Lifestyle in Khajuraho

Khajuraho is an ancient city known world over for the most explicit and erotic architecture known to mankind. These temples have been declared a world heritage site under UNESCO and have visitors from across the globe. Khajuraho temples are an achievement of architectural excellence and show great accomplishments in craftsmanship. Since 1987, when the temples first came into limelight after the UNESCO citation, they have been under constant conjecture with regards to the significance of these temples. It is believed that the sculptures showcase tantric culture that was followed by the Chandela Rajput kings. Khajuraho is basically an ancient city, which is on the threshold of modernity. While on one hand, the city is built around the temples that have been there since 950 AD, it also has world class luxury hotels and amenities which are truly modern in perspective. This is a city that is straddling the old and the new with great style.

Multicultural Population in Khajuraho

Khajuraho population is truly multicultural in the sense that while the settled population is barely one-fourth of the total population. Rest of it is the floating population, which travels to Khajuraho every year wanting to soak up the old world charm of the Chandela Rajputs and their architectural wonders. The city shows a mix of indigenous tribals, local settlers, and migrants from nearby cities mainly working in the tourism and hospitality industry, Indian travelers from across all states and International travelers from across the world. This intermingling of cultures, languages and ethnicity has resulted in a splendid potpourri of people.

Traditional lifestyle in Khajuraho

Khajuraho showcases an immense continuity of cultures from the medieval to the present era. The beautiful temples of Khajuraho are an ode to the traditional lifestyle of the people who inhabited the region. Every minutiae of their daily lives in embedded in these sculptures right from women going about their daily chores to animals gathering by the water pond to quench their thirst to the sexually explicit postures inspired by the Kamasutra. Khajuraho of today is still reminiscent of those yester years in terms of the culture, which persists there. The bulk of the population is agrarian and pastoral and live quiet and simple lives. The main activity is around tourism, which has picked up steam in the last decade. The population consists of majority Hindus and the culture is similar to the Hindu Rajputs of the nearby states. Most of the festivals celebrated like Savitri Puja, Durga Puja, Ghangaur etc are similar to the Rajputana culture with influences of the East.


Men are the primary breadwinners in the traditional household and women take care of the house and the children. Tourism acts as the ancillary income to the household apart from the agriculture. Since the region falls in the midst of the jungle belt of India, there is a close connect of the locals with the nature. Here can be seen a harmonious co-existence of man and animal in this region especially in the fringes of the city where the primary dwellers are the tribals. These tribals have maintained their unique lifestyle over the years untouched by outside influences and still retain their age-old culture and values.

Tribal Population in Khajuraho

Khajuraho like much of other parts of Madhya Pradesh has a healthy tribal population most of whom live on the fringes of the city. They practice settled agriculture these days though they were traditionally nomadic. The district is home to the Bedia tribe, which were traditionally snake charmers and nomadic in nature. Another dominant tribe here is the Bhil tribe, who were traditionally warriors in the armies of Maharana Pratap. They are one of the seven tribes promoted by Madhya Pradesh Tourism in the Tribal museum. Korku, another tribe was basically a hunting, gathering, forest dwelling tribe. Now they are almost extinct in the region. They are known for their splendid agricultural and cultivation skills. Most of these tribes now practice settled agriculture but lack of facilities and barren nature of the land in these regions is making them migrate to other regions.


Government is taking all measures to ensure that the ethnic practices and lifestyles of these tribes are maintained intact. Government is actively promoting these tribes by giving them an opportunity to sell their ethnic products to a larger market and thus create livelihoods for the tribes. Tribal museum and fairs are conducted to give them a larger market access. These tribes are an essential part of the local culture and play an important role in maintaining the ethnic diversity of the region.

Western Influences in Khajuraho

Though Khajuraho is a city steeped in history, it is seeing an increased western influence these days due to the development of the tourism industry. This has led to emergence of luxury hotels, restaurants, airport etc. Though mall cultures and fast food culture is yet to penetrate into Khajuraho, the city has a distinct café culture that is evident from the mushrooming of cafes across the city. Since the city caters majorly to the European travelers, there can be seen many European style cafes and bistros which mainly serve Continental fare. Apart from this, the luxury hotels have also spawned a spa culture with the in-house spa and salons offering best in class services. Recent initiatives by the government will see many more shopping complexes, restaurants, hotels etc emerge in the near future.

Healthy Lifestyle in Khajuraho

In keeping with the ancient Indian values, healthy lifestyle is a fad, which is picking up a great deal in Khajuraho. With the international tourists wanting a taste of the Indian experience, various yoga and therapeutic centers have come up across the city. The city has various yoga centers under prominent yoga gurus belonging to different ‘Schools of Yoga’ who practice and propagate the ancient Indian art. Apart from this traditional techniques of healing like ayurvedic centers has also come up in various places. This ensures that tourists and locals alike can indulge in these services that enhance the quality of life.

Though there are many modern influences in the city, what remain intact to this day is the tradition and history, which resounds in every structure in this ancient city of Khajuraho.