Gandhinagar: Every year, the Tana-Riri Mahotsav is celebrated with great enthusiasm at Vadnagar in Mehsana district. This year, the festival will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on November 22. Renowned classical singer Sushri Kalapini Komkali will be presented with the Tana-Riri Sangeet Samman Award.

Classical singing, instrumental and folk music programs have been scheduled in the evenings during the two-day event from November 22 to 23. On the second day, Minister of State for Forest, Environment and Road Transport Pravin Mali will attend as the chief guest.

To preserve the historic musical tradition of Vadnagar, the Tana-Riri Mahotsav and the Tana-Riri Sangeet Samman Award were started in 2003 by the then Chief Minister and current Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. The festival is organized every year by the Sangeet Natak Akademi under the State Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities Department in memory of Sangeet Samragni Tana-Riri.

Music Festival Schedule

On the first day of the two-day festival, classical singing by Kalapini Komkali, instrumental classical music by Niladri Kumar, and folk music by Ishani Dave will be presented at 6:30 pm. On the second day, performances include classical singing by Dr. Subhadra Desai, instrumental classical music by Ninad Adhikari and his team, and folk music by Parth Oza and his team.

‘Tana-Riri’: A name immortalized in the musical history of Gujarat

Tana and Riri, daughters of Sharmistha and granddaughters of saint-poet Narsinh Mehta, have immortalized their names in Gujarat’s musical heritage through their extraordinary dedication to music. When music maestro Tansen sang the Deepak raga, a fire was said to be generated in his body, which was soothed by Tana-Riri through their rendition of the Malhar raga. They sacrificed their lives for the honour of their art. To commemorate these legendary sisters, the Tana-Riri Classical Music Festival has been held every year since 2003 at the Tana-Riri Samadhi Sthal in Vadnagar. DeshGujarat