Girish Mandal also known as Girish Khyapa, is an eminent Baul singer from Bardhaman district in West Bengal. Along with singing, he plays various traditional instruments such as Dotara and Ektara. Other than performing across India, he has also performed internationally. He has performed for the government owned TV channel Doordarshan and also for the Bengali movie Tin Anka. Other than singing Baul songs, he also sings Shyama Sangeet or songs dedicated to Goddess Kali.
Girish Khyapa hosts an Akhra at Joydev-Kenduli mela. He also performs outside West Bengal and even internationally. Among international performances, he has performed at the International De Folklore De Noyon Festival in France and Transform-Trondheim World Music Festival in Norway in 2017. He also participated in a cultural exchange program with Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in the United States and visited Washington D.C. as part of the initiative in 2018. There he had attended the Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2018 and performed at the Library of Congress and Freer Sackler Gallery.
Girish Khyapa has performed at the International De Folklore De Noyon Festival in France held between 4 - 8 July 2017. He was a part of the 8-member delegation that represented India in that festival. He was accompanied by two other Baul musicians – Subhadra Sharma and Gopen Debnath. The performances were held at communes such as Noyon, Roye, Rethondes, Berlancourt, Ham and Clairoix. Team India performed at the inauguration ceremony on Jul 4 at the Noyon Cathedral. Thereafter they performed at Roye and Rethondes and around 3000 audience saw the shows.
Girish Khyapa had also participated in a cultural exchange program with Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in the United States and visited Washington D.C between the 24th of June and the 15th of July, 2018. He was accompanied by Baul musician Robi Mondal. There he had attended the Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2018 and performed at the Library of Congress and Freer Sackler Gallery.
