Mahalia Jackson soul singer from America and Purna Das Baul soul singer from the East..
Mahalia Jackson loved Purna Dasji Baul, (Babukishan's Dad) she was a vistor at their house in Kolkata. Mahalia Jackson was a famous American soul singer, Baul Samarat (king of Bauls) Purna Das a famous Indian soul singer from Bengal. Purna Das is a legendary Baul singer and Indian Vocalist no Baul before or after has achieved what Purna Das has now almost 80 years old he has traveled the world for almost 70 years, he is the first to do what many Bauls today are trying to do. He has played on the biggest stages around the world and is highly awarded singer.
He is a classical Baul singer and rich classic traditional authentic Vaishnava Baul and most of his music was composed by Babukishan starting when Babu was 9 years old. Babu says his house was always filled with the who is who of legendary India and guests from around the world. Ther is no Baul singer before him or after him who can sing like him, he is a legend.
No Baul to this day can sing like Purna Das, however, they sing the songs of his lineage, they dress like Purna Das who created his own style. I have read on the internet that the Bauls sang with Mahalia Jackson, only Purna Das has please use his name no other Baul sang with Mahalia Jackson.
I have read the Bauls are associated with Bob Dylan, The Beattles, The Rolling Stones, Allen Ginsberg and in actual fact it is only this family Purna Das Baul and Babukishan who has associated or sang with these people. But somehow they leave this out and new Bauls singers claim this history with out mentioning Purna Das Baul??? They sing the songs from this lineage most writen by Nabani Das Baul or Babukishan and acestors without mentioning the authors or poets, when you see a poem by Rumi or any other Poet out of respect the name of the author is mentioned??
What most people do not know is that "The Bauls of Bengal" is the name of the group that traveled with Baul Samarat Purna Das, the groups name created by Purna Das when he first came to the USA to live at Bob Dylans back in the late 60's. "The Bauls of Bengal" were called Vaishnava Bauls or Gosai Das Baul and Gosai Dasi Baul previous to Purna Das calling his group of traveling Bauls, "The Bauls of Bengal". He is the first Bauls to sing on the trains in India, the first Baul to travel outside of India. He is the first Indian Vocalist to travel outside of India starting in the 1950's.
When Bhaktivedanata Prabupada first came to New York, Purna Das Baul and his younger brother Laxshman Das Baul sang for Prabupada in Central Park. Prabupada knew them personally he knew they were direct descendants of Sri Nitai and he knew they were the original Hare Krishna singers of Bengal, he knew they were the Das and Dasi but was ambitious and chose to give their names and their story away to promote Krishna Consciousness to the world, he also chose to tell all of his disciple not to talk to his very own God brothers at Gaudiya Math telling them they were all jealous of hiim???. He also knew Purna's father "Nabani Das Baul" and Purna's father inlaw Jogesh Das who was a good friend of Prabupada's from back in Calcutta. When we get back to Calcutta we have pictures of this history and will put them together, it seems a picture in todays world says a million words.
For at least 30 years this family sang for Krishna at Iskcon temples around the world, they were used as a fundraising attraction for the temples. However, through my research I have come across very ApaVasihnava behavior now of disrespect and name calling starting from the leaders before Prabupada now printed and spread all over the internet the blatant putting down of the Bauls and name calling.
This is the lineage of Vaishnava Baul of Sri Nityananada of Ekkchakra Bengal India.
Nabani Das Baul (his father) was his Guru of course but in a Bauls lifetime they have other Guru's and one other being Sri Sitaram Das Omkarnath (he was a great Sadhu friend of Nabani Das Baul) whom Babu also loved and recieved many blessings from. It was Sitaram Das Omkarnath who encourage Purna Das to travel on the trains and sing for dakshina as at the time there was a famine in Bengal he used the money to feed his brothers and sisters.
Mahalia Jackson, Amala Shankar a great Nataraja dancer and wife of Uday Shankar, the brother of Ravi Shankar all family friends. Uday Shankar was the first Indian dancer to spread Indian dance to the west, he also is the first person to take his brother Ravi Shankar to the West..Manju Dasi and Baul Samarat Purna Das Baul
Sri Purna Das Baul, Baul Samarat his wife Manju Dasi the first Baul women to travel the world, Mahalia Jackson
In Purna Das's house in Calcutta