Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior was declared as the 'City of Music' at the 42nd Session of the General Conference on Tuesday. The great musician Tansen hailed from Gwalior and the work of preserving and propagating the music of the city has been done by the Scindia Gharana for centuries. UNESCO made the announcement on its official website.
Jyotiraditys Scindia wrote letter to UNESCO
Earlier in June this year, Union Minister Jyotiraditys Scindia had written a letter in support of Gwalior's name to be included in the list of UNESCO list. In the letter, he wrote about the great cultural and musical history of Gwalior and also mentioned the great musicians of Gwalior Gharana -- Baiju Bawra and Tansen.
"The City of Gwalior is known for legends in the sector of music like Sangeet Samarat Tansen and Baliti Bawra. it is also considered to be the birthplace of Gwalior Gharana. the eponymously named oldest Hindustani musical Gharana. The city is a popular destination for learning Indian classical music from eminent musicians in the traditional Guru-Shishya Parampara which also provides for the livelihood of the city's musicians," Scindia wrote.
City's music to get new identity now
After Gwalior's recognition by UNESCO, the city's music is expected to get a new identity on the world stage. Scindia has always utmost efforts for the preservation of the music and art of Gwalior and for the development of the city. Recently, many development works have been done to enhance the beauty of the Gwalior region and make the city meet the standards of a world-developed city.
UNESCO Creative Cities Network
On World Cities Day, 55 cities joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), following their designation by UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. While Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh has made it to the coveted list in the ‘Music’ category, Kozhikode in Kerala has earned a place in the ‘Literature’ category.
UNESCO has shared the full list of the new 55 cities which include Bukhara – Crafts and Folk Art, Casablanca – Media Arts, Chongqing – Design, Kathmandu – Film, Rio de Janeiro – Literature, and Ulaanbaatar – Crafts and Folk Art. Notably, World Cities Day designated by the United Nations falls on October 31.
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