ELLORA
FESTIVAL
INTRODUCTION
It is a festival of dance and music held December in the
splendid surroundings of the world-heritage listed cave
temple of Ellora, about 30km from Aurangabad, Maharashtra. The
festival is organized against the magnificent backdrop of
World famous Ellora cave temple. Ellora festival showcases
the best talents and is a best way to feel the magnificent
caves, which narrates of centuries old history and culture.
The MTDC (Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation) organizes
the annual event in which well-known artists present their
music and dance. The venue surrounded by 1,400 years old
cave and rock cut temples provide a perfect ambience to
enchant the Gods, Goddesses and art lovers.
DESCRIPTION
The 34 caves of Ellora excavated between 600 and 1000 A.D,
are located on the sloping side of Chanadri Hills. The cave
complex houses the caves of three different faiths such
as Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. Ellora caves represents
around 300 years of experiments carried out by people of
different faiths, with different iconography and structural
boundations. The caves sprawling over an area of 2 Kms,
are carved out of Basaltic cliffs. The Hindu caves have
the most impressive designs. The Kailash Temple is the most
popular, it has the world's biggest monolithic sculpture
of Lord Shiva, sculpted out of a rock by 7,000 labourers
over a period of 150 years. The Kailasha cave is famous
for its spectacular architecture and its master craftsmanship.
Cave No .12 is another interesting structure which belongs
to Buddhism and is also called Tintala (three-storeyed).
The most interesting fact about the cave is that this three-storeyed
structure has been created out of a solid rock.
This festival showcases the best talents and is a unique
and charming way to experience the magnificent caves, imbibing
centuries of history and culture. This Festival is organised
by Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) where
India's renowned artists perform their talents in music
and dance.
The Ellora Festival brings together different traditions
and cultures of the country on a single platform. The Ellora
festival depicts the ancient history as well as culture
of the place. Well-known musicians from all parts of the
country gather here to take part and enjoy the unique and
exclusive ambiance created by the festival. In addition
to artists, the visitors and travellers also come to Ellora
in a large number, to attend the festival.
TIME TO CELEBRATE
The festival is celebrated in December.
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