“Make me forget my lessons
And teach me the song
That unlocks all doors.
I want nothing too precious
But an azure blue sky
And endless fields, no more.”
- An excerpt from Baul by Rabindranath Tagore
Daybreak in Shilanjani Bhattacharyya’s childhood home, which had more books than furniture, was routinely greeted with Tagore’s songs. Rabindra Sangeet, as she calls it. From a tender age, literature and words sneaked through the cracks on her skin and latched themselves to her bones. Not once during our two-hour-long talk does she stutter or take the liberty of a long pause. Verbose and well-articulated, Shilanjani is a delight to listen to.
Intrigued by the abstraction of the arts, the all-rounder pursued a BA in Social Sciences from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Hyderabad. There, she founded Literati, a community for connoisseurs of film and literature. A gold medalist at the institute, Shilanjani then joined a Master’s in Human Resource Management at TISS. Soon, though, she was besieged by a volley of questions about herself, her core values, and her place in society. Grappling with the struggle of self-discovery, she discontinued her course. A choice that seemed to be nothing short of sacrilege to many around her! How could the class topper drop out of college? Shilanjani was undaunted. She worked on projects and travelled across Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka. After a year of regaining her free spirit, she joined a Master’s in Women’s Studies at TISS, Mumbai. It is here that “the blessings of a Baul” visited her.
The blessings of a Baul
The Bauls of Bengal dissent against heteronormative, patriarchal, and orthodox religion through songs and a deviant lifestyle. The aforementioned blessings appeared as a performance at TISS by Sumanta Das Baul. Deeply moved by the Bauls’ insistence on humanity and rejection of patriarchal norms, she centred her master’s thesis on the everyday experiences of spirituality among Baul women. “In their company, being a woman felt like an opportunity, rather than a burden,” she says.
The end of her thesis did not end her association with the Bauls. Sumanta Das Baul and family embraced her as their own. She travelled with them, witnessing their son grow up, staying close to them during COVID-induced poverty. “The malnutrition of the mind and soul troubled me constantly. And here were people who understood and tried to lead a way of life according to a philosophy that was potentially capable of nourishing the mind and soul, but were themselves impoverished materially,” Shilanjani reflects on the paradox of material nourishment alongside spiritual malnutrition.
When the weight of losing her father descended upon her, it was the Baul way of living that crept through her grief and brought relief. “In the company of the Bauls, I am healing,” says Shilanjani. “Any person dear to you constitutes you. Whoever makes an impact in your life becomes a part of you. We are constituted by this universe, and it is within us. I can feel my father within me.” Her unwavering voice as she speaks of her father vouches for her faith.
The Bodo Porojas, their millets and songs
If there was a portal to transport one into the deepest realms of folk music, Shilanjani would have flown off without a second thought. She has a particular proclivity for the myths behind folk songs. Her work with the Ministry of Women and Child Development in Madhya Pradesh exposed her to indigenous agricultural practices. The intersection of farming, folk songs, and myths struck a chord with Shilanjani. And in the captivating rhythm of Odisha’s Bodo Poroja community’s millet songs, she found a bond and the topic of her Ph.D thesis.
Shilanjani says, “One particular tradition of the Bodo Porojas that I focus on in my research is called Mandia Rani. Mandia translates to ‘finger millet’ and rani to ‘queen.’ A myth exists around the worshipping of the millet as a queen, and it is sung throughout the day by the entire village. The song laments the millet varieties that have ceased to exist, the values of the community, and their intimate ties with the crop. Agricultural practices have implications over and beyond alimentary aspects. Interestingly, these songs are being repackaged and remixed to fit into popular culture. This travel of folk music from the local to the global intrigues me greatly.”
Limiting her work to essential research requirements is unthinkable for Shilanjani. As with the Bauls, she lived with the Bodo Porojas for a year. She recounts her experiences in the undulating hills of Koraput district in Southern Odisha, “I have cultivated millets; sown, harvested, threshed, and pounded them. I have climbed mountains and collected firewood. I have done every single thing that is part of living in that region. The nature of my work is ethnographic, and I cannot imagine myself working without an intimate link with the community.”
Making knowledge visible
Shilanjani is on the verge of wrapping up her PhD, and she is already plotting her postdoctoral thesis. “I want to keep working with folk music, not just of the Bauls but also of a group of people called the Huni Kuin, who reside in the Amazon,” she says, and adds laughingly, “And now is a good time to ask, ‘how much more will you study?’ I really don't know.”
It is not every day that we stumble upon someone so fascinated by academics, someone who earnestly lives the myths she unfolds. Her burst of motivation lies in the prospect of making knowledge visible. She seeks preexisting knowledge practices that are not prioritised enough to find a scope in policy making. Through her research, she brings to the fore stakeholders who have been long forgotten.
“The traditional way of cultivating millets is by scattering the seeds. That is a knowledge practice. And there are certain ways to determine its efficiency. The mangoes on the trees decide the correct time, and the footprints where the seeds have fallen spell the precision of the sowing. I strive to unearth the knowledge traditions that lie in these nooks and crevices of society. I imagine my academic engagement to be a medium,” says Shlanjani, making it clear where her passion springs from.
Shilanjani runs back to the Baul ashram every chance she gets. Unsurprisingly, folk songs and Baul music claim much of her future plans. She is enthusiastic about setting up a centre for excellence for folk music, especially Baul music.
“I see a lot of ways in which traditional folk music is taken away from the original practitioners, for whom the music is a way of life. The Bauls deserve to possess agency over their own music and resources to reach a broader audience. I just want to be a facilitator, a catalyst of some kind, and I want to do something that aids them to become the people behind their own initiative,” she lays out her dreams.
Her life is almost inextricably linked with her academic engagements. In her own words, “I do not know any other way to live and find myself. Actually, it becomes more than academics, it becomes something that gives meaning to my existence.” After all, Shilanjani was named by her mother, a biochemistry researcher, after a mountain flower, when she was immersed in her own thesis!
Shilanjani Bhattacharyya is a joint PhD student with the University of Groningen, Netherlands, and Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany. She explores the socio-cultural dynamics of the resurgence of millets in Odisha, India, by focusing on the Bodo Poroja community. Starting from her master’s thesis days, Shilanjani continues to be closely involved with the Bauls of Bengal. You can connect with her here.
