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Documenting the unknown past

“I encountered a man who said Islam was his religion, Ramayana his culture.”

Treading Uncharted Territory: Historical documentary maker S. Krishnaswamy talking about his latest documentary “India Imprints.”

Reinterpreting Indian history and unraveling unknown truths is Chennai-based documentary filmmaker S. Krishnaswamy’s passion. Madhur Tankha captures the amateur historian’s trajectory so far.

Conversations on his favourite subject with almost anyone who was passionate about history kept Mr. Krishnaswamy busy when he came calling to the Capital this past week for the screening of his latest labour of love “India Imprints.”

“Though I am not a historian, my aim is to show the true picture of our country as I feel Indian history has been distorted by Western authors. So I am reinterpreting history through my documentaries.”

Recounting his keen interest in reinterpreting Indian history Mr. Krishnaswamy says, “In the 1960s I was successfully making non-fiction short films and even bagged four national awards, but I wanted to tread on the uncharted territory of historical documentaries. My colleagues dissuaded me against taking such a huge risk. But I was adamant to make a film on the 5,000 years history of our country with modern perspective.”

Filming the other-side

Pointing out that his hugely popular documentary “Indus Valley to Indira Gandhi” covered every State from Kashmir to Kerala, Mr. Krishnaswamy said that the documentary touched upon contentious issues like untouchability, women being worshipped as deity and being subjected to slavery.

“I focused on the hapless widows of Vrindavan who are still subjected to abject poverty. I wanted to travel to Pakistan to show Mohenjadaro but relations between the two neighbours were not friendly.”

Reminiscing his younger days, Mr. Krishnaswamy says his father K. Subrahmanyam was a freedom fighter-cum-filmmaker. “Sadly, his films were banned and he lost a great deal of wealth, but he left the seeds of culture and love for my motherland inside me. Actually I wanted to make a documentary on ancient India’s relationship with South East Asia while making television serials in Singapore in 1990s.”

Going through the mammoth exercise of filming in Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos for his latest “India Imprints” was an arduous exercise. But Mr. Krishnaswamy used his patience and perseverance to complete the job. “Documentation in English on the subject when I started working in 1999 was virtually non-existent. Barring some translated texts by French historians on the impact of Indianisation of these countries, there was nothing in those films. Luckily Lokesh Chandra in Delhi, who is a walking encyclopaedia, helped us. The temples and monuments we’ve covered go back all the way to an unspecified pre-Christian era, with authentic documentation from the first century A.D. onwards.”

“India Imprints”

Stating that over 100 monuments and temples reflecting the profound ancient Indian impact on Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos have been filmed, Mr. Krishnaswamy says: “Based on extensive research, combining a gripping journalistic style with authenticity, interspersed with the regional dance forms as well as brief interviews with statesmen, artistes and scholars, the documentary is an eye-opener on an important aspect of India’s heritage and also a visual treat.”

Ancient India had a profound impact on the rest of Asia, says Mr. Krishnaswamy, adding that Hinduism and Buddhism as well as concepts of architecture, aesthetics, dance, music and mythology spread from India to several Asian countries.

The harmonious past

“Except for the pioneering work of a few historians, India has not paid adequate attention to exploring this glorious relationship between India and the rest of South East Asia,” says the filmaker.

Mr. Krishnaswamy says that during the course of shooting his documentary he realised that that there was a synchronisation of Hinduism and Buddhism in the South East Asian Countries in the past.

“I stumbled upon a Buddhist Brahmin. Interestingly, I encountered one individual who told me that while Islam was his religion, Ramayana his culture. So a number of people have Indian roots. In Indonesia’s island of Bali 90 per cent are Hindus. So I have come to the conclusion that even if people of South East Asia have converted to other religious denominations they are not shy of talking about their previous religion,” says Mr. Krishnaswamy, who was assisted by his wife Mohana in completing the voluminous documentary.

A voracious reader, his favourite authors include A.K. Basham “a Western author who specialised on India.” “Then I like going through historical narratives of R.C. Majumdar, Neelkant Shastri and T.R. Ramachandran.

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