DEATH OF PANDWANI SIGER : TEEJAN BAI
Renowned Pandavani folk singer Teejan Bai died in Raipur in the early hours of Sunday following prolonged illness. She was 69 years old.
Teejan Bai was the only person from Chhattisgarh to have been awarded the Padma Vibhushan.
Illustrious career
Born on August 8, 1956, in Atari Patan in Chhattigarh’s Durg district, Teejan Bai developed a fondness for singing at an early age.
START AT 13 AND LEARNING
From the age of 13, she started singing Pandvani after learning about it from her grandfather, Brij Lal Pardhi.
Pandavani
is a folk singing style that involves the narration of tales from the Mahabharata.
Pandavani performances are characterised by their
- dramatic narration,
- rhythmic singing,
- and expressive gestures, through which the performer brings to life the moral, philosophical, and human dimensions of the epic.
Origins and Historical Background
Pandavani traces its origins to the rural oral traditions of central India, particularly
- Chhattisgarh,
- Madhya Pradesh, and
- Odisha.
It developed as a way for common people — many of whom were illiterate — to understand and connect with the moral teachings of the Mahabharata.
The tradition likely evolved between the 16th and 17th centuries, as part of the larger Bhakti movement that emphasised
- devotion,
- storytelling, and
- accessible forms of spirituality.
Over generations, Pandavani became both a folk art and a communal experience, performed during festivals, religious gatherings, and village fairs.
Historically, the performers were from farming or working-class communities, and the performances reflected rural dialects, humour, and local customs, making the great Sanskrit epic relatable to everyday life.
FORMAL TRAINING AND 1St PERFORMANCE
After receiving formal training from Ummaid Singh Deshmukh, she gave her first performance, at the age of 13, at Gram Chandrakhuri in Durg.
She then got an opportunity from the Adiwasi Lok Kala Parkshad to perform at Bharat Bhawan in Bhopal.
करियर तेजी से आगे बढ़ा
Her career later took off, and she performed across the country and abroad, taking Pandvani to nations like
- France,
- Switzerland,
- Germany,
- England,
- Malta,
- Cyprus,
- Tunisia,
- Italy,
- Yemen,
- Bangladesh and
- Mauritius.
Among the many accolades she won
over the years were the
- Padma Shri in 1988,
- recognition as Shreshth Kala Acharya in 1994,
- the Sangeet Natak Academy prize in 1996,
- the Padma Bhushan in 2003,
- and the Padma Vibhushan in 2019.
Teejan Bai had three sons, two of whom have passed away. Savitri Bai, her daughter-in-law, who was with her in hospital for over a month, told The Indian Express, “She was unable to speak for six to seven months, but she communicated with hand gestures. When that, too, stopped, we admitted her to the hospital.”
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