Whether it`s the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters with stunning examples of prehistoric art, the oldest Buddhist sanctuary in existence at Sanchi or the Khajuraho Group of Monuments that combine the arts of architecture and sculpture, Madhya Pradesh has held its reputation as a seat of culture for millennia.

It`s not just these World Heritage Sites that symbolize a cultural history etched in stone. On the banks of the Betwa river, Orchha is still as resplendent as ever, a paragon of Bundela architecture. Established by King Rudrapratap Singh in 1501, the chiseled profile of the majestic Orchha Fort is cast into sharp relief against the arid red landscape of Tikamgarh district. The fort`s Jehangir Mahal is a blend of Islamic and Rajput architecture. The nearby Rai Praveen Mahal, built in memory of a Bundela courtesan, is the perfect example of Orchha`s whimsy. The magnificent Raja Mahal, the richly-ornamented Chaturbhuj Temple and the beautiful Chattris along the Betwa stand tall as they characterize the beauty of Orchha.

Over the centuries, the royals of Madhya Pradesh have extended invaluable patronage to the great gharanas of Hindustani classical music. An important centre of dhrupad in the 15^th century, Gwalior emerged as the birthplace of Khayal, the modern genre of classical singing. This was in the 18^th century, through the efforts of Ustad Naththan Pir Baksh and his descendants Haddu, Hassu and Nathu Khan. The Gwalior gharana style is characterized by the simple, lucid and full-throated elaboration of well-known ragas. The melodious bandish (composition) is at the centre of the raga.

The story of the gharana that has spread its wings and deeply influenced Hindustani classical music begins in the court of Raja Man Singh Tomar, the 15^th century king who patronized legendary musicians like Tansen and Haiju Bawra. In the late 19^th century, a hitherto unknown Bengali musician began studying the sarod with Wazir Khan Beenkar, a Rampur court musician who was one of Tansen`s last descendants. This musician, Ustad Allauddin Khan, would go on to teach some of Maihar-Senia gharana through disciples such as his daughter Annapurna Devi and sitar player Pt. Ravi Shankar. Annapurna Devi played the surbahar and furthered the gharana by teaching musical greats such as Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia and Nikhil Banerjee. Khan`s legacy lives on in the Maihar Band, an orchestra of classical musicians he set up.

While furthering the Khayal, Madhya Pradesh has also remained a prominent centre of dhrupad, which is the oldest extant genre of Hindustani music. For a long time, it was home to the legendary Dagar brothers, Zia Fariduddin and Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, the 19^th generation of an illustrious family of musicians. Their disciples, the Gundech Brothers—Ramakant and Umakant Gundecha—continue propagating the Dagarvani style of dhrupad, teaching students at their gurukul outside Bhopal.

Madhya Pradesh has also given popular music its most well-loved figures. Lata Mangeshkar , for instance was born in Indore, where she spent her early years and made initial forays into Marathi cinema. Kishore Kumar is another home-bred icon, both in Khandwa during the British rule.

Great artistes have flourished in Madhya Pradesh, but the secret is that they were bolstered by a society that has always loved the arts—a truth reflected in the State`s rich folk traditions. These arts emerge from the lives of resilient people who derive great joy from the simple pleasures of life, finding cause for celebration in everyday occurrences. Boundaries of race and class don`t count—people preserve their marriage songs and ritual tunes but are happy to sing the melodies of other communities too. The Bhils of Madhya Pradesh sing healing songs, such as the Dhak songs, which are supposed to have a magical effect on physical and mental ailments.

Bundelkhandi poet Isuri wrote four-line compositions on the life of Lala Hardual, a popular folk figure. Ballads about Chhatrasal and the Rani of Jhansi have also been assimilated into folk music. Banbulia, a song sung by those on pilgrimage to distant rivers, is also native to Bundelkhand. Malwa, the land of the Rajputs, still echoes the mournful strains of Sati songs. When the Marathas came to Malwa in the 18^th century, they ushered in a strong tradition of lavani. The neighbouring Nimar region also sustains lavani in two forms—the nirguni lavani that is philosophical in nature, and shringari or erotic lavani.

Where there is music, dance is never far behind. At the height of the rabi crop, villagers perform the Grida dance, mirroring the swaying crop in a progressively ecstatic dance of celebration. The Bhagoriya dance is performed by young unmarried women and men of the Bhil community. In Malwa, the operatic ballet form of Maanch is performed on open-air stages, sourcing its themes from traditional stories and contemporary issues of concern to society. While all these arts find expression within the communities that have incubated them, they are also presented to a larger art-loving audience at cultural centres like Bhopal`s Bharat Bhavan, a sprawling multi-arts complex designed by Charles Correa.

Speaking of a land that has held on to its inextricable relationship with the classical arts it has nurtured, perhaps it takes an event like the Khajuraho Dance Festival to distil the essence of Madhya Pradesh`s exquisite culture. Each year, the festival places India`s foremost classical dancers against the backdrop of Khajuraho`s magnificent temples. The dancer`s stories and the images on the temple walls seamlessly flow as a single narrative. Thousands of years inscribe themselves on the present in a rare moment of synthesis, making it hard to separate the story from the storyteller.

An instrumental musical group in Maihar, the first Maihar Band is said to be originally a group of orphans mentored by Ustad Allauddin Khan.