A village that once drew pilgrims to an 11th-century Sun Temple is now drawing the nation's attention for an entirely different kind of solar power. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Sunday, 27 September 2026, celebrated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mention of Modhera in the monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat, calling the village a 'shining example of sustainability' and urging citizens to visit the heritage site. Posting in Hindi, CM Patel wrote that 'the honourable Prime Minister spoke of Modhera with pride in today's Mann Ki Baat' and highlighted that the village — already famous for its historic Sun Temple — has now become India's first solar village, a 'wonderful symbol of sustainability.' He also spotlighted the Modhera Nritya Mahotsav, an annual classical dance festival held after Makar Sankranti, as a testament to the country's cultural and performing arts heritage, and extended Modi's invitation for citizens to experience the village firsthand.

From Ancient Sun Worship to Modern Solar Power

Modhera's twin identity is impossible to separate. The Sun Temple at Modhera — a UNESCO-listed protected monument in Mehsana district, Gujarat — was built in the early 11th century and dedicated to the sun god Surya. More than a thousand years later, the village chose the same source for a very different kind of energy. In 2022, the Government of India and the Gujarat government jointly declared Modhera India's first solar-powered village, commissioning a 6 MW ground-mounted solar plant alongside rooftop installations across households. The project essentially brought the village off the conventional grid, making it energy self-sufficient — a rare achievement anywhere in the world, rarer still at an active heritage destination.

Modhera Nritya Mahotsav: Where Heritage Meets Performing Arts

The solar infrastructure is only one half of Modhera's revival story. The Modhera Nritya Mahotsav, held annually in the days following Makar Sankranti (mid-January), transforms the temple complex into an open-air stage for India's classical dance traditions — Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, and more — performed against the backdrop of the intricately carved temple facade. The festival has grown into one of Gujarat's signature cultural events, drawing classical artists and audiences from across the country. CM Patel's post frames the festival as direct evidence that heritage conservation and living culture are not competing goals.

Gujarat's Solar Ambitions and the Heritage-Energy Template

Modhera is not an isolated experiment. Gujarat has consistently led India's states in solar capacity addition, anchoring the national push toward 500 GW of non-fossil fuel electricity capacity by 2030. The state's willingness to pair renewable infrastructure with heritage tourism — making a protected monument the centrepiece of a clean-energy model village — offers a template that planners are watching closely for potential replication at other sites across India. The Prime Minister's decision to name Modhera in Mann Ki Baat amplifies that template to a radio audience of millions, turning a village in Mehsana district into a national conversation about what sustainable development can actually look like — not as a bureaucratic target, but as a lived, storied place where people dance in the shadow of a solar-powered Sun Temple.