Bhabendramohan Ray Chaudhury

Biography Bhaba Pagla was born as Bhabendramahan Ray Chaudhury around 1903 at Amta in Dhaka District in the Bengal Province of British India (now in Dhamrai Upazila, Dhaka, Bangladesh). He came of a respectable family of small land owners of the Saha caste, and the surname of the family was Chowdhury, though Bhaba achieve his own title Pagla, the mad, a mad by the love for God. Bhaba's parents, Gajendra Mohan Chowdhury and his wife Gayasundari Devi had developed themselves highly in the way of devotion and had been blessed by many gurus and sadhus.

Bhaba Pagla had been leading a family life with Smt. Shaibalini Devi and he had been the father of three children.

Bhaba was dead set against publicizing his mystic power; he used to say "If people get to know about me, I'll become cow dung!".

Beyond his spiritual influence, Bhaba Pagla is more famous for his contribution in Bengali folk culture. The songs, he composed, are renowned all around of Bengal, India and Bangladesh. Many devotional songs of him have been published in records by a research group affiliated with France Government and his works are now subject to interest of many research scholar. University of Kalyani, in West Bengal, India, has included "Bhaba Paglar Gan" (Song of Bhaba Pagla) into their academic curriculum and in Bangladesh Bangla Academy of Dhaka's publication department brought out a biography of Bhabapagla "Jiban o Gan" by name.

Those who heard him perform praised him as a talented harmonium and behala (a type of violin) player. but also witty and humorous. A woman singer at a festival dedicated to Bhaba Pagla (mahasammelan) in Nadia (West Bengal). Photo by Carola Lorea.