Muzik Info Inc.

While Pandavani was just about fluttering out of the chrysalis, little Teejan was picking up the first inflexions of this traditional art form. Ganiyari village, some 14 kms north of Bhilai, never saw much riches, the families subsisted on minimums though some did send their children to school. Not Chunuk Lal Pardhi and his wife Sukhwati. In their household there was just enough to keep the hearth burning, education was a luxury but Pandavani was a way of life. Growing up amongst four siblings, Teejan Bai often heard her grandfather regale the family with the stories from the Mahabharat. Teejan, not even 12 then and already married, was enamoured by the folk art. She picked up the basics and trained informally under Umed Singh Deshmukh.

At 13, she gave her first performance in village Chandrakhuri (Durg) for a whopping ten rupees.

The oldest of five children, she was married off at 12. Her marriage split and she was ostracised by the community because of her love for Pandavani. She gave her first performance on a makeshift stage in a neighbouring village for Rs 10. Invitations from other villages started coming until she was noticed by Habib Tanvir, the famous theatre personality from Madhya Pradesh. She went on to perform for Indira Gandhi, participated in several festivals and became the first female exponent of Pandavani.

She took to the Kapalik style of Pandavani, where the narrator depicts scene from the epic and improvises consistently. Till then, women had preferred the Vedmati style, where the performer sits and narrates the story. Along the way she remarried thrice, and now lives with her fourth husband and five children.

A sheer sign of �oman empowerment�and a role model for many is Teejan bai. A 45, year old Folk artist from Chattisgadh district, who charms people with the force of her narrative and performs her own interpretation of the epic, Mahabharata. 

On 19^{th August Teejan Bai floored Students and staff of TISS (Tata Institute of Social Sciences) with her recital of the Mahabharata at the TISS campus and the programme was sponsored by the TISS Chapter of SPIC-MACAY. As Teejan Bai's tale unfolded Bhishma, the perfect knight the chivalrous Karna, the noble Pandavas, the mightly Dushasana, Draupadi, and the legend among legends Krishna came alive on stage.}

^{Teejan Bai, who was trained by her Nanaji (maternal grandfather) is the first Pandwani woman story-teller. Teejan Bai, with, performs her own interpretation of the epic, Mahabharata.. She took to the Kapalik style of Pandavani, where the narrator depicts scene from the epic and improvises consistently. Till then, women had preferred the Vedmati style, where the performer sits and narrates the story.}