Elephanta caves come alive with music and dance festival

Mumbai: The stunning Elephanta caves dating back to the 8th century came alive with music and dance this weekend. That was as part of the Elephanta festival just off the coast of Mumbai.

Two days seeped in tradition and culture, the Elephanta festival organised by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation over the weekend had the centuries old Gharapuri caves as its backdrop and brought together artistes from across India and abroad to celebrate art forms.

Musician Shujaat Khan said, "Performing at the backdrop of a heritage site just enhances the ambience of a classical performance." Musician George Brooks added, "It's lovely perform here at Elephanta which has so much bhakti and tradition."

The Elephanta festival was organised by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation over the weekend.

Chhagan Bhujbal, Minister for Tourism, Maharashtra, said, "We have so much heritage, Elephanta, Ajanta Ellora, other forts, beaches. We want to showcase them in front of the people."

With fusion as its theme this year, the festival saw Manjari Chaturvedi's performance of Sufi Kathak that drew upon mystical and classical traditions and Sannidhi, representing the confluence of seven Indian classical dance forms. The festival also saw live acts by musician Ranjit Barot and playback singer Shweta Pandit.

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