A younger artist's debut performance at the festival connotes their "arrival" and promise to the Classical music scene of India (most recently including Rahul Deshpande, Kaushiki Chakrabarty, and Mahesh Kale).

The festival was started in 1953 on a small scale, to commemorate the first death anniversary of Sawai Gandharva, the acclaimed Hindustani Classical vocalist of the Kirana Gharana.

Traditionally, each festival is inaugurated with a tribute honoring Sawai Gandharva, with a Shehnai musician performing first, in the early morning.

Since his retirement, other members of the Kirana Gharana took on the role, including Sangmeshwar Gurav in 2005 and leading disciples of Joshi in 2006.

The festival officially concludes with the entire audience and remaining performers listening to the Thumri in Raag Bhairavi recording "Jamuna Ke Teer" by Sawai Gandharva, a tune made famous by and signature of his guru, Abdul Karim Khan.