The Baul Way of Life! ( Photo 6 of 14 )

Bauls use a variety of indigenous musical instruments to beautify their compositions.

The "ektara", a one-stringed drone instrument, is the common instrument of a Baul singer which is carved from the epicarp of a gourd, and made of bamboo and goatskin. While other commonly used musical equipment include "dotara", a multi-stringed instrument made of the wood of a jackfruit or neem tree; "dugi", a small hand-held earthen drum; leather instruments like "dhol", "khol" and "goba"; chime tools like "ghungur", "nupur"; small cymbals called "kartal" and "mandira", and the bamboo flute.