Bayatis in the rural musical programmes render pallapali or dhuya songs as well as mystic songs like murshidi. What is pallapalli or dhuya song? Abul Sarkar said, "It's similar to kabigaan, in which two bayatis compete. Playing the violin, the bayati (lead vocal) renders a song, while the instrumentalists and chorus support him. Usually, there are two bayatis, one asking questions and the other answering. The bayatis or the lead singers have own dohars and bayens (chorus and instrument players) who sing the refrain in the intervals between question and answer. Pallapalli songs have an essence of sheer fun. Sometimes the songs focus on the mysteries of religion or the human form.

"In the course of the pallapalli, the rival bayatis have to improvise the lyrics and tunes on the stage. Towards this end, we usually select songs from different folk genres. Then we develop the reply to the question of the rival instantly.

And the participants must have a clear concept of different folk genres, doctrines of Islam, Hinduism, Sufism, mythology, Vaishnavism and others. Otherwise, it's not possible to win the pallapali contest. The focus of the rivals is to please the audience through aesthetic musical presentation."

Though music is a family tradition, Sarkar learnt pallapalli from Shahabuddin Bayati. Later he developed his own style. Since 1978, he has been performing as the lead bayati for commercial shows.

Besides pallapali, Sarkar renders other folk genres. To quote him, "Bayatis have the expertise of rendering all genres of the folk songs, as during the bayati gaan we have to improvise from all forms of folk genres. During my solo performance I render all genres of folk music, however, I prefer to sing mystic songs as well as bichchedi (sentimental) based on Sufism. These songs are very popular in the rural areas. The selection of songs depends on the taste of the audience. I render self-written and composed songs. My sentimental songs go beyond the emotions for fellow humans, rather they are dictated by my inner urge to reunite with God. And when I perform at uras (religious convocation), I render religious songs such as nabitatwa (songs glorifying the last Prophet) or on Khwajababa."

In dry season, bayatis and bauls remain very busy. However, few folk musical soirees take place during rest of the year. Abul Sarkar is one of the busiest bayatis in the country, who has performed nationwide as well as Bangla-speaking regions of India. Sarkar said, "Bauls and bayatis are currently facing a hard time. After the recent bomb attacks in the country by the religious fanatics, the folk musical soirees have dwindled. And the administration does not permit much folk music concerts."

Sarkar has written and composed over 400 songs, which rural and urban singers render. He has released 150 solo albums. Sarkar said, "At the initial stage I used to receive Tk 800, however, nowadays they offer Tk 20,000 per album. In fact, the producers order me to compose songs of particular genres such as murshidi, marfati, Sri Krishna kirtan, Khwajababa, bichchhedi, and others."

The advance of technology has opened doors to the bayatis. These days producers ask two bayatis to perform pallapalli on VCD. Abul Sarkar has released 50 such VCDs.