Jump to content

Should be compulsory viewing!


mint
 Share

Recommended Posts

Wednesday evenings BBC 4 "Welcome to India"

Last night's was Episode 3.  I didn't see the very first episode but I watched Episode 2 and last night's episode.

The most wonderful, life-enhancing, uplifting, engrossing programme imaginable!

Documentary of the highest calibre.  If you don't sit there alternately smiling and then frowning, feeling inspired, getting lost in admiration and starting to count your blessings, then you are not human and have very blunted sensibilities!

OK, I'm being a bit provocative but I love the programmes so much that I don't feel right keeping it to myself.

Anyone else seen these?  Well, do you find them incredibly moving and awe-inspiring as well as enjoyable; well, DO you?[:D] 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw the first episode Sweet17, and like you I was enthralled and just so impressed with the ingenuity and lack of grumbling by the people featured. Despite their situations they remained cheerful and optimistic. A great programme.

Unfortunately (?) the following week Who Do You Think You Are returned on BBC1 clashing with this, so I'm hoping that Welcome to India will be re-shown on BBC3 or 4 in the coming weeks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I watched it and what terrible conditions to live in.

The UK gives India aid but India also has a space programme - seems priorities are not quite right. Perhaps improve peoples living conditions before you start sending rockets in to space.

However, the chap making the cups seemed to be very happy and even more so when his wife and children joined him. I wondered if their 'room' was better than the one in the village where they had been.

The burning of the bodies by the side of a street also amazed me - and then the ashes were thrown in to the Ganges to join the excrement and other waste that is thrown in there. Thought that chap cleaning his teeth in the Ganges was very brave - perhaps it is a version of Russian Roulette - Indian Roulette.

Paul

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="PaulT"]

The UK gives India aid but India also has a space programme - seems priorities are not quite right. Perhaps improve peoples living conditions before you start sending rockets in to space.

However, the chap making the cups seemed to be very happy and even more so when his wife and children joined him. I wondered if their 'room' was better than the one in the village where they had been.

Paul

[/quote]

Oh, Paul, you are right, of course.  But, I wasn't looking at the programme in such a wide context as you did.  I'll come in a moment to what it is about the programmes that so engaged me.

What I want to say for now is, that's no better than our own government (in the UK).  All the talk about the "big society" lah di dah di dah and now another scandal about MPs renting out their properties to each other and claiming for them from the poor old taxpayer.

OK, back to the programmes and what I love about them....

For a start, the TONE of the programmes:  no hint of patronising, no smidgeon of "oh, look, how these awful people live", no question of how "curious" it is that people live like that and not like WE ourselves live.  None of that and even the commentary, whilst not above a sly dig or two here and there, is in the main "telling it like it is".  I think it helps that they don't dub the people's accounts so we gtt to hear how they speak and, of course, for people who do know the language(s) spoken, they can hear for themselves first hand.

It also helped that the commentator himself was Indian, albeit a very well-educated one who spoke pure RP!

Then, there is the emphasis on what we have in common instead of what is "different".  By that, I mean all the things that we, as human beings, need to do to look after ourselves and our families and all the emotions, etc that are important to us.  I couldn't help but be thrilled when the woman who made a living out of recycling plastic bottles waited with anxiety and anticipation both for the return of her daughter for the festival (seeing as she'd quarreled with her son-in-law and wasn't sure whether they'd make the trip).  And, when she nearly dragged her daugher off the pillion of her SIL's motorbike when they eventually turned up, I found very touching and filled me with happiness for her.

As for the chap who made the cups that you mention, Paul, I loved it when he was going off to meet his wife and children when he was full of anxiety to please her.  He said he must not be late because she'd be "pissed off" with him if he was!  So nice that here was the breadwinner who didn't feel other than respect for his wife's feelings and was in no way belittling her even though she was completely financially dependent on him.  Then, somehow, in true fairy-tale fashion, I was looking forward to seeing a doe-eyed beauty but she turned up with most of her face covered and all I could see was a nose with a ring through it, ha, ha!

Even the chap who wanted to be a Bollywood star, he didn't seem like your average wanabe, he wanted to make good to please his mother and make her as proud of him as she was of her engineer -in -the- making son, her acknowledged favourite.  Also, he didn't grudge his earnings going towards his brother's education in the university; he only dreamt of making something of his own life.  And, I have to admit, he looked like a dark-skinned James Dean.

What surprised me most of all was how the men loved their DAUGHTERS!  In my ignorance, I believed that Indians (like the Chinese) do not love their daughters because of having to give them dowries and so on.  I thought (and believed!) that they drowned their daughters!  Perhaps they do and that wasn't shown for the sake of PC![:(]

How I wish Dog was still with us.  He loved the Indians, their country, their food, their kites, etc.  Anyone in touch with Dog, please give him my regards and mention that I have been praising these programmes!

So much to stimulate discussion and make you grateful for your own life.  I really couldn't recommend it enough (as you might have guessed![:D])

   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sweet17, I just wanted to say that I enjoyed the programme in just the same way as you. It was a straightforward documentary of the lives without any patronising, and mostly told by the people themselves. I loved the part in episode 1 (the only episode I've yet seen) where the family living in a shack on the beach saw their clean, smartly dressed children off to school. If they can do it.................. 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, Pommier, I am so glad you agree and that you saw Episode 1 which, sadly, I missed.

The other person I couldn't help thinking about was the man who rendered cow fat for a living.  All that stinking yucky fat covered in flies...And guess where the fat ends up?

In Germany mostly, being used in the cosmetics industry!  Will never view my lippy again in quite the same way![:D]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You might then like a book by Justine Hardy "Scoop-Wallah". As an English-born journalist, she wanted to experience life in India through the eyes of a local reporter and managed to get a job with a daily paper. The book recounts her experiences.

The style is a bit quirky, but you get a warts and all picture of life in India, sometimes heartening but often quite shocking.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey, Alan Zoff, are you out there?

I've just watched a programme on BBC 4 called "The History of India" and it's written and presented by the historian, Michael Wood.  Fascinating:  there is evidence to suggest that India had a very big civilisation in its northern regions that was older than Greek or Egyptian civilisation.

I think it's a series so more to come if anyone's interested.

Must be Indian season or something....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...