Sangeet Mahotsava (Pune)

Sangeet Mahotsava is famously known as Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsava. It is a famous music festival and takes place annually in Pune during the month of December. This festival continues for three days. The festival started in the year 1953 to mark the 1st death anniversary of the famous Hindustani vocalist Sawai Gandharva. At present this festival is organized by the disciples of Sawai Gandharva with support of Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal.

• In Indian classical music Ghraranas mean a system of social organization which connects the musicians by the style of music, ancestry or position. Some of the famous Gharanas of Indian classical music is Gwalior gharana, Jaipur Atrauli Gharana, Agra gharana, Kirana Gharana, Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana.

• Jagannath Maharaj is a celebrated proponent of Lucknow Gharana. Pandit Achchan Maharaj, Ustad Masit Khan, Jyan Prakash Ghosh, Keramatullah Khan are advocators of Farukhabad Gharana.

• During the Sangeet Mahotsava eminent artist from all over the country come to attend the festival and showcase their talents. This festival is the most promising festival for the vocalists of any other Gharanas.

• At present the Sangeet Mahotsava is a distinctive festival in the annual cultural calendar of Pune. In the year 1910 Ustad Abdul Karim Khan founded the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal but it was inactivated within the year 1947.

• The initial founders of the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal were Nanasaheb Deshpande, Dattopant Deshpande, Shri BalasahebAtre, Abasaheb Mujumdar, Hirabai Badodekar, Kamlabai Badodekar, Saraswati Rane, Sureshbabu Mane, Shvrampant Divekar, Viththalrao Sardeshmukh, V.S. Sathe, D.V.Natu, Abasaheb Atre, Pandurangshastri Deshpande, Vamanrao Deshpande, Vasantrao Deshpande and Vamanrao Abhonkar. The then Sangeet festival came to an end by a grand performance of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.