Swara Samrat festival

Swara Samrat festival (also known as SSF) is a four-day annual mega festival of Indian classical music and dance held during the winters in Kolkata, India. This festival is the brainchild of Sarod maestro Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, his vocalist wife, Manasi Majumder and their Sarod player-son Indrayuddh Majumder. The festival is dedicated to Swara Samrat Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Indian Classical Music and Dance Legends such as Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pandit Jasraj, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Ustad Aashish Khan, Dr. Girija Devi, Begum Parveen Sultana, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, Guru Karaikudi Mani, Ustad Rashid Khan, Shankar Mahadevan, Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, Pandit Venkatesh Kumar, Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, Pandit Sanjay Mukherjee, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Ustad Shujaat Khan, Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar,  Pandit Kushal Das, Pandit Rajendra Gangani, Guru Sujata Mohapatra,  Pandit Subhankar Banerjee, Pandit Yogesh Samsi, Pandit Bickram Ghosh, Pandit Tanmoy Bose and Kaushiki Chakraborty are some of the artists who have previously performed in this festival.
Background.
Swara Samrat festival started as a two-day festival of Indian Classical music & dance on 5 & 6 January 2013, featuring some of the greatest living icons of Indian classical music & dance before a 3500 plus audience each day at Nazrul Manch, Kolkata. The festival was initially planned as a festival to celebrate the 90th Birth Year of Swara Samrat Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (1922-2009). Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravi Shankar was informed about the event and had expressed his joy and support. But just a month before this festival, the Sitar icon breathed his last (11 December 2012). After his demise, Shree Ranjani Foundation Trust decided to dedicate this festival to the "Sitar" legend too. The Majumdars called this festival a dedication to "The Immortal Duo – Swara Samrat Ali Akbar Khan and "Bharat Ratna" Ravi Shankar". Both of them had learnt from the same Guru and had performed exemplary duet concerts across the globe, which are still regarded as the greatest of North Indian Instrumental "Jugalbandis" (Duets). The full house was overwhelmed by this grand gesture. Every of the audience wanted this festival to repeat. Swara Samrat Festival received enormous love and affection not only from the audience but also from the performers and sponsors. Shree Ranjani Foundation Trust decided to continue this festival annually and from then onward the festival is held during the winters every year.
Swara Samrat - The Title.
Acharya Baba Ustad Allauddin Khan, who is regarded as one of the greatest saints of Indian Classical Music in 19th & 20th Centuries, who had founded the Maihar Senia Gharana, had gifted his son Ali Akbar Khan, the title "Swara Samrat" ("meaning Emperor of Melody").
Swara Samrat Festival - Time Period.
Initially Swara Samrat Festival was a two-day festival. It used to be held in the months of January/February every year. But after the 4th season, which was held on 10 & 12 January 2016, SSF wanted to fix the time period of the festival to the month of December. So in the same year 2016, the 4th season was held in January and 5th season was in December. Since then, SSF is maintaining the December time frame. 2018 onward, SSF has become a 4-day festival of Indian Classical Music & Dance.
SSF Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2018, SSF honored Janaab Abul Khair Litu  (Chairman, Bengal Foundation, Bangladesh) with the SSF Lifetime Achievement Award for his enormous contribution to the propagation, promotion and facilitation of proper training of Indian Classical Music & Dance as well as other forms of Arts across Bangladesh.
In 2019–20, Pandit Vijay Kichlu, an eminent musician, musicologist, music producer and founder of ITC Sangeet Research Academy was honored with the SSF Lifetime Achievement Award for his lifelong contribution to the entire fraternity of Indian classical music and dance across India and abroad.
One Star Introduces Another Star on Stage.
SSF has a unique way of introducing the stars on the dais. One star (who is not performing on that day of the festival) introduces another star on the dais when the latter takes the stage for performance. Through this, the audience see numerous beautiful and rarest of moments when these stars greet each other on the dais.