She is a Padma Vibhushan recipient of this year. But in that year – 1963 ‑ at a nascent age of 7, she would be punished & left bereft, locked in a room without food and water for her passion for Pandavani. She would often be ridiculed by villagers. She was even beaten by her second husband during a stage performance. But it so happened that she was so engrossed in an episode from Bhima’s life that she used her Ektara as Bhima’s mace and beat her husband back.
This is the story of an unassailable courage and determination, lived by acclaimed Pandavani singer, – Teejan Bai, who can rightly be called the curator of her art form.
What is Pandavani?
Pandavani means stories or songs from Mahabharata. It was a popular night-time entertainment for the male members of the bird catcher and mat- making community of Chhattisgarh. The episodes from Mahabharata, are sung or enacted with ektara or tanpura in one hand. There are two popular formats of this presentation – Vedamati & Kapalik. While the former is based on Mahabharata version written by Sabbal Singh Chauhan, the latter is more freestyle where the performer is free to improvise consistently on episodes or characters from the epic. Teejan Bai is an exponent of the Kapalik style.
Back in the 60s, when being a girl was considered a burden, there was a rebellious 7-year-old girl, who would stay put in hiding to listen to the episodes from Mahabharata as sung by her grandfather. Her nana, used to sing soulful Pandavani at night, in the village Ganiyari. One night her grandfather, caught her and asked the reason of her presence there. She expressed her fancy for Pandavani, and even presented a small performance as a summary of weeklong learning. Enamoured by the lucidity of her singing, the grandfather agreed to train her. Soon she started accompanying her grandfather for these late-night feats. Being a girl-child of an underprivileged family of mat-weavers, this was no less than a sin for her family. She would often be punished for her interest in male dominated art form. Her mother soon gave up to the blue stories about her, and choked her throat in an effort to pull music out of her throat. As an ultimate resort to end this saga, she was married of at the age of 12. This child-marriage soon ended abruptly and she was back to where she belonged – under the aegis of her grandfather. The wise old man, fathomed the pain his granddaughter was going through and asked her to follow her dream.
“Hummare nana ne kaha…. tum koi bura kaam nahiin kar rai ho. Yeh ek kala hai, aur woh bhi, bhagwan ka gun gaan hai. Isme kuch buri baat thode hi hai,” Teejanji told me, while talking fondly about her nana. “Phir kyat tha, hum Kapalik shaili main mahrat haasil karte gaye.”
One thing led to other, and adamant Teejan did her first performance on a makeshift stage in Durg district, at significant pay of Rs 10. “Koi ladki ne kabhi aisa nahi kiya tha,” Teejanji remembers with sense of pride. The village community continued to ostracised her. But she was unfazed. He passion for Pandavani was noticed by Habib Tanvir, a popular theatre personality from Bhopal. She was soon performing at various prestigious art and music festivals. She even appeared in Doordarshan’s popular historical drama, Bharat Ek Khoj, in an episode based on Mahabharata.
Her rendition is rustic like her. She fuses it with an ethereal energy. And her only prop, her Ektara, beautifully camouflages in all her performances. She was recently awarded with the prestigious Fukuoka Prize, the highest art and culture honour in Japan. To receive her award, she arrived on the wheelchair, but soon flabbergasted the audience with her soul stirring performance. “Humne bahut kathnaiyaan dekhi hain. Aur woh sab hamari kala main dekhai deta hai. Jab jab hum, draupadi ka samvad bolte hain, ya phir bhim ka samvad boltey hain, humme hummare zeevan ki duvidha yaad aa jaati hai,” said Teezanji, when I asked her that how does she manage to infuse life in all her acts.
Today her village Ganiyari is known by her name. She may have won the world with her prowess. The more I searched about her, the more I got fascinated that an illiterate woman, is living her life on her own terms. “Humne apne bachon ka naam bhi thik sa bola nahi jaata. Hum padhe likhey nahiin hai na,” she said with a childlike innocence. Even at 60, she is naughty like a teenager. Her kohl rigged eyes lighten up the moment she holds her Ektara, in her tattooed hands. She is clearly proud of herself, and her achievements. During her recitals, she is bashful and coy at the same time. And it is this confidence that spells the magic, every time she narrates an episode from the epic Mahabharata.
By Princy Jain
connect@princyjain.com
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