Kaluram Bamaniya and group from Malwa, Madhya Pradesh, perform bhajans at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, March 14: The aura of mystic saints was evident in the second evening of Samarpan, the festival of Sufi and other devotional music traditions organised by Bhubaneswar Music Circle.

Compositions by Kabir and bauls mesmerised the audience yesterday evening at Rabindra Mandap.

When Kaluram Bamaniya of Malwa, Madhya Pradesh, started the evening with Kabir Sangeet, the audience was elevated to a spiritual high by the songs of the Bhakti saint, who is known for his secular and compassionate views. Rendering one Kabir poem after another, Bamaniya also shared anecdotes from the saint’s life. Reciting some famous couplets, the singer performed Manke mate na chaaliye, Sukh nahi, Ram naam ko loot le and many other of his songs.

“Sant Kabir was illiterate but spiritually ahead of his peers. He always preached simple living with divine thinking. Kabir had said that only the wealth of spirituality was worth earning in this world,” Bamaniya said.

His team of musicians and instrumentalists included Santosh Kumar Sarolia, Ramprasad, Santosh Kumar Pathundiya, Debu Das and Sajan Kumar.

The second session of the evening was an emphatic rendition of baul songs — the mystic music tradition of Bengal. Singer Parvathy Baul was both forceful and enchanting in her presentation. With a unique soprano voice, tuned immaculately, she simultaneously played her ektara (a music instrument with one string) with her right hand, while in the left, she played her duggi in perfect beat with her song and her anklets provided the chiming in the background.

Parvathy, herself in a state of spiritual ecstasy, cast a spell on her listeners through her performance of ancient songs that compared Radha’s longing for Krishna to an ascetic’s quest for the divine. Dancing and whirling slowly with her long matted locks flowing, Parvathy appeared a picture of pure bliss that easily caught the attention of the viewers, who gave her a standing ovation. The baul practitioner was accompanied by her husband and art designer Ravi and young flautist Raghunadhan from Kerala.

“It was a vibrant performance by the singer. She has such great control over her voice and breath, one watches her in awe as she sings, dances and plays music all at once,” said artist Ramahari Jena, a member of the audience.