Legendary folk singer Padma Vibhushan Teejan Bai passes away at the age of 70

The legendary Pandavani folk singer and Padma Vibhushan recipient, Dr. Teejan Bai, passed away at the age of 70 on Sunday early morning. She breathed her last at approximately 3:15 AM at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. The acclaimed cultural icon had been suffering from a prolonged illness and was undergoing specialized medical treatment at the facility before her health deteriorated during the early hours of the day.

Born on August 8, 1956, in Ganiyari village near Bhilai, Teejan Bai overcame massive patriarchal and societal barriers to carve out an unprecedented legacy in traditional performing arts. She started singing at the tender age of 13, earning just ten rupees for her debut public performance. Her distinctive, powerful voice and high-energy stage presence quickly captivated rural audiences, breaking long-standing gender roles by becoming the first female artist to perform Pandavani—a narrative folk form depicting stories from the Mahabharata—in the traditionally male-dominated Kapalik style.

Throughout her illustrious career, Teejan Bai revolutionized the art form by standing up to perform with her signature red tambura, defying the older Vedamati tradition where women performed strictly while seated. Her immense contributions to promoting Chhattisgarh's rich tribal heritage on global platforms earned her widespread national and international recognition. The Government of India honored her exceptional artistic vision with the Padma Shri in 1988, followed by the Padma Bhushan in 2003, and the country's second-highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2019.