Tired of watching 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S' over and over again (not that I would completely stop lol) I decided to watch the series of documentaries called 'The Story of India' by Michael Wood based on my friend Abhi's advice(thanks a ton Abhi!)....and I loved it! For all os uf who were kids in the late eighties and early nineties, an age that cable TV hadn't invaded, the word documentary usually conjures up images of lifeless, never ending Doordarshan programmes with monotonous music (sorry if I hurt any Doordarshan fans here, but had to tell the truth!). And the narrative is usually a gender neutral voice pronouncing every word with utmost care, thereby killing (other than the viewers) the essence of what is being said!
This is probably why any of us would strongly resist calling 'The Story of India' a documentary. The show(to call it so, for lack of better words) is full of life; mostly due to the enthusiastic host, Michael Wood who injects life into every story he tells. While the show is aimed at British audiences, it is a must watch for any Indian, and in my opinion, every schoolkid before he/she starts studying(and almost simultaneously!) hating history as a subject. For Wood, as he travels across India , history is all around for us to see. He carefully traces back little traditions and practices to ancient times, pausing just long enough to keep our attention and then moving on to the next fascinating chapter in the story of our glorious land; a stark contrast to usual documentaries that harp on the same point in detail until it becomes intolerable.
The visuals flit from images from the past to present day India where Wood walks along, talking to historians and the local chai-wala with the same ease. He also carefully sets the time period mentioning other historical events such as the fall of Rome, thus painting a complete picture of Indian history's place in that of the world. But don't be put off by my frequent usage of the word 'history'! Wood also touches upon present day issues such as caste based politics and the Ram Janmabhoomi, sensitising the viewer, to past events that have led to them.
At the end of each documentary you are surprised at how much he managed to cover, just by tracing back events through curiosity, rather than as 'history'. He begins for instance, by tracing the man whose forefathers were the first ones to reach India from Africa! And you realise that Wood is not just another one of those, India crazy westerners for whom this is a fad (his daughters are named Minakshi and Jyoti!) : his pronounciation and knowledge of both North and South Indian languages is impeccable.
At the end of the day, even if you aren't a history buff - give it a watch. Some of the visuals are so amazing (a boat on the Ganga early in the morning, Kerala in the monsoon) that you are genuinely sorry you need someone to show you this breathtaking beauty around you. And you might learn a few surprising facts. Did you know for instance, that the story of Lord Rama's golden age was probably inspired by that of King Chandragupta Maurya?! And you must appreciate how difficult it is to cover over 10,000 years of history in six interesting capsules (history haters, you've got to agree!). For your benefit here they are:
1. Beginnings2. The Power of Ideas
3. Spice Routes and Silk Roads
4. Ages of Gold
5. The Meeting of two Oceans
6. Freedom and Liberation
Here's the wiki link to the series as well...Happy Watching!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Story_of_India
I guess u should write a blog for each one of those 6 episodes. The one you have written above is good and was enough to inspire a couple of ppl around me to watch it (really).
ReplyDeleteI have seen 2 episodes myself and the kind of talking/debatable points that comes out of this series, I think you should do more justice to it by writing a more detailed account and puttin ur thoughts to it.
I think it would come out really well, let me knw wats ur thoughts. I would be interested to add a bit too if u would want that.
great idea! will do it....and glad to know it inspired ppl to watch...why dont u also try to write a review of each episode?
ReplyDeleteHonestly I want to write it myself but these days I am not able to find much time. Moreover I dont want to write for the sake of it and make a mess of it, thats why I passed on that idea to you. Since you are already doing a fine job, I thought it would be great but as I said I would be more than happy to contribute.
ReplyDeleteThe issues and points that come out of each episode, one can easily write a book out of it. I am only surprised that we have a lot of learned men in our country and no one has come close in making a comparable series like this one.