Ellora festival Maharashtra India

The Ellora festival is a festival organized by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC). It is a festival that combines various aspects of the rich Indian culture and brings it all to one central location for tourists to experience and it is truly a spectacle to behold. The Ellora festival is also known as the Ellora Ajanta festival and is held in the surroundings of the Ajanta Ellora caves which is a UNESCO heritage site and draws tourists from far and wide. Currently, the festival is conducted at Soneri Mahal in Aurangabad and is conducted in the backdrop of the Ellora caves.

The festival is one of dance and music with various artists from different walks of life. The festival showcases a mix of classical and folk dances, instrumentals, vocals, etc. from the best talents India has to offer. The main aim of the festival is to put Maharashtra on India’s tourism map and what better way than to combine it with India’s rich history. The opportunity to simultaneously experience the country’s rich dance and music and also to see one of world’s best-preserved UNESCO heritage site is an opportunity any tourist should not miss. The festival is usually conducted in January.

By far the main attraction though is the Ellora caves, located approximately 30km from Aurangabad which is a historic city in the first place and is recommended for tourists to visit. The Ellora caves is a complex, housing one of the largest rock-cut monastery-temple cave complexes in the world and features sculptures from multiple cultures including Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments, with around 100 caves comprising the complex and over 34 caves open to the public. The earliest caves to be constructed were the Hindu caves and now numbered 13-29 with the Buddhist cave numbered 6 and is sought to be the earliest Buddhist cave to be constructed. The Jain caves are numbered 30-34. The caves contain intricately carved sculptures and monuments and are considered to be an important site of pilgrimage for several groups of people and cultures.

It took several centuries for the construction of the cave complex and contributions were made by multiple dynasties over the centuries. There is a myth associated with the caves, wherein, the gods who had grown bored with heaven had come down to earth to build something they desired but they had come down with the condition from their lord that they would return by sunset. So great was their work that the gods lost track of time in their admiration of their own work and due to the fact that they could not return in time, they were all turned to stone and joined their creation. This, however, is a legend and we know from archeological digs and from various historical texts that various dynasties spanning centuries of Indian history had slowly contributed to this archeological marvel. It is a testament to the human spirit considering each and everyone of the caves was constructed by hand and hand tools.

The festival is a must visit for tourists who want to experience not only India’s music and art, but also its rich history especially considering you will find artifacts dating from various periods of Indian history here.