Bhatiali or ''bhatiyali'' ( bn, ভাটিয়ালি) is a form of

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

in both

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

. Bhatiali is a river song mostly sung by boatmen while going down streams of the river. The word ''bhatiyali'' comes from ''bhata'' meaning " ebb" or downstream. It is mostly sung in several parts of greater riparian

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

delta. Researchers have claimed

Mymensingh District Mymensingh ( bn, ময়মনসিংহ) is a district in Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh, and is bordered on the north by Meghalaya, a state of India and the Garo Hills, on the south by Gazipur District, on the east by the districts of Netr ...

along the

Brahmaputra River The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...

or the ''Bhati'' (lower region of a river) area as its place of origin. Bhaitaili lyrics traditionally consist of metaphorical and emotional verses about the waters and the situation of boatmen and fishermen. Among the 14 subjects of folk music in Bangladesh, that includes ''Deha-tatva'' (about the body) and ''Murshid-tatva'' (about the guru), Bhatiali deals with ''Prakriti-tatva'' (about nature). Notable collectors, composers and writers in the genre are Miraz Ali, Ukil Munshi, Rashid Uddin. Jalal Khan, Jang Bahadur,

Shah Abdul Karim Baul Shah Abdul Karim ( bn, শাহ আবদুল করিম; 15 February 1916 — 12 September 2009) was a Bangladeshi Baul musician. He was awarded the Ekushey Padak in 2001 by the Government of Bangladesh. Some of his notable songs inclu ...

and Umed Ali. Between the 1930s and 1950s, Bhatiali has seen its golden age, when most of these personalities were contributing to the genre. Singer Abbas Uddin made the genre popular singing "Amay bhashaili re, amay dubaili re" and other popular numbers. In the 2000s,

Malay Ganguly Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indones ...

and Bari Siddiki were two most prominent Bhatiali singers.

References

20th-century music genres 21st-century music genres Bangladeshi music Bengali music Music of Bengal Indian styles of music {{Music-genre-stub

See also

References