Rina Das may be termed as queen of Baul music in Birbhum. She hails from a family of musicians and had begun to learn music since childhood from her grandfather who was a folk musician. Her husband Dibakar Das who himself is a Baul musician of eminence from Birbhum had also trained her in Baul music. She has travelled nationally and internationally and has won awards. She had come first in the 1998-99 state-level competition organized by West Bengal Rajya Sangeet Academy. She had received the Folk Art Master Award at Bharat Lokrang Mahotsava, Allahabad, in 2015. In 2019, she received Bengal’s prestigious award in folk music.
Rina Das has travelled extensively within and beyond West Bengal and India. Within West Bengal, she has performed in Birbhum, Bardhaman, Purulia and Kolkata. Within India, she has performed in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Daman and Diu, Goa and Rajasthan. Outside India, she has performed in France, Sweden and Bangladesh. Here is a blog by curator of Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Betty Belanus on how Oral Traditions Shift to Digital: Bauls of West Bengal Face the Pandemic
Rina Das had performed in the Armor India festival held in Morlaix, Britanny, France, on and from the 4th till the 10th of May 2018. She was a part of the ensemble Folks of Bengal and was accompanied by Dibakar Das Baul, Sajib Sarkar in Dhol and Subhrakamal Chattopadhyay in Flute. She had mesmerized the audience with her wide range of singing and musical skills all throughout the 3 performances that Folks of Bengal presented in this festival.
Rina Das had participated in the Urkult Festival of Sweden on and from the 2nd till the 4th of August, 2017. Among Baul Fakiri musicians, she was accompanied by two artists – flautist Mohan Tanti and percussionist Khokan Das. This annual festival is organised by a non-profit organisation named Urkult Society in north of Sweden in Nasaker village. They performed in the festival on August 4th, in front of around 2000 international audience at Nasakar and exhibited their excellent artistry. Audience interacted with the singers after their performance to appreciate their singing styles and talk about the Baul philosophy.
