Center for World Music: Purna Das Baul Concert, April 11, 2003

For information, please visit the website of the
Purna Das Baul Academy

Sunday, April 13

present

featuring Hemant Ekbote on tabla
and Premanand Trikannad on harmonium

Friday, April 11, 2003, 8 p.m.

Hahn University Center Forum AB
University of San Diego
Linda Vista Road, San Diego

General admission $15 (advance purchase),
$18 (at the door); CWM and PDBA members $12; students/seniors $10 (with ID);
USD faculty, staff, students free.

San Diego Area Ticket Outlets

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Purna Das Baul

Purna Das performing at a mela or religious festival in India

Purna Das Baul represents a tradition of wandering minstrels whose songs of joy, love, and longing for mystical union with the Divine have universal appeal. The renowned literary figure and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore owed much to Baul inspiration, calling them "the very soul of Bengal."

The Bauls took elements from devotional Hinduism, tantric Buddhism, and Sufi Islam and integrated them into simple, natural, and direct approach to God that seeks to transcend established religious boundaries. It is their belief that love for humankind is the path leading to love of God. The best worship of God takes place only deep within one's heart where the divine "Person of the Heart" is enshrined.

Purna & Nabani Das

Purna Das as a young man with his father, Nabani Das, a close associate of Rabindranath Tagore

Purna Das and Dibyendu Das	The Bauls' ecstatic worship and unconventional modes of behavior, such as wearing both Hindu and Muslim garments at the same time, have earned them the title "mad." The name "Baul" is derived a word meaning "afflicted with the wind" or "mad." Thus branded "mad for God," the Bauls quarrel with none but wander free as the wind. Their simple language, passionate rhythm and sensuous dance steps speak directly to one's heart. Purna Das is known for a singing voice of remarkable range, operatic power, and hauntingly evocative spirituality. His soulful, ecstatic song and dance typically brings audiences to their feet with enthusiasm. In India, his concerts draw crowds of many thousands.
Purna Das came to the US in the late '60s, invited by Allen Ginsberg and Bob Dylan's former manager. He has performed in 66 countries around the world and shared the stage with the likes of Ravi Shankar, Mahalia Jackson, Joan Baez, Gordon Lightfoot, Bob Dylan, and The Band. He has been awarded the title Baul Samrat ("King of the Bauls") twice by the President of India, in 1967 and 1999. He is revered within India and internationally by those who have encountered his music and powerful spirituality. There is no way of describing the electric energy of a performance by Purna Das Baul. It has to be experienced.	Purna Das (right), on the cover of Bob Dylan's album "John Wesely Harding," 1967
	Visit the Purna Das Baul Academy web site.
Tickets are available at: Controversial Bookstore 3021 University Avenue North Park San Diego, CA 619.296.1560 Heaven On Earth Books and Gifts 765 South Coast Highway 101 Encinitas, CA 760.753.2345
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