Ep 17: Mysticism and Music: Baul Sufi Spirituality and the Commercial Culture Industry in Bangladesh with Golam Rabbani

Dr. Adnan Husain discusses the fascinating dissertation research of Golam Rabbani, a PhD candidate in Cultural Studies at Queen's University. Golam sketches the unique spiritual practices of the Baul, a syncretic Sufi Muslim orientation in rural Bengal, that employ musical training and performance in an integrated mysticism and pious devotional program. These amazing traditions are being transformed in contemporary Bangladesh, especially under the global regimes of the capitalist music industry.