Teejan Bai (born 8 August 1956) is an exponent of Pandavani, a traditional performing art form, from

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...

, in which she enacts tales from the Mahabharata, with musical accompaniments. She has been awarded the Padma Shri in 1988, Padma Bhushan in 2003, and Padma Vibhushan in 2019 by Government of India, besides 1995

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

in 1995, given by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama.

Biography

Early life

Teejan Bai was born in Ganiyari village, north of

Bhilai Bhilai is a city in Durg district of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Chhattisgarh, in eastern central India. With population exceeding 1 million, it is the second-largest urban area in Chhattisgarh after Raipur. Bhil ...

, to Chunuk Lal Pardhi and his wife Sukhwati. She belongs to the

Pardhi Pardhi is a Hindu tribe in India. The tribe is found mostly in Maharashtra and parts of Madhya Pradesh however small numbers can be found in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. The word Pardhi is derived from the Marathi (state language) word ‘''Paradh ...

Scheduled Tribe of

state. The eldest among her five siblings, she heard her maternal grandfather, Brijlal Pardhi, recite the Mahabharata written by Chhattisgarhi writer, Sabal Singh Chauhan in

Chhattisgarhi Chhattisgarhi ( / ) is an Indo-Aryan language, spoken by approximately 16 million people from Chhattisgarh & other states. It is mostly spoken in the Indian states of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh & Maharashtra. It is closely related ...

Hindi and instantly took a liking to it. She soon memorised much of it, and later trained informally under Umed Singh Deshmukh.

Career

At age 13, she gave her first public performance in a neighbouring village, Chandrakhuri (Durg) for Rs 10., singing in the ''VEDMATI SHAILI'' (style) of 'Pandavani', a first time for a woman, as traditionally women used to sing in the ''Vedamati'', the sitting style. Contrary to the tradition, Teejan Bai performed standing singing out loud in her typical guttural voice and unmistakable verve, entering what was till then, a male bastion. Within a short time, she became known in neighbouring villages and invitations poured to perform at special occasions and festivals. Her big-break came, when Habib Tanvir, a theatre personality from Madhya Pradesh, noticed her talent, and she was called to perform for then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. In time she received national and international recognition, a Padma Shri in 1988,

in 1995, and Padma Bhushan in 2003. Beginning in the 1980s, she travelled all over the world as a cultural ambassador, to countries as far as England, France, Switzerland, Germany, Turkey, Tunisia, Malta, Cyprus, Romania and Mauritius. She performed sequences from the Mahabharata in

Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (born 14 December 1934) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. He has received ...

's acclaimed Doordarshan TV series Bharat Ek Khoj based on Jawaharlal Nehru's book. Today she continues to enthrall audiences, the world over with her unique folk singing and her powerful voice; and pass on her singing to the younger generation. She has recently received highest honour of Padma Vibhshan in 2019

Personal life

Though she was married at 12, she was expelled by the community, the 'Pardhi' tribe, for singing Pandavani, being a woman. She built herself a small hut and started living on her own, borrowing utensils and food from neighbours, yet never left her singing, which eventually paid off for her. She never went to her first husband's home and later split (divorce). In the following years, she was married twice and later became a grandmother.

Performance style

Pandavani, literally means stories of Pandavas, the legendary brothers in Mahabharat, and involves enacting and singing with instrumental accompaniment an ektara or a ''tambura'' in one hand and sometimes a ''kartal'' in another. As the performance progresses, the tambura becomes her only prop, sometimes to personify a ''gada'', mace of

Bhima In Hindu epic Mahabharata, Bhima ( sa, भीम, ) is the second among the five Pandavas. The ''Mahabharata'' relates many events that portray the might of Bhima. Bhima was born when Vayu, the wind god, granted a son to Kunti and Pandu. Af ...

, or

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...

's bow or chariot, while at other times it becomes the hair of queen Draupadi, allowing her to play various character with effective ease and candour. Her acclaimed performances are of, Draupadi cheerharan, Dushasana Vadh and Mahabharat Yudh, between Bhishma and Arjun.

Awards

* 1988 Padma Shri * 1995

* 2003 Hon. D.Litt., Bilaspur University * 2003 Padma Bhushan * 2016

M S Subbalaxmi centenary award M, or m, is the thirteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''em'' (pronounced ), plural ''ems''. History Th ...

* 2018 Fukuoka prize * 2019 Padma VibhushanMinistry of Home Affairs, India
25 January 2019

References

External links

Facebook pagePortrait of Teejan Bai at Kamat.comBharat Ek Khoj Episode 5 at YouTube.comChhattisgarhi Pandwani
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bai, Teejan 1956 births Living people Indian women folk singers Indian folk singers Artists from Chhattisgarh Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Indian storytellers People from Durg district Women artists from Chhattisgarh 20th-century Indian women singers 20th-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian women singers Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship