Teejan Bai, a recipient of the M. S. Subbulakshmi Centenary Award, 2016, is an exponent in

Teejan Bai is a world-renowned exponent of Pandavani, a traditional performing art from Chhattisgarh [2]. Pandavani involves the musical narration of episodes from the Indian epic Mahabharata, particularly focusing on the heroics of Bhima. In 2016, she was honored with the Dr. M. S. Subbulakshmi Centenary Award by the Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeetha Sabha in Mumbai, alongside other distinguished female performers like Yamini Krishnamurthy and Girija Devi [2]. Pandavani is characterized by powerful singing and symbolic gestures where the lead performer assumes various characters from the epic. Teejan Bai's contribution to this folk art has been recognized globally, earning her prestigious accolades including the Padma Vibhushan and the Fukuoka Prize. While other options like Bihu and Kajari are distinct regional folk forms from Assam and North India respectively, Teejan Bai's legacy is exclusively tied to the Pandavani tradition.

Sources

1. [2] https://nios.ac.in/media/documents/385-Natyakala/English/Th/Ch-18.pdf