Baul is not just the one factor of uniqueness in Bengal it is in fact that this rambling music cult has a special place in the history of world music and that the word "Baul" has its derivative origin in the Sanskrit words "Vatula" (madcap), or "Vyakula" (restless) and remained for someone who is "possessed" or "crazy" and were not from established customs, who rejected the traditional social norms to form a distinct sect that upheld music as their religion while exploring the limitless genre of folk music developed by this creative cult.
Moreover, it's easy to identify a Baul singer from his uncut, often coiled hair, saffron robe (alkhalla), necklace of beads made of basil (tulsi) stems, and of course the single-stringed guitar (ektara) as music is their only source of sustenance and they live on whatever they are offered by villagers in return, travelling from place to place, as it were, on a vehicle of rapturous delight.
