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Discovering India!
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Discovery Channel launches ‘The Story of India’
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Varied fare ”The Story of India” has many surprises in store — the Varanasi Waterfront and (right) the Kushinagar site of the Buddha’s cremation
Virumandi has an interesting genetic history. Thanks to research by Prof. Pitchappan and his team from the Department of Immunology, Madurai Kamarajar University, it was discovered that Virumandi’s DNA has Gene M130, a marker associated with th
e early settlers of India. But the credit for bringing this sensational scientific finding out of the rarefied world of genetic research goes to Discovery Channel.
While discussing the roots of the Indian nation, the first of Discovery’s six-episode programme, “The Story of India” (on air at 8 p.m. every Wednesday starting from April 16 and retelecast every following Sunday at 11 a.m.), gives details about the experiment that has turned Virumandi into a celebrity.
Celebrity
Historian Michaeal Wood, through whose eyes the viewer gets to witness the wonders of India, is treated to a varied fare as he walks around the Ganges Plain, “the lost cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro” and other archeological sites which have not ceased to throw surprises. His attempt to unearth Indian origins takes him out of the country — to Pakistan and Turkmenistan.
Another episode discusses why India has been a melting pot of ideas. With great drama, the events that changed the lives of Siddhartha and Asoka are related. Wood visits the country’s holy sites and meets up with the Dalai Lama.
The third episode traces the beginnings of international trade in the Indian subcontinent. It tells how the “Spice Route and Silk Roads” changed the landscape of Indian trade in the centuries immediately following the death of Christ. Wood gets to sit on traditional boats and Indian trains, as he retraces India’s ancient trading trails.
Subsequent episodes are about medieval India’s achievements in astronomy, the evolution of wrought-iron technology, the making of the world’s first sex manual, the Kama Sutra, the rituals specific to the Chola temple (1010 A.D.) in Tanjore, a visit to Multan, a trail through the deserts and the Mughal cities.
The programme culminates in an exploration of events that took place during British rule and a commentary on how India has grown following Independence.
PRINCE FREDERICK
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