Sadhu Das Baul was born in 1995 in the village Joydev-Kenduli at Birbhum. Joydev-Kenduli has a long tradition of Baul Fakiri and an annual Baul Mela is held there every winter since many years. He started singing and playing musical instruments since the age of 10. His teacher was his father, the legendary Baul Late Tarak Das. Other than being a skilled Baul singer, he is also adept at playing Dotara, Khamak, Harmonium, Ektara and Dugi.
Sadhu at this young age of 28, performed at many places. Outside West Bengal, he has performed in Delhi, Mumbai, Assam, Jamshedpur, Bangalore and Rajasthan. Outside India, he has performed in Sweden and the UK. 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.
Young artist Tapan Kumar Das (Sadhu) had participated in the Urkult festival at Sweden, held in between the 1st and the 3rd of August, 2019. He was a part of the Bengal ensemble which also had other Baul musicians – viz. his brother Tanmoy Das (Kangal) and flautist Mohan Tanti. Led by urban folksingers Debalina Bhowmik and Dipannita Acharya, they had regaled the audience with folk and Baul based music from Bengal.
Sadhu had also participated in the Urkult Festival, Sweden held between the 2nd and the 4th of August, 2018. He was accompanied by Baul artists, viz., Kangal and percussionist Khokan Das, along with urban folksinger Debalina Bhowmik. The team was led by urban folksinger Dipannita Acharya. The performance by the team was broadcast live by the Swedish national radio.
