Teejan Bai – An exponent of traditional art form, Pandavani

Teejan Bai is a famous Pandavani Folk Singer from the state of Chhattisgarh. Pandavani is a traditional performing art form that narrates tales from the epic Mahabharata using traditional music instruments. An exponent in this traditional art form, she is a recipient of 3 Padma awards including Padma Shri in 1987, Padma Bhushan in 2003, and Padma Vibhushan in 2019 besides Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1995. She used Kapalik style of Pandavani which was traditionally used by men. Reciting Puranic lore and enacting scenic sequences from the Mahabharata for decades now, she is the pride of our nation.

She used to hear Mahabharata recitals by her maternal grandfather and got drawn towards it

Teejan Bai was born in Ganiyari village, Chhattisgarh on 8th August in 1956. She was born as the eldest among 5 children of Chunuk Lal Pardhi and Sukhwati. During childhood she got deeply influenced by Mahabharata recitals by her maternal grandfather, written by Chhattisgarhi writer, Sabal Singh Chauhan in Chhattisgarhi Hindi. She never went to school as no girl belonging to her tribe was ever taught to read and write. Yet she started memorizing its lines and started training informally under Umed Singh Deshmukh. She made decision in her mind that `Pandvani’ artiste, though her family had other plans for her.

Teejan Bai gave her first public performance in a neighbouring village at the age of 13

Traditionally women used to sing in the Vedamati, the sitting style. She broke the tradition, and performed standing singing out loud, thus entering into a territory which was till then associated with men only. She was the first woman to storm this predominantly male form of narration. She took to enacting and singing with instrumental accompaniment on stage in the Kapalik shaili (style) of `Pandvani’.

Initially though many people and upper communities denounced her in terms of caste and gender, slowly Teejan Bai started winning everyone’s heart. Initially upper castes took objection to a scheduled tribe girl reciting the sacred text. But later they have to agree that she have some god-given talent. She started getting invitations from neighbouring villages, and later crossed state borders.

Habib Tanvir invited her to perform for then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi

Famous theatre personality Habib Tanvir’s invitation to perform in front of then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi proved to be the turning point of her career. Later Teejan Bai travelled worldwide with her Pandavani. From the beginning of 1980s she travelled all over the world as a cultural ambassador. Padma Shri winner Usha Barle is her disciple.

Bright hues dominate her ethnic costume and accessories

She performs wearing bright colours. Teejan dons with a long-braided hair, vermillion sindoor, betel-red lips and kohl-darkened eyes. Her voice is her biggest boon. Her powerful narration recreates Pandava history for the viewers.

Bitter first marriage and hardships

Bai has bitter experiences in her family life. Unlike women belonging to her community, marriage and children never put a stop to her pursuit. She was married at the age of 12 and by the time she started performing, she was already married. Her in-laws never approved her singing. She was expelled by the community for singing Pandavani. She lived in a hut which she built herself at such a young age, initially borrowed utensils and food from neighbours and had to face a lot of hardships to reach the position where she is right now. At any stage of her hardships, she never left singing. She is employed at the Bhilai Steel Plant and currently lives with her second husband Gangaram, who is supportive of her career. In the late 2024 news came out that she is suffering from ailments and was not getting pension for last 9 months. Health minister gave her cheque of 5 lakhs.