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Parvathy Baul

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Written By - Team Nettv4u

Parvathy Baul, a leading Baul musician from Bengal is a practitioner, performer, teacher of Baul tradition and an instrumentalist, painter and storyteller. She was born as Mousami Parial in West Bengal. She grew up in Assam, Cooch Behar and bordering areas due to her father’s job with Indian Railways. She is married to Ravi Gopalan Nair, a noted Pava Kathakali glove puppet artist. She completed her higher secondary education at Suniti Academy, Cooch Behar. Initially, she learned Kathak from Srilekha Mukherjee while studying visual arts at Kala Bhavan, Vishwabharti University, Shantiniketan. She was introduced to Baul music during one of her train journey where she met a fellow passenger, who was a blind Baul singer. This was a pivotal moment in her life. Later on she studied Baul music under the guidance of several gurus such as Phulmala Dashi, Sanatan Das Baul, and Shashanko Goshai.

In 1997, Parvathy moved to Kerala where she studied local theatre traditions and Grotowski technique from traditional puppeteer Ravi Gopalan Nair. She has performed in prestigious global events like Noh Theater in Kyoto and the World Music Center in New York City. In 2019, she was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. She has co-founded Ekathara Kalari and established Sanatan Siddhashram, a traditional learning center in Birbhum, West Bengal to preserve and propagate Baul tradition. Her performances are famous for their deep spiritual resonance and mesmerizing quality. Parvathy has recorded 5 CDs and published a book on Baul tradition. She has also collaborated with her husband for woodcut prints depicting Baul traditions. Parvathy was featured in the Bengali films "Teenkahon" (2014), where she sang and wrote lyrics, and "Arshinagar" (2015), making a special appearance.