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Chembai Sangeetholsavam is an annual
About 3000 musicians participate in this festival every year and it is held for about 12–15 days culminating on the
Carnatic music
Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...
festival held in Guruvayur
Guruvayur () is a municipal temple town in Thrissur District, of Kerala State in India. It is a suburban town of Thrissur city, located from Thrissur towards the north-west. It houses the Guruvayur Shri Krishna Temple. It is located at ...
by the Guruvayur Devaswom
Devaswom ( sa, dēvasvaṁ;
) are socio-religious trusts in India, whose members are nominated by the government and community. They oversee Hinduism, Hindu temples and their assets to ensure their smooth operation in accordance with traditional r ...
(similar to the Thyagaraja Aradhana
Tyagaraja Aradhana is an annual ''aradhana'' (a Sanskrit term meaning act of glorifying God or a person) of Telugu saint composer Tyagaraja. The music festival is observed in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, primarily in Tiruvaiya ...
at Thiruvaiyaru
Thiruvaiyaru (also spelled as Tiruvaiyaru or Tiruvayyaru) is a panchayat town in Thanjavur District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Etymology
Thiruvaiyaru means ''Five Rivers around the city''. The Five Rivers are Vadavaar, Vennaar, Vet ...
) in memory of Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar
Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar a.k.a. Vaidyanatha Iyer (1 September 1896 – 16 October 1974) was a Carnatic music singer from Palakkad (state of Kerala, India). Known by his village name ''Chembai'', or simply as ''Bhagavatar'', he was born to ...
, one of the titans of Carnatic classical music and an ardent devotee of Lord Guruvayurappan.
History
Chembai had conducted the festival in the temple town on his own for about 60 years. He used to invite anyone interested in Carnatic music, from small children to renowned musicians of his time, to perform at the festival. In course of time, the scale of the festival rivaled the Thiruvaiyaru Thyagaraja Aradhana, which is recognized as one of the most important festivals of homage paid to Saint Thyagaraja. The Guruvayur Devaswom decided to take ownership of this festival after Chembai's death in 1974, renaming it as Chembai Sangeetholsavam in his memory.The Festival
About 3000 musicians participate in this festival every year and it is held for about 12–15 days culminating on the Guruvayur Ekadasi
Guruvayur Ekadasi in Guruvayur is the 11th day of Vrishchika. It falls in the Mandala season. The Navami (9th day) and Dasami (10th day) are also important. Vilakku Ekadasi starts a month before with offerings by individuals, families and organ ...
day, when all the musicians sing five favorite songs of Chembai and also the Pancharatna Kritis
The ''Pancharatna kritis'' (transliterated as ''Pañcaratna kṛti'') (Sanskrit: ''pancha'' "five" + ''ratna'' "gems") are a set of five ''kriti (music), kritis'' (songs) in Carnatic classical music, composed by the 18th-century Indian composer ...
of Thyagaraja.
The festival is getting more popular year after year and its duration has increased from three days in its inception to about 12–15 days now.
See also
*List of Indian classical music festivals
The following is an incomplete list of Indian classical music festivals, which encapsulates music festivals focused on Indian classical music. The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in t ...
References
{{coord missing, Kerala Chembai Music festivals in India Carnatic classical music festivals Festivals in Thrissur district Music festivals established in 1910 Folk festivals in India Hindu music festivals Guruvayur