About the Band

Ochin Pakhi performs the folk and traditional music of Bengal — the cultural region spanning the nation of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal — music born of rivers and fields, wandering mystics, and centuries of social struggle. Since 2017, the band has shared this music with audiences throughout Chicago and beyond, with spirited arrangements that weave traditional South Asian instruments like dotara, tabla, and bansuri together with Western instruments like cello, flute, and accordion. In Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood, Ochin Pakhi nurtures a musical community through open rehearsals, public events, and benefit concerts.

The band’s repertoire draws from a rich tapestry of Bengali musical traditions:

• Baul-Fakiri gaan – songs of the Baul and Fakir wandering mystic minstrels of Bengal
• Lalongiti – songs by Lalon Fakir, the beloved Baul saint and social reformer
• Rabindrasangeet – songs by Rabindranath Tagore, Bengal’s most celebrated poet-philsopher
• Nazrulgiti – songs by Kazi Nazrul Islam, the revolutionary “rebel poet”
• Bhatiyali – boatman songs that sway with the rhythm of the oars
• Jhumur – rhythmic dance songs from the red soils of western Bengal
• Bengali Qawwali – ecstatic Sufi devotional songs
• Jit-sangeet – a genre of the band’s own invention, consisting of original songs composed by founding band member Subhajit Sengupta in collaboration with lyricist Debajit Goswami

The name Ochin Pakhi (roughly pronounced AW-cheen PAH-khee) means “unknown bird” — a metaphor found in Baul song that represents the soul, the breath, and the unknowable force within us that is always present yet never quite grasped, ever escaping its cage. Like the unknown bird, Ochin Pakhi follows the music wherever it leads, rooted in tradition but always searching. 

Come talk to us at our shows if you’d like to discuss the history and philosophy behind the music!

Ochin Pakhi operates as a partner of Mandala Arts, a nonprofit organization, which enables us to receive tax-deductible donations and grants in support of our work.