Raipur, 29 October (H.S.): Renowned bamboo musician Vikram Yadav, who helped bring Chhattisgarh’s folk arts to national and international prominence, passed away at 5 am on Thursday. A resident of Khaira village in Raveli, he had been unwell for several days. His demise has cast a pall of grief over the state’s artistic community.

Yadav made a significant contribution to popularising Chhattisgarh’s traditional Bans Geet folk music across India and abroad. In 1971, he joined Habib Tanvir’s Naya Theatre and performed at venues across the country. He also represented Chhattisgarh’s folk traditions on international platforms and had the opportunity to perform before the President and the Prime Minister.

His distinctive mastery of bamboo instruments, the flute and the been helped bring wider recognition to Chhattisgarh’s rich folk music heritage. In 2007, he joined Anup Ranjan Pandey’s Bastar Band and continued contributing to the preservation and promotion of folk art.

In recognition of his contribution to the arts, Yadav received the Bhuiyan Samman in 2007 and the Madhya Pradesh government’s prestigious National Tulsi Samman in 2018. Earlier this month, on October 4, he was also honoured with the Saket Kala Sadhana Samman-2026.

Yadav’s passing is an irreparable loss to Chhattisgarh’s rich folk music tradition. His last rites were performed at 11 am on Thursday in his native village of Khaira.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar