Modhera Dance Festival

A classical performing arts festival staged against the dramatically lit sandstone of the 11th-century temple.

Gujarat Tourism began the festival to honour the Sun God through classical dance in the courtyard of the historic Sun Temple, during Uttarayan when the sun changes course.

The temple's magnificent Sabha Mandap and Surya Kund are lit in colour, and leading exponents of Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Odissi and Kuchipudi perform on an open-air stage.

As a secular cultural festival there are no temple rites, but each evening opens with a ceremonial lamp-lighting and a Surya Vandana invocation honouring the heritage of the site.

It is said the ancient temple's pillars once resonated with music and dance - a spirit the festival revives, with performers receiving the special blessings of the Sun God.

The festival was started in 1992 by the Gujarat Tourism department to bring the 11th-century Sun Temple, built by King Bhimdev Solanki, alive as a public cultural space.

Three days of classical dance at the Modhera Sun Temple in January, just after Uttarayan. The temple is lit and the stage sits with the Surya Kund in front of it, so the reflection is part of the staging. Modhera stopped being an active place of worship centuries ago, which is why performances can be held inside it at all.