Chhattisgarh's celebrated Pandavani folk singer Teejan Bai has passed away, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to social media platform X to mourn her death, describing it as an irreparable loss for the world of art and culture.
What Modi wrote
In his post, Narendra Modi said news of the death of the renowned Pandavani singer had left him deeply saddened. He recalled how Teejan Bai gave Chhattisgarh's traditional folk art form a distinct identity across the world through her magnificent performances. Modi called her passing a loss to the world of art and culture that could never be made up. He ended the post by conveying his condolences to her family in this hour of grief.
About Teejan Bai
Teejan Bai is regarded as the first woman performer of Chhattisgarh's Pandavani folk narrative singing style. As a child, she used to listen to stories from the Mahabharata narrated by her maternal grandfather, and that early exposure sparked the passion that eventually made her a pioneer of the art form. Having performed Pandavani on stages both in India and abroad, she was awarded an honorary D.Litt by Bilaspur University. The Indian government honoured her with the Padma Shri in 1988, followed by the Padma Bhushan for her contribution to the arts in 2003, and she later went on to receive the Padma Vibhushan as well, meaning she held all three Padma honours. She was also conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1995 and the Nritya Shiromani honour in 2007. According to news reports, despite this recognition at home and abroad, Teejan Bai had been struggling financially in recent years.
The decline in her health before her death
Concerns over Teejan Bai's health had been building for a while. Reports say that back in 2023, when her condition worsened, then Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had sent a team of doctors to her home. In November 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally called her family to check on her wellbeing and assured them of all possible help, following which the local administration also swung into action, with the district collector and a team of doctors visiting her home. Her health deteriorated again in March 2026 and once more in May 2026, leading to her admission to the ICU at AIIMS Raipur. She breathed her last at AIIMS Raipur on 5 July 2026 while undergoing treatment there.
Public reaction
Reactions to the Prime Minister's condolence message on social media were mixed. Many users paid heartfelt tribute to Teejan Bai and remembered her contribution to Pandavani and Indian culture, while a section of users used the same post to raise questions about the government's unrelated policies.
