Shafi Mondol

Baul folk music from Bangladesh “Calming the inner being, Shafi Mondol sings gorgeous praise songs to spiritual love. It's a rare privilege to hear music like this.” - The Scotsman, EdinburghThe Bauls of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal wander from village to village performing a unique devotional music that UNESCO has included in its register of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Members of a religious community influenced by both Hindu and Sufi mysticism, they sing songs that represent spiritual love with very earthly metaphors, all accompanied by the one-stringed ektara and four-stringed dotara, along with dhol drum and other hand percussion. Shafi Mondol is one of their leading practitioners, performers, and teachers. He ­received his training from Shadhon Mukherjee, and he specializes in the music of Lalon Phakir, a 19th-century Bengali Sufi saint and song-maker. Mondol tours ­internationally and runs the Bhabnagor Shongeet Ashram (school), where many of his disciples are among the foremost singers of Bangladesh. His ­contribution has been pivotal in the continuation of the Baul tradition.