The Sun Temple, Modhera, and the Dance Festival

The ruins of the 11th century Sun Temple at Modhera in North Gujarat, are an impressive sight. It stands on a knoll in the village of Modhera, eighteen miles in the village of Modhera, eighteen miles south of anhilvad, the former Hindu capital of Gujarat. Modhera was evidently a site of great importance at one time. The style in which the temple was built bears a strong resemblance to that of the Jain temple at Mount Abu. The outer walls of the temple are covered with sculptures in which figures of Lord Surya and naturally prominent.

It was an inspired decision by the Department of Culture, Gujarat, and the West Zone Cultural Centre, whose headquarter is in Udaipur to hold and an annual festival of Indian classical dances at the site of the Sun Temple. The idea that inspired the festival is to present classical dance forms in an atmosphere similar to that in which these were originally presented. So successful was the presentation, that a decision was taken to make it an annual event. The Dance Festival is scheduled to be held during the third week of January every year, after the festival of Uttarayan.

Excursions

The city of Patan, formerly known as Anhilvad Patan when it was the capital of Gujarat, is 44 kms away. Mehsana, the headquaters of the district i also 25 kms away. Modhera is only 102 kms from Ahmedabad by road. From Modhera, one may visit other places of interest like Siddhpur, and Palanpur.

Calendar of Events
Year	2002
Month	Jan
Date	18 - 19 - 20