The wood sculpture here shows a Baul singer singing a song in blissful ecstasy. Baul singing originates in Bengal and is rendered by mystic mendicants. The Baul sect is very much like Sufism, wherein saints roam around from state to state, using music as a vehicle to express their devotion to the Divine.

The term ‘Baul’ may have come from the Sanskrit word, ‘batul’, meaning love for the divine, bordering on the insane. It could also have been coined from the word, ‘byakul’, which means eager or fervent.

Baul singers can be identified by their flowing ochre robe, strumming an Ektara (musical instrument), while they sing and dance in gay abandon. The Baul musical tradition celebrates Divine Love in very worldly terms – at first glimpse, it seems like the Baul is rendering a love song, but a deeper analysis reveals his soul’s (Jeevatma) yearning for the Supreme Being (Paramatma).

Though Baul singers constitute a very minor part of Bengal’s population, they have had a very deep and lasting influence on Bengal’s cultural heritage.