Durg (Chhattisgarh), July 5 : Daughter-in-law and the sister of Padma Vibhushan awardee and legendary Pandwani singer Teejan Bai expressed grief on her demise while remembering how the singer "singlehandedly" ran the family.

Teejan Bai passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Raipur on Sunday after battling a prolonged illness. According to the hospital officials, Teejan Bai breathed her last at 3.15 a.m. on Sunday. She had been undergoing treatment since May 27. Teejan Bai was suffering from severe lung infection, bloodstream infection (sepsis), and acute kidney injury.

Venu Deshmukh, Teejan Bai's daughter-in-law, said the legendary singer meant "everything" to the family while mentioning that she was not able to speak in the last three years.

"Earlier, she was fine. She was the one who took care of and kept the family members together and, in fact, singlehandedly ran the family. She meant everything to us," an emotional Deshmukh told reporters.

"The entire family has broken down in grief," she added.

The daughter-in-law mentioned that Teejan Bai's health had deteriorated in the last few days. "She had been admitted to the hospital for more than a month. She had initially recovered, but after being shifted out of the ICU, her health deteriorated. She was not responding for the last two days, due to which all of us were worried," she said.

"Half of the family was in the hospital...she breathed her last at 3:15 a.m. (on Sunday) at AIIMS," Deshmukh mentioned.

Remembering the legendary singer, Teejan Bai's younger sister said: "One who took her songs to lakhs of people, did not speak for the last three years and only conversed through sign language."

"A lot of efforts were made to revive her and bring her back to normal life, but it seemed that she no longer wanted to live," she added.

Meanwhile, leaders across the nation expressed deep sadness over the demise of the Padma Vibhushan awardee, with President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah paying tributes to Teejan Bai.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai visited AIIMS Raipur upon learning about the sad news and paid his last respects to the legendary singer.

/IANS