Celebrated in memory of the famous south Indian classical music composer Saint Thyagaraja, the
Thyagaraja Festival or Thyagaraja Aradhana is held annually in the month of January at Tiruvaiyaru, about 13 km from Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. Tiruvaiyaru is the birth place of Thyagaraja.
During the festival, Pancharatna kritis of
Sri Thyagaraja are sung by the musicians and the audience enthusiastically partake along with the musicians in rendering the kritis. Carnatic music finds prominence during the festival. It is believed that young musicians will be blessed with a melodious voice if they sing Thyagaraja's songs at his memorial.
Today Thyagaraja festival is held through out the world.
