Tansen Of Gwalior - Legend of Indian Classical Music

Tansen was one of the Navratnas (Nine gems) of Emperor Akbar's court. He was a prolific music composer and was known for his talent as an instrumentalist. Tansen was the reason many advances in the field of classical music were made in India, such as the popularizing of the central Asian 'Plucked Rabab'. The legend was often synonymous to Indian classical music, and his voice was said to have magical properties that enchanted animals and nature as well as corpses. Tansen's musical genius is world famous and counted upon by several Indian 'Gharnas' or regional music schools.

While Madhya Pradesh is often known to be a birthplace of classical music and Gwalior for its stream of talented artists such as Veena Sahasrabuddha, DV Puluskar and Malini Rajurkar, the Tansen Music Festival here receives the highest honour and reverence from the entire industry.The festival is often used as a tool to pay not only tribute but also encourage classical music talent and the use of instruments and as a cultural fest to meet like-minded artists.