Bauls

For centuries, musicians called bauls have wandered throughout the Bengal region, entertaining locals with their distinctive musical performances, and smoking ganja. Named for the word for wind, bauls practice a form of musical mysticism which emphasizes individual enlightenment, personal freedom, and a lack of personal possessions. They borrow beliefs from Hinduism and Islam. Baul instruments include a small drum called a dugi, ankle bells called gungar, a single-stringed harp called the extara, and a multiple-stringed instrument called the dotara.