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Raipur: A very sad and shocking news has come out from the Indian folk art and cultural world. The country’s renowned Pandwani singer and Padma Vibhushan awardee Dr. Teejan Bai has passed away after a long illness. He breathed his last at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Raipur. The public relations officer of AIIMS has confirmed his death.

Wave of mourning in the folk art world

According to the information received, 70-year-old Teejan Bai was admitted in Raipur AIIMS for the last several weeks and was suffering from serious health problems. His health suddenly deteriorated at around 3:15 am on Sunday. Despite all the efforts of the doctors, he could not be saved and he said goodbye to the world.

journey to the global stage

Born on 24 April 1956 in Ganiyari village of Durg district of Chhattisgarh, the entire life of Teejan Bai has been a unique example of hard struggle, breaking social barriers and determination. He not only kept the traditional folk art of Chhattisgarh ‘Pandwani’ (a style of singing the story of Mahabharata through music and acting) alive, but also gave it an international identity.

Stepped on stage at the age of 13

At a time when it was considered taboo for women to perform on stage, especially singing while standing in the ‘Kapalik style’ of Pandwani, she faced huge opposition from the society. Even after being ostracized from the society, he did not leave the tambura in his hands and stepped on the stage for the first time at the age of 13. After this, he did not look back and spread the word of Indian culture in dozens of countries of the world including America, Britain, France, Russia.

never went to school

Teejan Bai’s life is proof that talent is not dependent on any formal education. Due to poverty and adverse circumstances in her childhood, she could never attend school. Later, through literacy campaign, he somehow completed his studies only till class five. Even though she never went to any university as a regular student.

What honor have you received?

Due to his unmatched dedication towards art, four different universities in the country and abroad have awarded him ‘D. Awarded the honorary degree of ‘Lit.’ She became such a rare personality in the country who received all the top civilian honors of the country except Bharat Ratna. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1988, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1995, the Padma Bhushan in 2003 and the country’s second highest civilian award ‘Padma Vibhushan’ in 2019.