Music of Bangladesh

The most internationally famous forms of Bangladeshi music comes from the Baul clan, itinerant storytellers and musicians who make a form of spiritual folk music.

The Bauls (the word comes from Sanskrit batul, meaning divinely inspired insanity. They are a group of Hindu mystic minstrels from the Bengal region, and are a part of the Bengali culture of West Bengal. They are thought to have been influenced greatly by the Hindu tantric sect of the Kartabhajas. Bauls travel in search of the internal ideal, Maner Manush (Man of the Heart).

Other Bengali music, shared by West Bengal and Bangladesh, is from the poetry and songs of Ananta Das Goswami, Kabir and, especially, Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam. Lalon Fakir is a popular Bangladeshi mystic poet, famous for his spiritual tunes.