PM Modi's Heartfelt Calls: Checking on Folk Legend Teejan Bai Amid Health Battle

PM Modi also called noted writer and Padma Bhushan Vinod Kumar Shukla and checked on his health and well-being too. Shukla is also hospitalised following a fall which broke his nose and needed surgical intervention. Shukla is also the winner of the literary award Jnanpith award, presented annually by Bharatiya Jnanpith.

PM Modi is on a visit to Chhattisgarh to celebrate the state's silver jubilee celebration of the state foundation day.

While visiting the state, the Prime Minister will inaugurate the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Memorial & Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum at Raipur which will showcase the state's rich history and heritage of freedom fighters and the legacy of courage, sacrifice, and patriotism of the communities.

PM Modi will participate in the Chhattisgarh Rajat Mahotsav, marking 25 years since the formation of the State of Chhattisgarh. He will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for a series of developmental projects worth over Rs 14,260 crore across key sectors, including roads, industry, healthcare, and energy.

Teejan Bai is reportedly suffering from paralysis for the past two years. Reportedly, her family and suffered from financial difficulties following the stoppage of her pension. However, multiple Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs have offered cash assistance. Notably, the state government has also provided the folk singer with multiple medical professionals to help with her health condition.

Teejan Bai is a folk singer of the Pandavani art form, literally translated to stories/songs of Pandavas. Teejan Bai enacts the tales of the Mahabharata with a musical flair. The art style is popular in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh too.

While she was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2019, she has been honoured with multiple awards, including the Padma Bhushan in 2003, Padma Shri in 1988, Sangeet Natak Akadewmi Award in 1995, Fukuoka Prize in 2018 too.

Born in Ganiyari village, Teejan Bai belongs to the Adivasi community, particularly of the Pardhi tribe. Earlier in 2024, she was admitted at AIIMS Raipur. Later on, after government provided her with multiple professionals and other facilities for her home care, the 78-year-old shifted to her place in Ganiyari village, left bedridden.

Meanwhile, Padma awardee Vinod Kumar Shukla had earlier been hospitalised following a fall which broke his nose. Following surgery being done, he reportedly had difficulty breathing and was hospitalised again.

Born in 1937, Vinod Kumar Shukla is a renowned Hindu writer known to blend in poetry and fiction, and known to be using the style of 'magic-realism' in his works, including poems and novels. His works include Deewar Mein Ek Khirkee Rahati Thi (A window lived in a wall) and Naukar Ki Kameez. He is also the first Indian author to receive the PEN/Nabokov Award, which he received in 2023. Later on in November, he will be presented with the Jnanpith award too.

Shukla has written several poems with his works being translated into multiple languages and widely shared. His notable works are included in various collections of his poems, including Lagbhah Jai Hind (1971), Sab Kuch Hona Bacha Rahega (1992).

- ANI