In an attempt to expose the living heritage of Indian dance, sculpture, and art, Mumbai celebrates The Elephanta Festival, which is a two-day festivity hosted at the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Gharapuri Island in the caves complex with ample of dance, music and nostalgia. This year marked the 29th season of this festival which was celebrated on January 27-28 after a nine-year gap.
The festival is organised by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC). Renowned dancers and musicians performed outside the caves of Elephanta under the starry sky in front of the selected and appreciative audience. Special launch services and catering arrangements are also provided for visitors.
The Elephanta caves date back to between the 5th and 8th centuries BCE situated atop Gharapuri Island, just off the shore coast of Mumbai. The site is a series of rock-cut Shiva temples and sees classical and folk performances. Portuguese found a monolithic stone elephant at this place so as named derived 'Elephanta'.
There were Odissi-mandala fusion performances by dancers Zia Nath and Sanatan Chakravarthy, Lavani by Aishwarya and Smruti Badade, a Sufi night featuring folk singers Hans Raj Hans and brothers Puranchand and Lakhwinder Wadali.
There was also a 15-minute sand art performance by Nitish Bharti, who narrated the story of the caves and their rich legacy through sand.
Among other activities were a treasure hunt, a painting competition and a sculpting contest that set budding and professional artists against each other to create replicas of the carvings.
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