Khajuraho was an important centre for the arts,
nurturing music, dance, poetry, painting, astrology and astronomy. The week-long
Khajuraho Dance Festival is world-renowned where exponents of classical dance
forms like Odissi and Kathak perform. Sculptures exhibited the Navarasas,
meaning nine moods or expressions of mankind - valour, horror, fear, anger,
laughter, sorrow, wonder, love and tranquillity. So intricately is sculpture and
architecture combined here, that every temple looks like one giant carving
reaching out to the skies with its inspiring shikhars. Hindi is spoken with the
local Bundelkand dialect. English is also spoken by quite a few people.