TEEjan Bai’s passing away at a relatively young age of 70 years came as a shock to the nation and its connoisseurs of art and tradition. Though she was ailing for sometime, nobody ever suspected that the end would come so soon. But in her case, we may say to Death, ‘Do not be proud. You have done no good’. For, in passing away of Teejan Bai, India has lost one of her most illustrious daughters who became a signature of India’s traditional art and heritage. To state things bluntly, a Teejan Bai is born only once in a long, long, long while. We join the nation in expressing grief over the demise of this superstar of Indian traditional art -- Padma Vibhushan Teejan Bai. Of course, words certainly are the tool to express human sentiment.

 

As the larger Indian society expresses its grief over Teejan Bai’s demise, words would flow in a traumatic flow. But the reality of Teejan Bai’s personality and her contribution to Indian traditional art cannot be captured easily in words. It needs to be understood only in silent, spiritual -- even abstract -- terms. Such was the power of what Teejan Bai did for the larger Indian society’s sense of art and tradition -- beyond words, beyond normal phrase, beyond normal verse. Teejan Bai’s life-story has far more cinematic value than anybody can imagine -- a treasure-trove of ups and downs, of isolation and rejection, of resistance by all versus her own resilience, of her being not educated in a normal sense but of her being one of the most wise not just in the world of traditional arts but also in the larger Indian social context, of her struggles within the family to keep her art thriving, of moving round the world to present innumerable aspects of India’s traditional art, of brining to life the story of Mahabharata in episodic presentations, of interpreting the great epic in a context understandable to modern mind ... ! ... Even for a modern, urban Indian girl, rising to the pinnacle of human excellence after getting thrown out of marriage at an early age and of having been thrown out of caste for her resort to art as a profession as well as advocation would be extremely difficult. But, even as she went through all that traumatic experiences, Teejan Bai held her head high and kept her spirit up -- to bounce back time and again. Then came the final dawn of larger societal acceptance of her art -- after Professor Habib Tanveer discovered her on one of his trips into deep tribal areas of Chhattisgarh.

 

trials and tribulations did not end all of sudden, but Teejan Bai started experiencing relative peace of mind. Her art flourished to greater finesse. Her voice bloomed to attain an indescribable polish. Her personality on and off the stage assumed newer facets. Teejan Bai, then, became a metaphor only she could highlight. The Pandavani art Teejan Bai adopted came to her naturally -- through family tradition. As the name itself suggested, it was one art that evolved to tell the story of the Pandavas. But as Teejan Bai’s art blossomed, she started offering newer interpretations of the ancient story in different ways.

 

That was very appealing even to urban audiences. In other words, Teejan Bai became a new interpreter of the metaphor of Indian traditional art in general -- well beyond the confines of the Pandavani art-form. Honours -- governmental and social -- came in a torrent. Each brought to her renewed recognition and a heightened respect even from the international community of commoners and connoisseurs. In her own life time, Teejan Bai had become a legend. But her story now needs to be told and retold to succeeding generations -- not just for its cinematic value, but also for its intrinsic merit of human excellence. For, Teejan Bai was not just a traditional artist, but also an authentic ambassador of India’s traditional art and culture. When she lived, she was sort of a youth icon. Now that she is gone, her story must be immortalised through public lore.