet was annexed by China in 1951. The two countries shared...more

Jul 25, 2017

Alkap: A rustic rural folk theater of Bengal

Rural Bengal entered into the popular psyche of Bengali intelligentsia primarily through literature. Often negotiated, modified form of rural folk culture even...more

Jun 28, 2017

The buried past of the highlanders, Sherpas, the conquerors of height

Nearly 600 years ago, the Sherpas started entering the Himalayan region, mostly in the south of the Sagarmatha, through the Nangpa La, a high mountain pass crossing the Himalayas...more

Jun 02, 2017

The son of the soil, the Lepchas: A tale of fabled kingdom

The name ‘Lepcha’ derives from Nepali lāpce or lāpcā, which originally was used to identify the tribe by the outer world as those who...more

May 05, 2017

Tarer Putul: The ballad of animated narrative in Bengal

Debates encircle upon the fact that whether the String Puppets or Tarer Putul as locally known in Bengal were the indigenous folk form of Bengal. It is...more

Apr 14, 2017

Teesta Burir Gan & Sirua Bishua: Rajbangshi way of welcoming New Year

In spite of the major debates on the origin and ethnic identity of the Rajbangshis, most of the scholars and historians agree that Rajbangshis...more

Mar 25, 2017

Adivasi Adi Bimb Festival: Grand showcase of Tribal Arts

The Adivasi Adi Bimb Festival celebrates tribal art form and practices including music, dance and theatre, organized by the National School of Drama, New Delhi. The roots...more

Mar 07, 2017

Limbu: The distressed king fights back

The history of a fringe tribe called the Limbu is no less than the stories of conquests that we hear of great dynasties. It is really difficult to to believe when...more

Jan 26, 2017

Amailey Hoi Amailey…The hail for motherhood echoing from the soul of Tamangs

There is no smooth road to the future. But they did go round, or scrambled over the obstacles. As they knew, they got to live, no matter how…more

Dec 05, 2016

Lahankari: The love saga of the Rajbanshi land toilers

The Rajbanshis were the indigenous people of the greater part of North Bengal in the districts such as Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, plain areas of Darjeeling and Dinajpur. more

Oct 09, 2016

Hara Gupta and his Leto Gaan, a performing art of lower class

Leto Gaan has been a significant aspect of the folk culture in the Burdwan-Birbhum region of West Bengal. It can be described as performing art form, which combines elements of drama...more

Apr 11, 2016

Kirtan: Past, present and future

Suman Bhattacharya describes in minute detail the various classification of Kirtans and how they’re done. Part of the devotional services to Lord more

Mar 15, 2016

Swapan Basu: Stage to folk music through hills of Northeast

Talking about his preference for folk music from the northeastern region of India, Swapan Basu feels that this region has always been neglected more

Feb 28, 2016

Niranjan Haldar, playing Sarinda with heart, soul and a bow…

According to Niranjan Haldar, a Sarinda is one of the original bowing instruments along probably with Dotara, which is indigenous to folk music of Bengal.more

Feb 14, 2016

Kavigan, Tarja…a journey from past to present

According to Rabindranath Sarkar, Kavigan is the prized heritage of the undivided Bengal. It originated and branched out along the banks of the river Padma.more

Jan 28, 2016

Spiritual sound of Shree Khol @ Hare Krishna Halder

Hare Krishna Halder considers Shree Khol to be an instrument at the height of perfection in terms of the tonality of sound it produces. more

Jan 09, 2016

Kalipada Das awaiting room for improvisations@ Banglar Dhol

Kalipada Das talks about his experience of playing ‘Banglar Dhol’ and the nuances of different folk forms associated with it.more

Dec 25, 2015

No next generation in Bohurupee folk form!!

Bohurupee has been one of the richest and most dynamic and exciting folk forms of Bengal. more

Nov 30, 2015

Bhadu performances @ local myths of a princess died young

The Bhadu performers from Labpur perform and talk about their form, which is largely derived from folk myth of the region, Rahr Bengal. more

Sep 03, 2015

Human puppetry, a new form in folk theatre

Right from the inception in 1999, Birbhum Sanskriti Bahini hailing from Labpur had been invested in search of a form that will acknowledge the rich heritage of various folk traditions and forms of the Rurh region of Bengal.more

Aug 04, 2015

Ansad Fakir shows the gateway to immortality

Ansad Fakir elucidates upon his simple yet poignant philosophy about the vices torturing his body and the trinity of wisdommore

Jun 19, 2015

Kirtan, a folk music born out of Indian classical music

Talking about Kirtan, Suman Bhattacharya disagrees about it being a folk music form only. He strongly emphasizes on its origins rooted in the offmore

May 25, 2015

Mame Khan dips into Manganiyar & Langha @ different regions

As opposed to the common misconception of a homogeneous Rajsthani folk music, it is a land of various musical styles. Mame Khan reveals more

Apr 30, 2015

Subhadra, her words and her song…

Subhadra gets emotional talking about her life and faith. She believes in youth, as the time to lay the foundations for one’s life’s work as well as understanding the self.more

Apr 17, 2015

Sufia believes her music to uplift the spirit, encounter God

In her candid and down to earth manner, Sufia explains her affinity towards folk music or the music of spirit, of Dehatatwa.more

Apr 07, 2015

Dipannita Acharya:Rooted in Chittagong survived on Rajasthan

As a folk music artiste, Dipannita Acharya holds a unique position of performing music of various parts of India in various languages and style.more

Mar 18, 2015

Abhijit Basu justifies his urban take on folk music

Abhijit Basu sees himself essentially as a folk music artiste. However, he is aware of the discrepancy that he is practicing a form of music more

Mar 07, 2015

Rongili notifies the distinct music style of Hemanga Biswas

According to Rongili Biswas, her father’s rendition and understanding of folk music retained the colors of their native land of Sylhet. more

Dec 26, 2014

Shree Khol can only be made of earth (soil), nothing else!

Talking about the folk music instrument Shree Khol, Hare Krishna Halder traces back its origin and lineage including the mythological, historical as well as musical aspects. more

Nov 26, 2014

Mame Khan sings Maand from different regions of Rajasthan

According to Mame Khan, Maand is not just a form of folk music but something way beyond that. It can be considered to be the spirit and essencemore

Nov 01, 2014

Ashish Giri speaks on the music of Rahr Bengal

Eminent folk music practitioner and researcher Ashish Giri primarily focuses on folk music festivals while addressing a conference in Sangeet Mela at the Bangla Academy. more

Oct 06, 2014

The ‘Fakiri’ fair of Alam Shah and Liyakat Ali

Fakirdanga is a non-descript village in the middle of nowhere in Birbhum district of West Bengal. more

Sep 27, 2014

Beats of Dhak; Pujar Bajna; Durga Puja

The week that follows the Mahalaya is called Debi-pokhsha.more

Sep 23, 2014

Beats of Dhak; Agomoni; Durga Puja

Durga Puja does not assume the festive aura without the maddening beats of the Dhakmore

Aug 26, 2014

Bedana is a song teller

In her own reckoning, Bedana fakirani is a teller of songs and not a singer.more

Aug 15, 2014

Secret of Dhak playing is hidden in its construction

A Dhak is a familiar instrument in folk music festivals and religious celebrations in Bengal. more

Jul 30, 2014

Lalon’s songs offer succour to Kalyani

Our rustic endeavours to find timeless tunes take us to many far-flung places.more

Jul 19, 2014

Rural innocence drove Swapan Basu towards folk music

Folk music artist Swapan Basu admits that it was his mother who inspired him to make a career in music.more

Jul 14, 2014

Agradweep:Humane confluence of Gopinath, Sahebdhwani & Kubir

The fair and annual festival of Agradweepmore

Jul 05, 2014

A constant struggle to sustain oneself as a folk singer

Subhadra Sharma is the leading light of Bengali folk songs. She has lent her voice to Gautam Ghose’s biopic on Lalon Fakir titled Moner Manushmore

Jul 04, 2014

Gajon Festival- a connect to humanity primitive and kinetic?

The Gajon festival is a celebration of Lord Shiva’s wedding with Parvati, also known as Neelavati, which is celebrated all over Bengal more