It’s culture time, folks! Elephanta Festival takes off today — it’s now got a new venue and an extra day to celebrate art and culture

It’s culture time, folks!

Elephanta Festival takes off today — it’s now got a new venue and an extra day to celebrate art and culture

What better day to kick-start the legendary Elephanta Festival than the auspicious Gudi Padwa! However, for the first time, this year, the popular art and cultural fest of the city will be a three-day-long gala — as opposed to the annual two-day long celebrations so far. It will also be hosted at the Gateway of India, and not the regular venue at Elephanta Caves. “The festival was being organised at the Elephanta Caves till the last year. The decision of changing the venue to Gateway of India was taken jointly by the members of the Maharashtra Tourism Board,” says Dilip Shinde, managing director, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC). “Also, it has been extended by a day as we want to make it bigger and more appealing. The idea is to attract more tourists. Elephanta Caves wasn’t an easy venue as one would require a boat from Gateway to reach there. Besides, we also took the issue of safety into account, especially while taking a ride back from the Caves to the main city. I’m sure these changes shall benefit the fest,” he adds. In the past, many eminent artists have performed/visited the annual Elephanta Festival, which aims to maintain the state’s art and culture alive. This year, too, many big names have been associated with it. The festival will open on a spiritual note, following which will be a host of music, dance and other cultural performances. Internationally acclaimed Indian percussionist Sivamani will be performing the ‘Sufi Rhythms’ with his band, on Friday. “I’ll be a part of the festival for the first time and I’m really looking forward to this master show,” he said. Playback singer Hariharan will be playing on Sunday, the last day of the festival. “It’s a great thing to be a part of this festival. I had performed at the Elephanta Festival a couple of years back, but that was at its original venue — Elephanta Caves,” says Hariharan, adding, “Since it’s being hosted at Gateway this time, I’m hoping for a great audience and a splendid show… we will rock.” Hariharan will be doing a solo one-hour long performance of popular ghazals.