বাংলা 
English 
Among the mystic sage-artists of the post-Lalon era who made the songs of Baul Samrat Lalon popular, one was Behal Shah, the mystic baul sage and lyricist of Faridpur in Alamdanga.
Some Lalon scholars say that the way Lalon's songs are sung among the sages today - the style, the character of the melodies now in vogue - is the contribution of a few mystic melody-sages of the post-Lalon era. They are: Amulya Shah, Shah Kalimuddin alias Kalu Shah, Behal Shah, Mohin Shah, Khoda Bux Shah (Jahapur) and Moksed Ali Sai. Among them, Behal Shah's influence is acknowledged as the widest.
Behal Shah was born on 25 Chaitra 1307 (Bengali era) in the village of Nagdah Baleshwarpur in Alamdanga thana of Chuadanga district. His father and mother were Bahadur Shah and Moina Nesa Bibi respectively. His formal education went up to primary school. His ancestral home is the village of Khord Ailchara near Poradah railway station. It is known that in his early life he was in a Leton troupe. Later he took initiation from Chamir Chand of the Delbar Shah lineage.
Having learned Lalon's songs from Amulya Shah, Shukchand, Khoda Bux and others, he earned renown as a popular vocalist of these songs. Indeed, he is one of the founders of the present gayaki tradition of Lalon's songs. Behal Shah's second wife was Daulatunnesa. They had one daughter, named Ayesha Khatun. Until the last day of his life he lived in Faridpur, famed as the village of seven hundred fakirs. It is known that he could bind a song on stage to the theme of the moment and its context. The exact number of songs he wrote is not known. But many bauls claim that he composed about nine hundred and fifty songs. Even now, the mystic songs in Behal Shah's deep, resonant voice are praised without reserve.
Many connoisseurs claim that a voice as deep and refined as Behal Shah's has not been heard in his own time or since. On 18 Bhadra 1388 (4 September 1981) this mystic sage-artist, lyricist and melody-sage passed away. He had an extraordinary command of the Quran and the Hindu scriptures, the Vedas, Vedanta and the Upanishads, and of myth. He was called a scholar of all the shastras.
Among the many who were indebted to Behal Shah's virtues was the late Maula Bux Pagla, who was extraordinary in song and in wisdom. Maula Bux passed away on 16 August 2012. Besides these, Jharu Khyapa, the late Didar Shah and Raich Uddin Shah of Faridpur were among Behal Shah's chief disciples. The mazar of this gifted man, located in Faridpur village of Alamdanga, has long remained unattended.
Source: Anthony Atik, Samprotiki.com
