Ellora -Ajanta International Festival 2023 begins in Maharashtra

Tags: Festivals State News

After a gap of seven years, the three-day Ellora-Ajanta International Festival began on February 25 at the historic Sonari Palace, located on the campus of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University.

An overview of the news

• Soneri Mahal is decorated with attractive replicas of Ellora and Ajanta. It reflects the rich tradition of Aurangabad.

• The program started with Kathak dance by Mayur Vaidya and Mrinmoyee Deshpande.

• Sitar player Ustad Sujat Hussain, tabla player Amit Choubey and Mukesh Jadhav performed.

• Drum player Padamshri Shiv Mani, Sitar player Ravi Chari, Piano player Sangeet Haldipur, Khanjira player Selva Ganesh, bass guitar player Sheldon DeSilva and Aditi Bhagwat will also perform on kathak dance. 

• Union Minister of State for Finance Dr. Bhagwat Karad inaugurated this festival.

About Ellora -Ajanta International Festival

• Ellora Ajanta Festival An annual festival, where singers and dancers from across the country gather to showcase their talents.

• Indian classical art forms, especially Kathak and Odissi are performed by popular artistes.

• Earlier, all the shows were held at Ellora, in recent times the venue has been changed to Soneri Mahal in Aurangabad.

• The festival is not only for the dance shows but also serves as a platform for many local artists to promote their handicrafts and other amazing art pieces created by them.

• The festival showcases the rich history of India and its cultural traditions to the world in the best possible way.

Other Festivals of Maharashtra

Gudi Padwa

• This festival is generally celebrated by Maharashtrians as Hindu New Year celebrations.

Pola Festival

• It is a harvest festival and is celebrated all over the state of Maharashtra, especially in the rural areas.

Elephanta Festival

• Elephanta festival is held every year in February. Elephanta is a small island near Mumbai.

Kalidas Mahotsav

• The Kalidas Samaroh is held annually in the month of November in Nagpur's Ramtek area, in honour of the famous Sanskrit poet and dramatist Kalidas.