Padma Shri Awardee & Rai Dance Master Ram Sahay Pandey Passes Away At 97

Bhopal(Madhya Pradesh): Padma Shri recipient Rai dancer Ram Sahay Pandey passed away at a private hospital in his hometown Sagar in Madhya Pradesh early on Tuesday morning. He was 97. Pandey was suffering from prostate cancer.

 His grandson Shubham told the Free Press that “He died at 5 am today.” Pandey, who was being treated by a cancer specialist based in Nagpur, was admitted to the Sagar hospital three days back after his condition deteriorated.

Ramsahay Pandey Honoured for Reviving Stigmatised Rai Dance

Pandey is credited with lending respectability to Rai, a folk dance of the Bundelkhand region, traditionally performed by women of the Bedia community who are known to earn their livelihood through prostitution. That had stigmatised the dance and Pandey had to face stiff opposition from his family and society for promoting Rai.

In the year 2022, the Government of India honoured Ramsahay Pandey by conferring the Padma Shri award for his contributions to art

Brahmin Artist Fights Tradition to Master Rai Dance

Pandey was born into a Brahmin family in Maddhar Patha village in Sagar district in Madhya Pradesh. Panday's first exposure to the Rai dance happened when he was 14 years old.

Fascinated by the dance form he began practicing it. In Madhya Pradesh, the folk dance of Rai is associated with the Bedia community. They are a nomadic tribe that had been notified under the Criminal Tribes Act. Also, some people associate the community with flesh trade.

Because of this stigma attached to the community and their dance form, Panday's family was totally opposed to his practicing the Rai dance form. Panday has been reported as saying "I was fighting with my family as well as the Brahmin community for practising this dance,” he said.

"Pandey was a star of Indian culture"

Pandey had performed last at the 42nd Foundation Day event of Bharat Bhavan on  February 20 last year.

Prem Shankar Shukla, chief Administrative Officer of Bharat Bhavan said "He was synonymous with Rai dance. It was nothing short of a revolution for a boy from the Brahmin community to perform Rai.” He added that the simple and down-to-earth artist was a star of Indian Culture.

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