The Hindu : New Delhi News : Glimpses of India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Tripura to Goa

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Glimpses of India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Tripura to Goa

Staff Reporter

Film-maker Benoy K. Behl to bring out ‘Spectacular India'

A taste of India: The new Doordharshan series will be woven round the country's colourful cultural canvas.

NEW DELHI: Noted art historian and film-maker Benoy K. Behl has just returned from the first shooting schedule for his new series titled Spectacular India that has been made especially for Doordarshan India.

Covering extensive parts of the Kashmir Valley and districts of Kargil, Leh, Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba and Kangra, besides the government museums in Shimla and Chandigarh, the six-week shooting trip was quite an adventure for Mr. Behl, assistant director Sanghamitra Ghosh and the entire shooting crew.

“We had to cross a total of 14 high-altitude mountain passes and lived in a monastery in Spiti at 13,500 feet. There was considerable road travel. The roads hardly existed this time as there was a great deal of snow last winter. Sometimes we found ourselves driving with 30 feet of snow on either side of the road. One mountain pass was closed and we had to carry our equipment across the landslide and had to wait many hours for the vehicle,” says Mr. Behl, the director and producer of Spectacular India.

The subjects of the films that have been shot this time include the Aryan tribes in remote parts of Ladakh, Hindu and Buddhist sites of Kashmir, Guru Padmasambhava and the masked ritual dance of the Lamas.

The second Buddha is a dramatic story set in the high Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. It is about Guru Padmasambhava, who is worshipped across Tibet and the Indian Himalayas as the second Buddha.

“This story is about one of the great miracles in human history when the Guru in power and majesty of his mission travelled across the highest mountains. He covered 2,000 km of inhospitable, high-altitude desert to spread the message of the Buddha. These are regions where oxygen is scarce in the thin air and often it is difficult to breathe. … The great Guru not only crossed these lofty mountains and barren stretches of icy desert, he also transformed the people across these lands. Owing to him, the men and women here remain Buddhist till today,” says Mr. Behl.

Even after traversing many States again and again, Mr. Behl feels there is always more to be experienced and documented. For the series, Mr. Behl, an authority on Indian culture and art, will travel across the length and breadth of the country to offer viewers a glimpse into the vast and rich cultural heritage.

The series will cover different aspects of the country's varied culture from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Tripura to Goa.

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