We would like to wish  Mac Hauqe, a legendary musician and writer from Bangladesh a very happy 64th birthday  and to celebrate the auspicious occasion Ershad Alamgir has this candid conversation on the Podcast series "KnowingWhoYouAre" with the veteran political activist, prolific writer and Baul practitioner for over three decades discussing various aspects of his illustrious career and his perspective towards life as "a Baul Shadhok". Mac Haque is freelance writer, columnist, poet, philosopher and an independent non-academic researcher on culture, acculturation, multi culturalism, Syncretism, Baul Studies, Islamic extremism, Sufi Islam,  and Bangladesh Politics .He is also a jazz-rock fusion musician of over 40 years and have 12 albums to his credit - including 2 complete works on Baul music.

KnowingWhoYouAre is a podcast geared towards spreading the message of positivity, personal development, maintaining mental health and disseminating inspirational life lessons through the shared experiences of people who have experienced life in its several dimensions and also through talks with experts in particular discipline and field of interest who can explain and clarify question related to health and wellbeing.


What we discuss with Mac Haque: 

00:00 Intro
02:06 Birthday wish
02:46 Perspective towards life
09:43 Influence of Buddism on Baul tradition
16:01 Idea of God according to the Bauls
16:45 Four Tarikahs or order of Baul tradition
22:32 White order or Tarikah 
25:45 Talking about his famous song and the texture of his voice
28:29 What is the true essence of Baul Music
29:48 Different schools of thought among the Bauls
31:01 What school of thought does Mac belong to?
31:59 The idea of letting go
35:56 Mac's motivation behind political activism
38:06 Mac's view on Covid-19
42:20 Mac's initiative for Covid-19 affected Bauls of Bangladesh
46:17 Idea of service to humanity
49:53 The socio-economic class system in Bangladesh 
51:47 Current struggle for holding anti-establishment views
55:53 Vision for future
57:59 Akhra tradition in the social system of Bauls
01:00:44 Concluding message through a song of Fokir Lalon Shah