The 57th Sawai Gandharva Music Festival, the annual music festival organised by Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal will be held between 7 – 10 January in Pune. The festival that usually takes place in December was postponed due the H1N1 flu scare.

Last year on the final day of the Sawai Gandharva festival, Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi  made a brief appearance, for the performance of his son Shreenivas Joshi. Year after year thousands thring the festival and brave the December cold all through the night to dip themselves into the warmth of soul stirring performances by noth legendary and upcoming classical musicians. This year wont be any different, as it promises a unique blend of artists, the schedule and lineup for which will be announced soon.

Btw who was Sawai Gandharva ?
In most cases, the maestro’s name is familiar to them as the guru of contemporary leading lights, like Gangubai Hangal, or Bhimsen Joshi, Firoz Dastur — and not as one of the most eminent vocalists of his time and a pioneer who popularized the Kirana gharana and eventually the Hindustani parampara in the Kannada-speaking region.