In the small town of Ahivara, Durg, the air carried the ancient cadences of Pandwani — Chhattisgarh's storied oral epic tradition — as Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai stepped in on Saturday, 24 October 2026 to personally salute the folk artists who keep it alive.

Posting on X, CM Sai wrote: 'Pandwani ke svaron mein Chhattisgarh ki maati ki mahak, lokjeevan ki jeevantata aur hamari samridh sanskriti ka gaurav samaya hai' — 'In the notes of Pandwani lie the fragrance of Chhattisgarh's soil, the vitality of folk life, and the pride of our rich culture.' He added that on the occasion of International Artists Day, he honoured the dedicated practitioners of this art form at the Pandwani Mahasammelan, bowing to their devotion and discipline.

What Pandwani is — and why it matters in Chhattisgarh

Pandwani is a centuries-old performative tradition of Chhattisgarh in which a solo vocalist narrates episodes from the Mahabharata, accompanied by the ektara (single-stringed instrument) and minimal percussion. Distinct from mainstream classical forms, it belongs entirely to the region's tribal and rural heartland — passed down not through institutions but through oral lineage and lived practice.

The form gained national attention when artist Teejan Bai — a Padma Vibhushan recipient from Chhattisgarh — brought Pandwani to concert stages across India and abroad. Yet the vast majority of its practitioners remain rooted in villages, performing at local festivals and ritual occasions with little formal recognition. That gap between cultural prestige and ground-level support for artists is precisely what events like the Mahasammelan are designed to address.

Ahivara's moment — a district-level stage for state-level recognition

The choice of Ahivara, a small town in Durg district, as the venue is itself a statement. Rather than confining cultural honours to the state capital Raipur, the programme brought institutional recognition directly to a region where the art lives and breathes. Chhattisgarh governments across administrations have periodically organised such gatherings as part of broader cultural-preservation efforts, but the Mahasammelan format — a grand convocation of folk-art practitioners — signals an attempt to give the exercise ceremonial weight.

International Artists Day, observed on 25 October each year, provided the calendar anchor for the event, linking a local tradition to a globally recognised moment of solidarity with creative communities everywhere.

For the folk artists in the hall at Ahivara, the Chief Minister's personal presence was more than symbolic — it was a signal that the state's highest office sees their craft not as a relic to be preserved in a museum, but as a living inheritance worth celebrating in public, on the record, right now.