Jodhaiya Bai Baiga (b. 1938) is a self-taught folk artist from the Baiga tribe of Madhya Pradesh, whose powerful visual language has brought ancestral art traditions into bold contemporary relevance. Born in the village of Lorha in Umaria district, she spent much of her life doing manual labor — collecting and selling wood and cow dung — until she discovered painting in her late 60s, under the mentorship of the late artist Ashish Swami. What began as a personal exploration soon grew into a transformative creative journey.

Working with vivid colors and dynamic compositions, Baiga’s art celebrates her community’s deep spiritual connection with nature. At the same time, her paintings often critique environmental destruction, industrialization, and ecological loss — rendered through traditional Baiga motifs and storytelling methods. “Painting gave me the freedom to make my world with my own hands,” she once told folk art revivalist Mitch Crites, highlighting how creativity became both a voice and a form of liberation.

Baiga’s works have been exhibited internationally, including at Galleria Francesco Zanuso in Milan, Claire Corcia Gallery in Paris, and Alliance Française in Bhopal. She is featured in Bhumijan: Artists of the Earth (2022), alongside renowned tribal artists such as Jangarh Singh Shyam and Jivya Soma Mashe. Her work also forms part of the prestigious Crites Collection.

For her contributions to art and culture, she received the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2022 and was honored with the Padma Shri in 2023 — national recognitions that mark her extraordinary journey from laborer to one of India’s most respected tribal artists.