The documentary titled ‘The story of India’; a masterpiece by itself is the brainchild of Michael Wood, a celebrated British historian. He is a life member of the legendary Royal Society of England.
The documentary is an eye opener to all who wish to know about India and its inimitable ethos. The documentary begins with the narrator tracing India’s culture and hoary past. He begins his journey from the Malabar Coast where he hears some chants of the priest community that has existed for over a millennium now. After this sojourn, he leaves for Afghanistan where he tastes the Soma drink, a juice that was used for holy sacrifices and offerings. After this journey, he returns to India, where he goes to Hastinapura and kaushambhi, two ancient sites which are intimately associated with the Mahabharata.He also verifies the existence of the Saraswathi river and matches its channel with satellite images.
His journeys are thought provoking and scintillating. Especially when he sits for a meal set on a banana leaf in a south Indian home, he truly defies the adage, “The west is the west and the east is the east, the twain shall never meet”!
In the last leg of his journey, he gives us an insight into partition and the idea of emerging India. The exodus, which was the aftermath of the bloody partition, and the idea of Emerging India imminently, is the central theme of the entire documentary, which gives us an exhaustive and holistic perspective of India that is Bharat.
B.Amrith
11-C
2010-2011
