24 Facts About Ramprasad Sen

1.

Ramprasad Sen was highly influenced by Krishnananda Agamavagisha, a Tantric scholar and yogi.

2.

Ramprasad Sen's life has been the subject of many stories depicting his devotion to, and relationship with, Kali.

3.

Ramprasad Sen is credited with creating a new compositional form that combined the Bengali folk style of Baul music with classical melodies and kirtan.

4.

Biographies of Ramprasad Sen are a mixture of biography, metaphor, and legend.

5.

Ramprasad Sen was born in Garalgachha, in Hooghly District, in a Baidya Brahmin family, belonging to Dhanvantari gotra.

6.

Ramprasad Sen's father, Ramram Sen, was an Ayurvedic doctor and Sanskrit scholar.

7.

Ramram hoped his son would follow in his profession, but Ramprasad Sen showed no interest in practical pursuits.

8.

Ramprasad Sen later became the disciple of Krishnananda Agamavagisha, a Tantric yogi and scholar.

9.

Durga Charan Mitra, upon reading Ramprasad Sen's work, was moved by his piety and literary skill.

10.

Ramprasad Sen rarely attended the Maharaja's court and would spend his time in sadhana and worship of Kali instead.

11.

Krishna Chandra became Ramprasad Sen's benefactor, giving him 100 acres of tax free land.

12.

Ramprasad Sen is said to have visited the court of the Nawab at the Nawab's fervent request.

13.

Ramprasad Sen was hesitant as he did not know any other song than the Shyama Sangeet, so the Nawab asked him to sing the songs dedicated to his Mother.

14.

Ramprasad Sen was very fond of taking part in Kali puja on the night of Diwali, the festival of lights.

15.

Ramprasad Sen was followed by the devotees, who carried the clay image of Kali to be immersed in the Ganges after the night of worship.

16.

Ramprasad Sen waded into the holy river, until the water was neck deep, all the while singing for Kali.

17.

Ramprasad Sen was repairing a fence with the assistance of his daughter, who left shortly thereafter.

18.

Ramprasad Sen was on his way to the river for his daily ritual bath when a beautiful young woman stopped him, asking if she could hear him sing a devotional song to the Divine Mother.

19.

Ramprasad Sen requested her to wait, since it was getting late for his noon worship.

20.

Ramprasad Sen is regarded as one of the notable figures of the bhakti movement in Bengal during the eighteenth century.

21.

Ramprasad Sen was the first Shakta poet to address Kali with such intimate devotion, and to sing of her as a tender loving mother or even as a little girl.

22.

Ramprasad Sen created a new compositional form that combined the Bengali folk style of Baul music with classical melodies and kirtan.

23.

Shaktigiti is Ramprasad Sen's well known and respected work, in which he expresses his deepest feelings and love for Kali.

24.

Ramprasad Sen's songs are still popular in Bengal and recited regularly in the worship of Kali.