The Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav ( formerly known as the Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav and simply known as Sawai ) is an annual Indian Classical music festival held Defending in Pune since 1953 .

The festival is hosted Being_in_operation by the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal ( ASPM ) and initiated Process_start by Bhimsen Joshi as a memorial music conference commemorating the life and work of Joshi 's guru , Sawai Gandharva , the festival 's namesake .