The Hindu : New Delhi News : "Being Indian" the flavour of the season

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Friday, Dec 22, 2006
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"Being Indian" the flavour of the season

Mandira Nayar

Online poll conducted by BBC World

NEW DELHI: The larger-than-life Bollywood movies might be the flavour of the times, but a slice of "real'' India seems to do just as well. Looking at the world objectively, BBC World had conducted an online poll to choose the best documentaries that appeared on the channel.

A mix of the bizarre, shocking and the mundane, the documentaries provided viewers with different aspects of life.

From "The World Uncovered: Sex Crimes And The Vatican'' to the last survivors of Hitler's bunkers, many of these documentaries had won awards. However, the one that seems to have struck a chord with audiences is "Being Indian''.

"Being Indian" polled over 18 per cent votes and emerged the winner. The documentary follows the lives of four children from widely differing backgrounds. It looks at social change and what this upward mobility really means for children of India today. The episode follows Biru Malik, a nine-year-old, who lives with his family in a one-bedroom house. One of his family's main jobs is to prepare funeral pyres and cremate bodies on the banks of the Ganga.

While the flavour of real India despite its "exotic'' value may have come out on top, the seamier side of The Vatican came out the second favourite with 16.36 per cent votes.

A different way to get viewers involved, the BBC World poll gave viewers the opportunity to vote for the most outstanding documentary programme shown on the channel this year throughout this past month.

The results of the online poll were announced early this month.

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