Pandavani Folk Tradition of Chhattisgarh and Teejan Bai

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Key takeaways

The legendary Padma Vibhushan recipient Teejan Bai, who popularized the Pandavani folk art, passed away at the age of 72 in Raipur.
Pandavani is a traditional oral ballad art form from Chhattisgarh that acts out tales from the Mahabharata, focusing mainly on Bhima.
The art form operates through two distinct performance styles known as Vedamati Shaili and Kapalik Shaili.
Historically a male-dominated performance, Pandavani saw a major shift during the 1980s as women artists began leading performances.

The President of India and senior political leaders paid tributes to legendary Padma Vibhushan recipient Teejan Bai, who passed away in Raipur at the age of 72.

Pandavani is a vibrant folk theater and ballad singing art from central India that dramatizes episodes from the Mahabharata with Bhima as the lead hero.

The state of Chhattisgarh serves as the primary regional hub for the Pandavani folk tradition.
Artists also perform this traditional art across neighboring cultural areas in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh.

Local tradition traces Pandavani back to the ancient era of the Mahabharata, preserving epic narratives through generations of spoken storytelling.
Originally restricted to male performers, the tradition experienced a major shift in the 1980s when Teejan Bai and other female artists joined the art form.
This oral ballad custom shares close artistic ties with Bengal's Baul singers and early Kathak narrative storytellers.

The performance aims to guide citizens on ethical, governance, and social dilemmas using philosophical lessons from the Mahabharata.
It preserves and transmits regional, tribal, and localized interpretations of classical Indian mythological stories.

The narrator uses a string instrument like the Tambura or Ektara as a flexible prop to represent Bhima's mace, Arjuna's bow, or Draupadi's hair.
Accompanying musicians play the Harmonium, Tabla, Dholak, and Manjira, while chorus singers interact with questions and humor.
The Vedamati Shaili represents a structured performance style following Sabbal Singh Chauhan's written text in Doha-Chaupai metre.
The Kapalik Shaili represents an improvisational style driven by memory, personal creativity, and dramatic performance, popularized by Teejan Bai.

By presenting Mahabharata stories in local dialects, Pandavani brings core cultural values directly to rural and tribal communities.
Women artists like Teejan Bai broke long-standing social barriers, opening doors for female participation and empowerment through folk performance.