Bhatiali

Bhatiali or Bhatiyali is a form of folk music in Bangladesh. Bhatiyali is a boat song, sung by boatmen while going down streams of the river, as the word Bhatiyali comes from Bhata meaning ebb or downstream

It is mostly sung in the Mymensingh District along the Brahmaputra River or the Bhati (lower region of a river) area. Bhaitaili lyrics are traditionally about boating, fishing and rivers. Among the 14 subject of folk music in Bangladesh, that includes Deha-tatva (about the body) and Murshid-tatva (about the guru), Bhatiali deals with Prakriti-tatva (about nature).

Notable collectors, composers and writers in the genre are Miraz Ali, Ukil Munshi, Rashid Uddin. Jalal Khan, Jang Bahadur, Shah Abdul Karim and Umed Ali. Between the 1930s and 1950 Bhaitali has seen its golden age, when most of these personalities were contributing to the genre. Singer Abbas Uddin made the genre popular singing Amay bhashaili re, amay dubaili re and other popular numbers. In the 2000s, Malay Ganguly and Bari Siddiki are two most prominent Bhatiali singers.