Guru To Dayal

Guru To Dayal is a traditional Baul composition performed by Paban Das Baul on the 2010 studio album Music of the Honey Gatherers. The track appears as the second entry on the release, with a duration of 8 minutes. The album was issued on May 24, 2010, by Riverboat Records in CD format.

The song exemplifies the Baul tradition of Bengal, a syncretic folk-mystic practice blending Sufi, Vaishnava, and Tantric influences. Paban Das Baul delivers the vocal performance accompanied by his signature instruments, the ektara (one-stringed drone lute) and khamak (percussive stringed resonator). The lyrical content reflects Baul philosophical themes, emphasizing devotion to a guru as a path to spiritual realization. The composition follows a cyclical melodic structure typical of Baul music, with repetitive vocal phrases designed for meditative immersion.

Music of the Honey Gatherers serves as a compilation of field and studio recordings curated to showcase Baul repertoire. The album features Paban Das Baul as the primary artist, though specific contributions from additional musicians remain undocumented in available sources. The track Guru To Dayal stands as one of the longer pieces on the release, allowing for extended improvisational passages within its framework.

The recording captures the raw, unadorned quality associated with Baul performances, with minimal post-production intervention. Riverboat Records, a subsidiary of World Music Network, distributed the album as part of its series on global folk traditions. No commercial singles or alternate versions of Guru To Dayal were released from this album. The liner notes, where present, provide contextual essays on Baul culture but do not include detailed session credits or recording locations.