Rabindra Sangeet and Lalon Geeti are two of my most spiritually connected Bengali Music type. I am no professional, when it comes to singing but singing is something I do to feed my soul to feel connected with myself. It takes me to a place where I am able to take myself away from all the hustle and bustle of life and to a place of absolute peace and zen.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to visit Kushtia, the cultural capital of Bangladesh. It was an absolute dream for me and my dream came in a pair. I was able to visit the same place where each of these legends once had some level of existence. The legends who gave birth to these music. I was walking the same paths, which they have walked once upon a time; I was breathing the same air they took in, I was in amongst thousands of others who share the same passion or feels some kind of connection with these legends or to their work.

Bear with me; I am not about give you the travel guide or the overhead drone shots. I am here to share with you the experiences and emotions I felt while being there.

Rabindranath Tagore er Kuthi Bari (House) – unfortunately, the gates to enter the building was closed to public and we were unable to enter inside it. I wanted to take the stairs inside and hear the creaks of this 18^th century building. I wanted to stand at the balcony Tagore himself once stood and imagine the view he must’ve seen that inspired him to write such beautiful scripts, poems, songs and prose. Maybe another day.

But I stood there in awe as I lost myself in time. The city is consuming the villa’s surroundings, so I closed my eyes and pictured a time from Tagore’s poems describing the lush green breadth of endless beauty, a time where our rich culture was all around us and the rat-race hadn’t quite emanated yet. You know the culture and beauty is still here, but it is getting harder to find.

 

We then took some photos from outside the gates then went around the corner and sat down under a mango tree on the grass. I tried to breathe in all the goodness of nature. Inspired by our location (and I swear it wasn’t my cajoling), we broke into a few of his songs, including our national anthem. We had a little picnic while we talked about his life. We then headed for our next destination.

Our next destination was the shore of Padma River, but we came to know about a Hindu temple called Rani Mandir and decided to make a detour; I am so glad we did though. The temple is an 18^th century old remnant of a building, which has so much depth and character. You can’t help but think that such architecture and the art and culture within it embodies the true inspiration behind some our culture goliaths work. We took some great shots and headed off again on this beautiful journey through time.

  

Ahh… the Padma River, the subject of so many great poets and writer. And Tagore himself also frequently came to this place and gathered inspiration. It was a beautiful place and soothing to the eyes and the soul…. I went down to the river bed and soaked my feet in river water; as I stood there watching the world go by in its endless hustle, I couldn’t help but yearn for the seemingly simpler times when we placed immense poetic value on these shores and the water in between. As my gaze drifted, I could see the shores radiating with white sand and boats parked every so often; hints of the inspirations this place produced are still here if you look closer.

  

Our final destination, Fakir Lalon Shah’s Akhra Bari… the distance between these two locations is about 12 kilometres. We hopped into our hired car for the day and started getting our heads and hearts tuned to the Great Lalon Shah. We took a book out that has some rare collections of his songs and started singing Lalon Geeti. We sang all the way there and it was the most perfect way to arrive Lalon’s doorstep.

Got off the car and straight away you could feel the energy to this place. So many of his followers walking around lost in their own spiritual world. We stopped to have tea and freshen up a little. We all bought ourselves a Gamcha each and wrapped it around our head or wrists (just a tradition people tend to follow).

We walked to his grave, where hundreds of people were lining up to pay tribute to this great philosopher and a spiritual leader. I joined the queue and took my shoes off to go inside, where he is buried next to his adopted mother. I walked inside and kneeled to show respect, then walked out backwards until the boundary. Just watching people of their love, dedication and respect around the place, it was truly amazing.

   

Something incredible happened after this. We somehow managed to meet the main devotee, Shah Jee of Fakir Lalon Shah at present and his crew of Shah Jees’. They invited us for a cup of tea. We followed them to a tea stall and tucked ourselves in a small corner. We sat down in a small circle and started introducing each other. Lenin (one of my uncle’s friend) introduced me to the group and also managed to mention my love for Lalon Geeti and that I sing his music from the heart. I elaborated my passion and the connection I feel for this music and the philosophy he stood for. Then I was requested to sing for them. I was completely unprepared and singing in front of the current living devotee of Fakir Lalon Shah, was something I was never ready to do (I don’t think anything prepares you for this).

But the declaration was made and to show respect I had to sing. I sung couple of stanza of “Boli Maa Tor”. It was an absolute honour and I would remember this moment for the rest of my life; I shall etch it in my brain forever. I then requested Shah Jee to share a song with us. He sung for us and it was amazing!!!!! My Goodness! I cannot explain in words how fulfilled I felt at that moment. You feel that their connection to the world is almost other-worldly.

We then shared food amongst all of us. Sharing is something that is practiced within the Lalon Shah community as a core mantra. They are all about sharing, sharing love, spirit, soul and the uncountable moments… We had packed some food to take with us on the trip and wanted to share what was remaining with the people. We came across a group of Lalon devotee’s singing, so we decided to join them. We offered a guava to the group and the beautiful thing is, it was then cut into small pieces to be shared amongst at least 25-30 people… to me that was THE highlight of my day… why can’t we share our love, wealth, spirit, knowledge this way within the world and the humanity?

In between all of this I have started to reflect what Lalon Shah was truly about. We often forget that Lalon is more than just a good song with prophetic words or seeking some form of spiritual enlightenment. His songs and poetry were about vivid observations of the realities of his time. His messages were and are about questioning the social norm and bringing about social change. In actual effect, Fakir Lalon Shah was a political activist; someone who wanted to strike at the heart of social atrocities and knock down the taboos that shackles us.

I have never felt so connected and grounded, when I was at this place…. Everything made sense in its own strange way… I would have loved to spend a night there and I don’t think I would’ve hesitated one bit sleeping on the ground and under the open sky, sharing this beautiful world with thousands of other spiritual beings…. It was truly a powerful and empowering experience…. I felt love for the tiny little ant on the side walk to the open wide sky and all creatures in this world….. It reassured my love for the people… I am so in love and it is absolutely overwhelming…