People in Madhya Pradesh are celebrating the Foundation Day of the state on Wednesday. This year Madhya Pradesh is celebrating its 68th Foundation Day. Today, on the occasion of Foundation Day, another achievement has been added to the name of Madhya Pradesh as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recognized Gwalior, the birthplace of musician Tansen, as “City of Music”.
Honour for the art world: CM reacts
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan congratulated the people of the state, expressing happiness over this achievement.
Chouhan posted about this from his social media handle and wrote, “An occasion of joy and pride for Madhya Pradesh… I feel proud to tell you that UNESCO has recognized Gwalior, the birthplace of our music king Tansen, as the “City of Music”. This honour given to Gwalior and the state is an honor to our cultural heritage and ancient art world. Heartiest greetings to all the people of Madhya Pradesh.”
मध्यप्रदेश के लिए आनंद एवं गौरव का अवसर…
आपको यह बताते हुए मुझे हर्ष के साथ गर्व हो रहा है कि @UNESCO ने हमारे संगीत सम्राट तानसेन की जन्मस्थली ग्वालियर को “City of Music” की मान्यता दी है।
ग्वालियर तथा प्रदेश को मिला यह सम्मान हमारी सांस्कृतिक विरासत एवं प्राचीन कला जगत का…
— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) November 1, 2023
What is Tansen festival?
Tansen Festival is held every year in Behat, the birthplace of Sur Samrat. Gwalior is considered one of the important centers of Indian music. Madhya Pradesh is the place of musical devotion of Tansen and is also the birthplace of ‘Dhrupad’. Tansen Samaroh is held every year in Behat, the birthplace of Sur Samrat Tansen. This gathering is organized near the temple of Lord Bhole in Behat and amidst the dense and picturesque Amarai on the banks of river Jhilmil. This is the same place where Sur Samrat spent his childhood practicing music and grazing goats.
There is a popular belief that due to the sound of Tansen, the temple of Lord Shiva built in the desert got tilted. There is also a legend that 10-year-old mute child Tanna alias Tansukh became the music emperor Tansen after getting the blessing of Lord Shiva.
Tansen Festival is one of the most prestigious festivals of the country and the world in the field of classical music. Along with the music city Gwalior, historical places of Gwalior-Chambal region have also been linked to the festival. The 98th edition of this festival was celebrated in 2022.