Bob Dylan and India
Left: Lakkhan Das Baul, centre Dylan, right: Purna Das Baul. This photograph was taken at Woodstock, The Times of India informs us.
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Calcutta: 1990
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Mohua Das, Dylan's day in Kol, a Baul for a friend, Oct 14 2016 : The Times of India
Think Bob Dylan in a bright red kurta as a guest at a Bengali wedding. Too far-fet ched? Not quite. While most of Dylan's life has been an open book, a lesser-known fact is Dylan's hush-hush visit to Kolkata in the winter of January 1990.
The world's most legendary songsmith flew down to the city to attend a marriage in the family of an old friend and music mate, Purna Das Baul. The Baul singer, now 83, had introduced Dylan to the sounds of rural Bengal during his tour of the US in the late 60s.
When his son Dibyendu was getting married, Dylan turned up for the event. “He came to our house in Dhakuria and then travelled with me to the venue in Ballygunge,“ recalls Dibyendu. But his visit did not last long. “An hour into the ceremony , people and media got whiff of Dylan being there and as more and more people started inquiring, he rushed out.“ Not really in the mood to hand out autographs, “Please, I am here on a private visit... If you don't mind, I need some rest,“ he pleaded before delivering a firm “no“ to a starstruck fan.
Purna Das's association with him began in 1965 when Albert Grossman, Dylan's manager, invited him to sing at a festival in San Francisco. Das toured and performed at several venues before Grossman took him to Bearsville, Dylan's hometown. “That was when our manager brought Dylan to meet us. He said to me that our singing goals were the same since we both sang about people, life and times. Then he gave him self the title `Baul of America', he showed me his patchwork coat, a lot like guduri, the costume that some Bauls wear,“ reminisced Purna Das who has been hailed as “India's Bob Dylan“. It was the beginning of a long friendship.
“We toured and performed together between 1965 and 1967.“ Baul gaan hit a peak when Dylan rather niftily learnt to pluck the khamak and wield the ektara and jammed with the minstrel from Bengal.
Purna Das and his family were invitees to Dylan's birthday party in 1978, for which Das compiled a CD of Bengali songs as a gift. “I'm so happy ,“ Das said about his Nobel. “He has served people with his songs like no other.“
II
A lesser known fact is that the second person apart from George Bernard Shaw to achieve both a Nobel Prize and an Oscar had graced a Bengali wedding in Kolkata during the winter of 1990.
A lesser known fact is that the second person apart from George Bernard Shaw to achieve both a Nobel Prize and an Oscar had graced a Bengali wedding in Kolkata during the winter of 1990. A
Bob Dylan through his original vagabond image became a global sensation in 1960s. India, especially Kolkata (then Calcutta), could not resist itself from being transformed into an ardent fan of the phenomenon. His fans there even celebrated his birthday (i.e on May 24) as ‘Bob Dylan Jayanti’. It is known that he had performed in China. In 2004, he appeared in a Victoria’s Secret commercial, and in 2014, in a Super Bowl commercial. But a lesser known fact is that the second person apart from George Bernard Shaw to achieve both a Nobel Prize and an Oscar had graced a Bengali wedding in Kolkata during the winter of 1990. The legendary American songwriter attended a marriage in the family of eminent folk singer Purna Das Baul, according to a Times of India report. Interestingly, Baul had introduced Dylan to the sounds of rural Bengal during his tour of the US in the late 60s. It was his son Dibyendu’s marriage for which Dylan turned up.
The City of Joy is full of his admirers who translate his tunes into Bengali even as he inspired an entire generation to compose new tunes using the templates he had created.
During his brief visit, Dylan had to rush out as “An hour into the ceremony, people and media got whiff of Dylan being there and more and more people started inquiring,” a nostalgic Dibyendu said. “Please, I am here on a private visit… If you don’t mind, I need some rest,” he pleaded before delivering a firm “no” to a starstruck fan.
“I’m so happy,” Das said about his Nobel. “He has served people with his songs like no other. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to try and pin Bob Dylan down,” the report said.
Purna Das’s association with Dylan began in 1965 when Albert Grossman, Dylan’s manager, invited him to sing at a festival in San Francisco. Das toured and performed at several venues. Baul gaan hit a peak when Dylan rather niftily learnt to pluck the khamak and wield the ektara and jammed with the minstrel from Bengal. Purna Das and his family were invitees to Dylan’s birthday party in 1978, for which Das even compiled a CD of Bengali songs as a gift.
Jadavpur University puts Dylan on literature syllabus
Priyanka Dasgupta, JU puts Dylan, the author, on syllabus, Oct 27 2016 : The Times of India
The jury is still out on whether Bob Dylan deserved the Nobel for literature, but post-graduate students of English literature at Jadavpur University (JU) will be allowed to pick Dylan as a `special author' from January . At present, JU students study Dylan as part of courses on music.
Professor Ananda Lal, who will be teaching the new course, said requests to put Dylan on the syllabus had been coming in for some time, and “with the Nobel announcement, it seemed like an appropriate time to start the course“.
Naturally , Dylan fans among the students are excited. Atrei Chatterjee said, “The literary tradition is evolving. A course like this will teach us to recognise all forms of written art as literature.“
See also
Lou Majaw, the Bob Dylan of India
