INTRODUCTION Jesus was parting words (were) to go into the entire world (Matthew 28: 19).

That means not only New York and Los Angeles, but also in India and China. God is calling pop culture missionaries, as well as people committed to praying for those working in arts and entertainment. The only requirement is love for Christ and a willingness to be real and honest with unchurched people. Learning from the Master story teller: Engaging the Pop Culture/ God News: A Magazine for United Methodist Renewal. Nasfel. 33(4)/2000/p.35

The Bauls, an institution of immense literary and religious interest, an order of mystic, unlettered folk singers endowed with the spontaneity and spiritual intensity of their content, generally live in isolated villages of Bengal, far from the madding crowd of the modern urban life. Most of them are found to originate from the lower ranks of the Hindu and also the Muslim communities of Bengal. They are composed partly of householders and mainly of mendicants. The Bauls represent a unique spirit of

unconventionalism; in spite of any difference in modes of their Sadhana are included in the Baul sect. The distinctive feature of the religion of the Bauls is represented by the doctrines of a secret cult of sexo-yogic practices. The Bauls who are somehow strange by their manners, customs, habits and practices, refuse to be guided by any canon or convention, social or religious. Freedom of spirit is their watch word. They avoid all the useless paraphernalia of ritualism and ceremony or any pedantry and religious hypocrisy. It is in their character to proceed in a direction opposite to the common run of the ordinary people. Thats why their path is called Ultapath1 (reverse), their process of spiritual advance being against all the important traditional way. It is notice that, their Ultapath with its yogic implications was adopted by the several saints of different sects of medieval India. Among the Nathpanthi cult, Sufi cult and some other minor cults the Sadhakas are known to follow this unique Ultadhara (reverse tradition).

The Baul cult suggests not to worship any particular God, but to know and adore the formless Godhead that very much exists in oneself, and then to be united with him, within the frame of the human body to enjoy the celestial joy and know the ultimate truth. The Philosophical and religious sentiments of the Bauls are expressed in their enchanting songs, sung with a typical dance. The universal truth, for which a pious heart yearns is realised by a Baul with an attitude of non attachment although living in an environment of various attachments in the human society. But in this project, I have attempted not only to reveal a completely different chapter and an unknown aura of Baul sphere, popularly known as Christian Baul or Christo Baul, but also to rediscover the hidden, unidentified notion of traditional Christian ritual songs and lyrics of Postcolonial Bengal. I have also tried to discuss the Christian Baul Cult, reflecting the Christian Theological aspects and introduce some of the prominent Christo Bauls and lyricists whose valuable contribution, have no doubt, enriched the folk literary tradition of India. The Significance of the study of Christo Bauls What is really the significance of the study of Christo Bauls? After all, however they are defined, people called Baul comprise only a small fraction of the populations of greater Bengal, both West Bengal and Bangladesh. Almost for the last hundreds of year it has been believed that the particular Baul sect was actually derived from sanatani Hindu and Islamic religious faith. According many scholars, in the mid of 18th century when the reformist and revivalist movements clashed together in Bengal, there was a big melt down happen. This period actually considered as an origin of the rise of the popular culture of the colonial Bengal. There was an era of huge restoration has been prevailed and the social classes get apart. This is the time when several indigenous as well as popular cultures formed, out of the rigid, orthodox religious doctrine of sanatani Dharmas like Hinduism and Islam. One by one we traced out some of the sub religious movements2 (popularly known as Gounya Dharma, Gounya=secondary) like Aaul, Baul, Chistia, Surawardi,

Kartabhaja, Balaramhari, Matua, Radhashyami, Khusibiswasi, Saai, Paltudasi, Kaibalya, Nathpanthi, Aghori, Radhaballavi, Kestadasi, Gouripriya, Anandamargi etc. All these sub religions were actually derived from particularly either the core of Hinduism, or from the Islamic orientation. Some of the religious identities bear both the characteristics of Hindu and Islamic orientation. Among those, Baul sect has been considered as the central sun of this uprising. Among these sects, many socio-religious cultural Diasporas were actually able to identify themselves as the popular cultural hubs of the colonial, but there were also numerous sub religious outlets very much enriched by their traditional ethics and values but stands under oblivion. Decade after decades, they got deprived, dispossessed and underprivileged. Christian Baul tradition is one of those incoherent socio religious segments of Bengal. The inhabitants of this group majorly derived from a huge conversion from the both Hindu and Muslim reign. Before we move into their tradition and culture, we better take a glance at their origin which is actually at the time of the transfiguration and development of the protestant missionaries and their mass activities that provoked the social class of the rural and urban class of colonial Bengal at the early 18th century. The first Protestant missionaries to set foot in India were two Lutherans from Germany, Bartholomus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Pluetschau, who began work in 1705 in the Danish settlement of Tranquebar. They translated the Bible into the local Tamil language, and afterwards into Hindustani. They made little progress at first, but gradually the mission spread to south India, particularly in Madras, Cuddalore and Tanjore. Today the Bishop of Tranquebar is the official title of the bishop of the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tamil Nadu which was founded in 1919 as a result of the German Lutheran Leipzig Mission and Church of Sweden Mission, the successors of Bartholomus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Pluetschau. The seat of the bishop, the cathedral and its Church House the Tranquebar House is in Tiruchirappalli. Beginning in the 18th century, Protestant missionaries began working throughout India, leading to the establishment of different Christian communities across the Indian

Subcontinent. In 1793, William Carey3, an English Baptist Minister came to India as a Missionary. He worked in Serampore, suburb of Calcutta, and other places as a social activist. He started the Serampore Missionary College and translated the Bible into Bengali, Sanskrit, and numerous other languages and dialects. He worked in India until his death in 1834. The London Missionary Society was the first Protestant mission in Andhra Pradesh which established its station at Visakhapatnam in 1805. Anthony Norris Groves, a Plymouth Brethren missionary came to India in 1833. He worked in the Godavari delta area until his death in 1852. John Christian Frederick Heyer4 was the first Lutheran missionary in the region of Andhra Pradesh. He founded the Guntur Mission in 1842. He studied Sanskrit and medicine in Baltimore, and set sail for India from Boston in 1841 with three other missionary couples on the ship Brenda. He travelled to India a second time in 1847, spending a decade, mainly in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh state, in southern India, where he ministered and performed yeoman service to the people there. Supported initially by the Pennsylvania Ministerial, and later by the Foreign Mission Board of the General Synod, Heyer was also encouraged and assisted by British government officials. He established a number of hospitals and a network of schools throughout the Guntur region5. During the 19th century, several American Baptist missionaries evangelized in the northeastern parts of India. In 1876, Dr. E. W. Clark first went to live in a Naga village, four years after his Assamese helper, Godhula, baptised the first Naga converts. Rev. and Mrs. A.F. Merrill arrived in India in 1928 and worked in the southeast section of the Garo Hills. Rev. and Mrs. M.J. Chance spent most of the years from 1950 to 1956 at Golaghat working with the Naga and Garo tribes6. Even today the heaviest concentrations of Christians in India continue to be in the Northeast among the Nagas, Khasis, and Mizos. Mormon missionaries, including Hugh Findlay, arrived in Bombay and Pune in the early 1850s, but did not meet with much success. Jehovah's Witnesses began their activity in India in the year 1903, following the visit of their founder Charles Taze Russell to India7. Though, there were innumerous catholic social activist have raised during that time but Sir William Carey have been always treated as the pioneer of catholic

activities in North eastern India, particularly in colonial Bengal. It was the time when missionary activities reached at its highest point, not only spreading the Christianity but also a tremendous reformation in social, cultural and political scenario of Bengal. During this period, the evolution and genesis of Christian ritual music took place and the lineage of Christo Baul community has been considered to be oriented. The significance of this study is very much important to tracing back the perishing culture under the Christian doctrine which made an inevitable impact in then society, through its intermingle of pagan and monotheism outlook that actually built an unique shape of religious fundamentalism of colonial Bengal which is remain undiscovered by the scholars and common mass. Methodology It is difficult to judge the essence of Bengali Christian Music and its deep rooted musical tradition. In a true sense, it is not only tough but also next to chasing an impossible dream. It was for the first time I felt the call, when I was fortunate enough to go through some of the ancient texts on early pagan, Christian Ritual and Music related custom and its nature and characteristics at the Library of Bishops College, Kolkata. I was thrilled to know; how the ancient Christian tradition in Bengal has intermingled with different indigenous musical forms to create a cultural mlange, although its i.e. Christianity, ideas remaining intact. Later, when I went through an article by the famous scholar Prof. Sudhir Chakraborty 8 on Christian Bauls, I decided to take a plunge in to the world of Christian Ritual Music and its cultural phenomena at that very moment. What followed were us rediscovering the heritage of Chapra, a remote, dusty, under developed small village of Bengal, under Tehatta sub division of district Nadia. For the last ten decades, Chapra is famous for its weeklong Christian Cultural Festival (est. 1914), starting every year from December 25-31st following Christmas. It is almost an hour long drive from Krishnanagar. The venue is usually held at the ground of Chapra Pastorate, under Chapra Christ Church. Chapra9 is a small mufassil, where hardly any proper mode of transportation is available. The options

for reaching our destination were either taking a long walk or availing the vans. In this particular area, almost 65% of the population is Christian, 20% Muslim, 10% Hindu and 5% other backward classes. The major source of income is agriculture 10. The major flora comprises Aaous, Boro, Bazra and other vegetables. There are 4 Secondary, 2 Madrasa, 2 Higher Secondary Schools, and 1 PHU under Gram Panchayet within the 56 Kilometer radius. The river Churni flows from the east to the western side of the village. Both the Catholic and Protestant Churches of Chapra are great sources of attraction. Basically; Chapra Pastorate has organized the entire event with the help of local residents of Chapra, who are Protestant Christians by majority. Reaching Krishnanagar, which is also a major sub division of Nadia on December 25, 2011, we have decided to meet famous religious anthropologist Prof. Sudhir Chakraborty. Prof. Chakraborty was kind enough to encourage us on our journey. He also said that, Chapra has an extra ordinary blend of Colonial Hindu and Islamic cultural tradition in its daily life of Christian religious sentiments. Dealing with Hindu custom which derives from Nabadwip and Santipur, are famous for its Vaishnavism and Sufism under Islamic tradition from Karimpur, Ballavpur and Jalalkhali, renowned for its Marfati and Chistia practices, Chapra is, undoubtedly a wonderful melting pot of these cultural emblems. At the time of fair, the various communities from the interior segments of Nabadwip and Tehatta, dealing with unconventional Christian Musical forms, like Christo Bauls, Christo Kirtan, Christo Kobigaan, Taarja, Christo Jhapan, etc. get assembled. Some of the musical forms are almost nearing extinction and to recollect those indigenous outlines of music is our only motive. The main of objective of this dissertation is to unveil the hidden culture behind this century old Christian tradition and to reveal and rejuvenate the multi-dimensional musical journey of the Christianity in colonial Bengal, through the Christo Baul community which is hardly known to our modern world. In this era of globalization, it is necessary to reintroducing our unknown heritage and culture from the crude reality of time.

In order to bring out the essence of the Bengali Christo Baul songs both in English and in Bengali, I have tried to stick as far as possible to the original text at the time of translation, but there might have been slightly deviations in certain places where I have taken the liberty of transcribing them so as to make them appear easy and succulent to the readers, instead of using literal translation of the stiff expressions of the texts, and thereby marring the tasty cream of the ancient Christian ritual songs. Off course, in that attempt of mine, I have always taken great care to reproduce the songs in their original form and flavour so that their natural beauty and richness are not lost or damage in any way. This small but significant sect among the Bauls, is confined only within a few districts of Bengal, likes Murshidabad, Nadia, Burdwan, and Birbhum etc. Though their community is so tiny, they have been able to create a unique and different identity of their own in the great human race, in view of their poly-religious notion, behavior and spiritual thought and fraternal love for the Almighty, Jesus of the Nazareth and Mary as well as for the entire mankind. The Observation & Beyond As the wandering tribe of musicians, the Christo Bauls are sometimes looked upon by a common man as street singers than anything else. They are handicapped at times for lack of proper education that they are not able to record their compositions chronologically for use of their descendants. It is only from mouth to mouth that their wisdom, literature, music, cultural traditions lives for ages. The Baul movement did not spread as acceptable religion, because it lacked the cult did not suggest any personal God or sure way to salvation to the common man. Their thoughts could not provide any clear vision of the future of the mankind. So they failed to guide the human race to a particular direction or a definitive goal. The movement having been framed within a limited group, could not flourish substantially for want of an organized central body to control, propagate and preach the religion, as is done in other religions of the world. Thus the Christo Bauls remain content by living in a small community of their own and they earn their bread by

creating a momentary charm on the mind of the music-lovers with their sweet music and dance. Some of the educated and enlightened Christo Bauls are now-a-days found to marry girls from Hindu community and lead a common life of a Hindu by shunning their traditional habits and culture, and by accepting jobs in the trade like ordinary house holders of the society. They give up their traditional dress, instruments, their songs and dance and instead they wear pants, shirts, shoe etc., like others in the society and their talents being now utilized in some other fields. Those who still remain as the traditional Christo Bauls are found to preset themselves in more sophisticated dresses and manners. Even the types of songs sung by them now-a-days are not with the same spirit as before. Their songs have undergone noticeable modification in composition and tune. This brushing up has substantially erased the original flavour and depth of the older songs. While performing the older songs, many of the modern Christo Bauls are found to have deviated much from the traditional singing style, by adding to them a special colour of their own choice, causing the songs to appear more commercial than melodious and devotional. Many Christo Bauls live in the city in these days, perhaps to make their livelihood easier and their life more comfortable. They are, no doubt, financially better off than before. The devotion, the realization of self and the noble attitude of non attachment are rare in them. They now live like any other common man in the society, except that some of them still remain overflowing hairs and put on white or saffron dhoti and Terylene or cotton Punjabi like before. Now they are found to draw only a spot of sandalwood paste or clean mud paste on their forehead, and generally no streak on their forehead or on the bridge of their nose as before. They sing and dance, however with their traditional musical instrument but the songs are sometimes based n modern topics, though presented in typical Baul tune. The subject matter of the songs may be political, social or any satirical sequence with which the philosophical or religious faith of the Baul sect has no connection at all. It seems that their main object has now become to present themselves as popular

folk singers so that they are able to earn more money by demonstrating their art before the music lovers. Samuel Mondol (b. 1958) came to know as a prominent, professional Christo Baul singer after his father Michael Sadhan Mondols death. He initially imitated the singing and performing style of his father and sang popular Christian ritual songs which used to be sung by his father Michael Mondol. But in Course of time, he has acquired more stock of songs needed for his professional use. He himself also composed some songs which were, however not of very high order, though the basic Baul elements were present in them. During the post independence period certain cultural organizations connected with the promotion of Indian art and culture at home and abroad, have patronizing the folk culture, and a section of the Baul sect gets the opportunity to display their art and music in that field. Some of them have been regularly participating in the field of program broadcasting, telecasting and recording on the discs and cassettes. Sometimes they are also being given opportunity to perform in abroad by the sponsoring authorities for demonstrating their songs and culture. But apart from the modern city life Baul, those people who live in rural segments of Bengal are generally found to still retain their forefathers age -old tradition. Among the Bauls from Christian community, they assembled every year at Christo Mela at Chapra, Nadia district as well as some of remote places in Birbhum, Bankura and Burdwan district. The mela is held in the district Nadia in Bengal, the birth place of famous Vaishnav and pioneer of Bhakti movement, Sri Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, whom the Christo Bauls consider Maha Baul, for his great philosophical and devotional thoughts in his verse. The Christo Bauls demonstrate their songs and performance there and exchange thoughts and culture of one another on that occasion. During their performance, they usually followed 3 major sources of Baul lyrical songs i.e. Songs written by their ancestors, Songs composed by them and particularly, Songs from Christian ritual outline inspired from Chamberlain,

Marshman to various contemporary composers, duly published by Serampore Missionary Press, Baptist Society of Bengal and Kolkata Church mission Press 11. The first and second sources are very much reflected mostly in their presentation at any gathering but majorly they performed the last segment conscientiously, during several religious ceremonies like Christmas, Sabbath, daily morning and evening prayer, Palm Sunday, Good Friday and other auspicious rituals under Christian canon12. This particular segment was also had a glorious heritage that need to be prevail. The following diagram will help us to know about the various composers, publishers, nature and timeframe of this ancient Christian ritual Songs that submerged in the gulp of time: Diagram 1: History of Christian Ritual Songs published by several autonomous Christian Association/ Institutions of colonial Bengal 1800-1875 Sr. Date/ N o. 1 Janua William Year Publish er Name (Beng. ) Dharm a-Geet Rev. Ward Approx. 23 songs Editor/ Author Quantity Langua Status/ ge Avaibili ty Bengali Out Print of First ever Book on Christia n Ritual music in Bengali Dharm a-Geet Sanhita Unkno wn Approx. 157 songs by Chamberl ain 3 ---, Jishu Marsh Approx. Sriramp Introduc Second oldest book Remarks

ry 5, Carey, 1802 Sriramp ore Mission ary Press 2 May 18, 1810

1818

Christo Mondol ite gawa Geet

man

150 songs

ore College

ing Indian songwrit ers

---, 1826

Kolkata Church Mission Press

GeetPustal

Rev.

Approx.

Asiatic Society

John T. 213 songs Recard

---, 1829

Christia

Dharm

Approx. 157 songs

Out Print

of -

n Trust a-Geet & Book Society

---, 1845

The Baptist society of Bengal

Dharm a-Geet

Rev. George Pierce

Approx. 300 songs

Asiatic society

Revised ed. 1860 In

---, 1875

Dharm a-Geet

Dr.

C. Approx. 448 songs

Bishops College

Revised ed. 1877 In

Oweng er

Diagram 2: History of Christian Ritual Songs published by many Individual/ Christian Bauls/ Christian Lyricist of colonial Bengal 1875-1970 Date/ Published by Author self Christo-sangeet Name (Beng.) Editor/ Author Chandranath Banerjee Approx. 200 songs Quantity Language Status/ Avaibility Srirampore College Remarks

Sr.

No. Year 1870

1870

Baptist Mission Press

Dharma-geet

Rev.

John -

Baptist Church Union

Compilation

Pengowen

for Children

1875

Author Himself

Saam-pustak

o Ajiz Munshi

Bengali

Out Print

of -

Parameshtatwageeta Geetamrita Amritalal Nath -

1876

Asiatic society

One of th famous -

Geet-ratna

Madhusudan Sirkar

1877

Geet Samgraha

Nripalchandra Approx. Biswas 100 Songs Approx.

National Library

1884

Anglican Church Society

Puratan

nutan Barodacharan Ghosh Jacob Biswas

Bishops College

Rev Greeves among

R.P

Dharmo-geet

& 545 songs Kanti

th

translator Approx 713 songs -

1962

Methodist Church of Bengal

1970

Srirampore Geeti-har Missionary Press

More than Thousand

Asiatic Society

Biggest

compilation ever made

Apart from the list mentioned above, there were several other contributors in that time those hand-outs were remaining very important and significant on the development of Christian ritual songs in West Bengal. As per example, Sangeet Kusumabali (1883), Christia Geetananda by Rajen Fakir (1892), Siyon Geet by Mathuranath Basu (1895) and Sangeet Ratnahar by Bindunath sarkar are doyens of Christian musical culture. Among the contemporaries (20th Cen.); Samkirtan

Sahachar by Philip Biswas, Tran-geet by Madhusudan Sarkar, Christo Sangeet by Bhagwan Ch. Chaterjee, Jiban sangeet by Rev. J.F. Hiuett and Sangeetmala by Rev. J.D. Moris were the milestones in that field13. Though there were enormous songs, containing beautiful lyrics and some of the unforgettable compositions that made this Christian musical outline immortal and different than other, along with soulful representation by the Christo Baul community for the last few centuries-still the crisis is very much visible. There might be lots of opinion regarding the cultural emergency of this community and tradition, but we cant contradict their contribution in making an individual cultural establishment and a socio religious movement under the Cross of Christianity. Though they have been still unaccepted, unrecognized and perishing day by day by leaps and bounds by the time but they exist and trying to get acknowledge forcefully against the moments. The people like Samuel Mondol, Michael Sadhan Mondol, Jacob Kanti Biswas, Naseer Mullick who are still representing this outlines are not any missionaries or religious activist, but some of the unusual, normal hungry performer-behind the religious curtain are the true pop-cult signatures of this unknown heritage of the Christianity. The objective of this project is to reinstalling the identity of a decaying pop culture of rural Bengal, named Christo Baul. They must have the right to live, to exist and to identify against the time and beyond.

Endnotes 1. See Saktinath Jhas Baul Fakir Padabali , Volume I, Monfakira: Kolkata 2010, pp no. 22-25 2. See The Parlor and the Street, by Sumanta Bandopadhyay, an unique collection of Postmodern essays on the rise of Bengali Popular culture at the period of Bengal Renaissance, Published from Seagull India, 2003

3. Eugene Myers Harrison. "William Carey (The Cobbler Who Turned Discoverer)".Wholesome words.

http://www.wholesomewords.org/missions/giants/biocarey2.html. Retrieved 2008-03 4. John C F Heyer, Missionary. 5. Canadian Baptist mission work among women in Andhra, India, 18741924: Baptist women evolved a role for themselves in an otherwise male-dominated mission enterprise and a part... 6. http://fultonhistory.com/newspaper%2010/Carmel%20NY%20Putnam%20Co untry%20Courier/Carmel%20NY%20Putnam%20Country%20Courier%20193 1%20Grayscale/Carmel%20NY%20Putnam%20Country%20Courier%201931% 20Grayscale%20-%200127.pdf 7. American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, Tour of Assam, 1960 8. See Sudhir Chakrabortys Bengali fine essay Christiyo melai sekorer tane from his book Utsabe, melai, Itihase from Pustak Bipani Pub. Kolkata, 2004. It is a collection of fascinating and informative essays on the ancient religious assemblages in West Bengal and its cultural supremacy. 9. See Manorama Yearbook, 2009 (in Bengali), 14th edition, fourth chapter, Paschim Banga Parikrama, Ed. By K.M. Mathews, pp no. 430-432, Kerala, India, 2009. 10. Ibid. pg.431. 11. See the brief introduction by Acharya Prof. Pranati Prakash Mondol in Dharma Geet, Published by His holiness Rt. Rev. (Dr.) Dinesh Chandra Garai, Bishop of Calcutta, Bishops House, 51, Chourangee Road, Calcutta 700 001 on behalf of the CNI. Churches in West Bengal and Printed by Mr. P.K. Hazra, Seva Mudran, 43, Kailash Bose St. Calcutta 700 006, pp no.3-7, Calcutta, 1988. 12. Ibid, pg.44-52 13. The Hindu : Magazine / Tribute : The legacy that Ziegenbalg left