Throughout the year, there are large number of music festivals promoted and celebrated in different parts of the country. The sole aim of these music festivals is to promote and encourage Indian classical music, which seems to have lost its roots in the country. So, have a look at some of the Indian classical music festivals celebrated in India.
1. Saptak Music Festival
Saptak Music Festival is celebrated every year in the first week of January in Ahmadabad, Gujarat. A public charitable trust which runs Saptak School of Music organizes Saptak Music Festival. This is a classical music festival that goes on for 13 days and is attended by thousands of people from around the world.
2. Madras Music Season
Madras Music Season is an event hosted every December–January in Chennai. Carnatic music plays an important role to make this event a huge and grand gathering. Madras Music Season was first created in the 1927 by a group of individuals who later went on to establish the Madras Music Academy. The festival has grown with years and once in 2004-2005 there were 1,200 performances by about 600 artists (about 700 vocal, 250 instrumental, 200 dance, 50 drama and others).
3. Chembai Music Festival
Organized in Trivandrum, the capital city of Kerala, Chembai Music Festival is held every year in the month of September. The festival is organized to celebrate the birth anniversary of the great Carnatic musician, the late Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar.
4. Tansen Music Festival
Organised in the city of Gwalior, Tansen Music Festival is celebrated in remembrance of the Indian classical music guru Miyan Tansen, who was one among the nine gems in the court of Emperor Akbar. Tansen Music Festival is organized by the government of Madhya Pradesh and generally falls in the last month of the year.
5. Dover Lane Music Festival
Dover Lane Music Festival is one of the most recognized music fests in India. It is organized every year in the capital city of Kolkata. Since the past fifty years, the Dover Lane Music Festival has proved to be a huge success with lakhs of people attending the festival, usually organized in the months of December and January.
6. Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav
Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav was started in 1953 to mark the first death anniversary of Sawai Gandharva. Since then, the festival is celebrated annually in Pune, Maharashtra. The festival goes on in the first two weeks for three days in the month of December. It gives a platform to all the prominent as well as upcoming artists to present their talent under one roof. The festival is one of the most promising places for primary vocalists.
7. Tyagaraja Aradhana Music Festival
Tyagaraja Aradhana Music Festival is a famous Carnatic music festival celebrated in the memory of the great saint as well as musician Sri Thyagaraja. This eight-day long music show is held in the month of January near his Samadhi on the banks of Kaveri River. The festival has now grown so much that a huge complex is under construction at Thiruvaiyaru to accommodate the large audience that come to the concert.
8. Swathi Sangeethotsavam
Swathi Sangeethotsavam pays a homage to Swati Tirunal by devoting a week-long festival to his compositions. Initially, government of Kerala used to conduct the festival in Kuthiramalika, but later, they decided to conduct the festival in different parts of the state.
9. Parampara Sangeet
Parampara Sangeet – Andhri is a national festival of music and dance held in Hyderabad, India. It is organized by renowned Kuchipudi dancers Raja Reddy and Radha Reddy. This is a 3-day event held every year at Ravindra Bharathi auditorium. The 3-day festival has renowned artists performing from Hindustani and Carnatic genres.
10. Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan
Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan is the oldest festival of Indian classical music in the world celebrated every year at the Samadhi of Harballabh, the legend of Hindustani music. Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan has completed 131 years and even today, it attracts people from all over the country as well as the world. After completing 130 years of success, this festival was declared as a National Festival by the Department of Tourism, Government of India.
