Mala Cana Collapses at Andrija Bajic's Forty-Day Memorial

Andrija Bajic’s forty-day memorial was held on Saturday, August 15, at Belgrade’s Novo Groblje cemetery, with the funeral service beginning at 10 a.m. Bajic is buried in the Alley of the Distinguished Citizens. His wife, singer Svetlana Tomic, known as Mala Cana, arrived late for the service. She reached the grave only once the memorial itself began, and collapsed onto it the moment she got there.

She wept and called out for her late husband. Those closest to her tried to calm her and help her up from the grave slab. Family members, friends and Bajic’s daughters attended the memorial.

It was not the first time she had struggled at that spot. Mala Cana had also been visiting the grave daily before, and on one occasion she fell ill at the cemetery and had to be given an IV drip.

What Mala Cana Wrote Before the Memorial

She announced the memorial herself, on social media, on the evening of August 9. Alongside a photo of her husband, she wrote when and where people would gather.

I am informing family, friends and colleagues that a forty-day memorial for my beloved husband Andrija Bajic will be held on August 15, 2026, starting at 10 a.m., at Novo Groblje in Belgrade

She closed the post with words of farewell.

May the angels watch over him, and may God grant him the Kingdom of Heaven and peace for his soul. I love you, my life

The invitation was open to colleagues and friends, not just family. Six days later, they gathered at Novo Groblje.

When Did Andrija Bajic Die?

Andrija Bajic died on July 7, 2026, at age 89, after a long illness. He was buried in the Alley of the Distinguished Citizens at Novo Groblje in Belgrade, where the forty-day memorial was later held.

Between those two dates, his widow appeared in public several times, always in the same tone. The posts she wrote to her husband were read and shared widely, and she cut short public appearances whenever she broke down.

From a Flute in Jabucje to the Alley of the Distinguished Citizens

Bajic was one of the best known performers of his generation in traditional Serbian folk music. He was born in the village of Jabucje near Lajkovac, into a laborer’s family, one of seven children. He was named after his paternal grandfather.

He turned to music as a child. Together with his brother Tomislav, he began playing the flute and the dvojnice, a traditional double flute, and learning traditional folk songs. The brothers later became known as the duo Braca Bajic (the Bajic Brothers), and their first lasting recording came in 1956. The song “Idu dvoje, ne poznajem ko je” remains on record as one of the early recordings of their joint work.

They also performed through cultural and artistic societies:

• The “Djoka Pavlovic” cultural and artistic society
• The “Gradimir Mihajlovic” cultural and artistic society
• solo concerts as a duo, with flute and singing

In both societies they worked as flute players, singers and dancers. Throughout his career, he stayed true to traditional Serbian folk song.

Bajic also wrote for other performers. He wrote songs for Svetlana Tomic and helped her professional development, and their working partnership eventually grew into love and marriage. That is why what was seen at Novo Groblje on Saturday was not only a wife’s farewell to her husband, but also the end of a musical partnership spanning many years.

The memorial was brief. Those who gathered dispersed after the service, and Mala Cana remained by the grave, in the same spot she has been visiting since July 7.