Bangla Academy is preserving documentation of these genres, including the decaying ones. But, of the 135 different genres, only 15 are widely practiced, while the rest are almost on the verge of extinction.

Indra, the president of Loko Sangeet Parishad, formed in 1998, seeks to preserve the authentic tunes of these decaying genres. Indra says, "Our organisation has 32 branches at the district level. I have collected songs by 715 bards.

"With the support of UNESCO, in 2003 we arranged a programme titled 'Songs of Hundred Mystic Poets', where we presented songs of the rural poets, including the works of 42, who are still alive. Among the remarkable bards' works we presented, were Lalon Shah, Hasan Raja, Gagan Harkara, Jalal Khan, Dudu Shah, Rakib Shah, Arkam Shah, Radha Raman and others. We even presented Rabindra Sangeet, which were highly influenced by Lalon Geeti. In future we plan to present songs of more than 1,000 bards.

"Like Murshidi, Marfati, Bhatiali, Jari, Shari, Bhawaiyya, Bichchhedi, Baul, Dehotatta, Atmatatto, Manoshikkha, a few other genres are preserved, but many others like Bhadu, Tusu, Dhamail are not heard anymore. And no initiative has been taken to preserve this rich heritage. Lalon has more than 1,600 songs of which, only a few are practiced. We are paying less attention to our rich folk heritage. Even the media support is inadequate," adds Indra.

Why are folk songs being neglected? In Indra's words, "Earlier people had the opportunity to listen to folk music in almost every region of the country through gramophones and widespread live performances. But, nowadays, we are very much influenced by the Western culture and are becoming alienated from our roots. Though a few fusion efforts are being made by the young generation, not all are standard productions. I believe that if the authentic tune of our folk songs are presented with modern instruments, the younger generation will prefer folk music over other music trends."

Indra says, "My family has been practicing folk music for generations." He started his stage performance in his childhood. Indra says, "I was the dohar (co-artist of kabigaan genre) of my father, who is my mentor." Later he learnt music from many renowned folk singers like Abdul Alim, Momotaz Ali Khan, M Osman Khan, Abdul Latif and M Hafizur Rahman.

There is a need to popularise folk songs among children, he says. Having presented folk songs in 42 countries of the world, he now intends to write lyrics suitable for the younger generation. Indra says, "Mystic poets have depicted a complete way of life in the folk songs. Some of the songs are wonderful presentations of emotion, devotion and other feelings. Some are educational. However, there were no songs suitable for children in folk genres. I have written about 100 songs for the children following folk style," claims Indra.