West Bengal and Bangladesh

The eastern region of South Asia known as Bengal prior to India’s independence has always been noted for its cultivation of literature and the performing arts. Bengali songs, in particular, have played a prominent role in the musical history of the region, ranging from the huge repertoire of devotional songs composed and sung by medieval Hindu poet-saints to the patriotic songs and Bengali ghazals of the twentieth century, and from the mystical songs of the Bāuls to the boatmen’s...