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Mayer Tori in 2016 in collaboration with local cultural activists, disseminating musical training to children across nine Gurugrihas in the two districts.

About 460 children are receiving singing lessons, while another 125 are learning to play musical instruments at two training centres. For advanced learners, there is a special “Tori Class” where they gain deeper knowledge of different branches of folk music.

“Mayer Tori is not merely an institution; it is a movement,” said its director, Sujon Kumar Bed.

Organiser Yusuf Alamgir said, “Our philosophy is self-realisation and enrichment through the practice of folk music. We aim to revive the lost sounds and rhythms of rural Bengal.”

Speaking to this correspondent, Wera Saether, founder of Mayer Tori, said she had been greatly moved by the region’s folk musical tradition during her visit to Uttar Namajerchar village under Kurigram’s Roumari upazila in 1998.

Her experience led her to work with local folk artistes and establish Mayer Tori in 2016. She also translated 53 Lalon songs into Norwegian and published them in a book.

“In today’s world -- amid wars, greed, and environmental destruction -- it’s hard to keep people mentally healthy. I believe the songs of Lalon, as well as Baul, Marfati, and Murshidi songs, can guide humanity back toward love and peace,” she said.

“That’s why I started Mayer Tori with cultural activists of northern Bangladesh -- to teach music, and more importantly, to raise children as humane individuals,” Wera added.