The Dance Pilgrim

Introduction There is a town (which is more like a village) named Khajuraho, which is a 13-hour train ride southeast of New Delhi, the largest city and the capital of India, that hosts the India’s oldest dance festival – the Khajuraho International Dance Festival every year since 1975. Why would a festival of dance take place “in the middle of nowhere”?   Fig. 1: Khajuraho Train Station. Photo: Author I was very privileged to attend in 2023 and arrived at the hot, barren, clay-filled and poorly-maintained train station and was overwhelmed by the heat and the smells of cow dung, goats, stray dogs, excrement and more – the smell of all poor rural areas in India, I assume. It was an onslaught to the senses and while it was not pleasant, it was an experience that I was anticipating. Although I am of Indian origin, I have hardly spent time in India, and this was my first visit to this place and this festival. As a dance artist, I have never studied and do not practice any Indian art for