Banyan Roots

“Rejecting Caste – All are Brothers of my Heart" is a further exploration of manus twatto - the theory of humanity, this time focused on jat, or caste. Some Fakiri singers will discuss what caste felt like to them and what the great poet-saint Lalon Fakir had to say about caste. **** Songs: “Jat Gelo Jat Gelo Bole” Composer: Lalon Fakir Singer: Amirul Fakir “Sorol Dese Jao” Composer: Matal Rajjak Singer: Jamsher Fakir “Nishedh Karo Ogo Brinde” Composer: Ajahar Fakir Singer: Khaibar Fakir Recording courtesy of: Suvankar Dassharma & Sudip Ray (Dubki project) “Achhe Manus Hridoy Pinjiray” Composer: Prafulla Sarkar Singer: Uttara Baidya “Manus Bhojle Sonar Manus Hobi” Composer: Lalon Fakir Singer: Jamsher Fakir Instrumental Backgrounds: 1. Jekhane Shai’r Baramkhana Composer: Lalon Fakir Dotara Player: Amirul Fakir 2. Jat Gelo Jat Gelo Composer: Lalon Fakir Dotara player: Amirul Fakir 3. Snowflake and Inver Bank Band: Baba Yaga’s Stew Composers: Lucia Thomas and Patrick Davey 4. Raag Yaman Alap Violinist: Lucia Thomas Many thanks to Biplab Ghosh, Arnab Sengupta, Rina and Manosij Goswami for help in the field, to Gene Nemirovsky for audio engineering, to Subhajit Sengupta for co-hosting, to the Fulbright-Nehru program and to all the musicians and teachers who recorded for this show. Podcast is recorded, curated and hosted by Lucia Thomas For photos and more info please visit Amplisoundsradio

Searching for the Man of the Heart explores how Baul songs use the metaphor of the house to describe the human body, which, for the Baul, is the starting place for realization. Listeners hear lyrics with cryptic images that point toward what the Baul call the praner manus “the man of the heart”–a personification of one’s inner truth.