Stay logged in to proceed with bookings, orders and offers.
On changing the terminal, you will loose items in your cart. Are you sure you want to change your terminal?
A sneak peek into the origin and importance of the Khajuraho Dance Festival.
Dance and music are significant cultural components in tourism. They aim to provide a broad gateway to the host culture and the location being visited. In India, the trend started when Madhya Pradesh Tourism Department came up with the idea to conduct the Khajuraho Dance Festival in 1975. Other states soon followed suit like the Ellora Festival, Pattadakal Dance Festival, and Mukteshwar Dance Festival.
This small town is located in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is identified by the “Khajuraho Group of Monuments”, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The temples here are grouped into three major complexes - the Western, Eastern and the Southern. Built by the Chandela rulers around the 10th century, they represent Hindu, Buddhist and Jain beliefs.
In ancient times, Khajuraho was considered a pilgrim centre. The local community consists primarily of people engaged in agricultural and other activities. Most of them do not relate much to the artistic excellence of the temples. For them, the temples are the epitome of religious beliefs. They celebrate festivals like Basant Panchami and Shivaratri which are attended by pilgrims from the surrounding villages. On my first visit to Khajuraho in August 2019, I noticed that Khajuraho attracts both domestic and foreign tourists. However, the duration of their stay is short. The climate allows the tourist season from October to mid-March. The summer months are unbearably hot and tourists are negligible.
It was in the 1950s, Madhya Pradesh Government realized that this unparalleled architecture and sculptures from ancient times could be a major tourist attraction. It was concluded that after the peak tourist season, a cultural extravaganza might help to improve tourist arrivals in the lean period aimed at a prolonged stay. This, in turn, will provide a boost to tourism development in the region.
Finally, in 1975, MP Tourism Development Corporation first organized the festival to coincide with India Tourism Year; as an experiment in organised planning and integrated development of Khajuraho as a major tourist spot. Originally, it was to be a festival to showcase Bundelkhandi dance and music forms every year in December. The beautiful Kandariya Mahadev temple in the Western Group was selected as the venue. The festival was not much of a success in the trial phase and resulted in negligible visitors attending it.
Afterwards, there were several modifications made to the festival. The major change was shifting the time from December to March and the inclusion of internationally acclaimed classical dancers for performance. This helped the festival gain a foothold among the tourists and performers. Now, it is jointly held by the Directorate of Culture and Tourism Department, MP and Ustad Alauddin Khan Music & Arts Academy, Bhopal.
When I attended the festival in February 2023, I was not surprised to find that a section of residents keenly awaits the festival every year. During this time, increased tourist traffic helps to generate a steady income, especially for enterprises like hotels, restaurants, the transport sector, souvenir shops, etc. The local markets were also abuzz with visitors. For domestic as well as international visitors, the festival was a spectacular event to know more about Indian culture, in general. I found Khajuraho more crowded during the Dance Festival than the handful on my first visit during monsoons.
The origin of all Indian classical dances and music has been the temples where various styles were conceived. The astonishing sculptures of gods, goddesses, mythical beasts, and ornamentally decorated figures on these temple walls beckon and inspire the artists. The sculptures here show musical instruments and various dancing postures by heavenly beauties (referred to as Apsaras and Surasundaris in our literature). These depict the imagination of the highest artistic order.
The major success of the festival is creating tourist interest without disturbing local ideologies and customs. During February-March, there are other local celebrations too; however, they are not much publicized. Authentic traditions are kept away from the detrimental effects of mass tourism. With an imaginative effort and marketing, it has gradually evolved into an internationally acclaimed tourism product that enhances the exquisite glory of the place.
Khajuraho Dance Festival has successfully stood to its reputation of being the pioneer in its field.
The Adani One expressly disclaims all liability, direct and indirect, in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any or all the contents of this Blog. The Blog is an opinion of the contributor based on the collation of data from various sources and is provided only for information purpose. Adani One does not canvass, advertise, solicit, invite or induct for any product, merchandise, information, brand or any other materials mentioned in the Blog, nor does it obtain any monetary benefit from the same. Reader is advised to read and apply his/her intellect and discretion in this regard. Any Intellectual Property mentioned in this blog belongs to the rightful owner. We do not intent to claim any interest over the same.
