Story of India

Close on the heels of reading this, I got a chance to watch the Story of India DVD by Michael Wood. Back in January of this year, when this series was being aired on PBS, I didn't get a chance to check it out then. More so, because I am not good at remembering days and times for TV programs. So when I heard this series was being released on DVD, I made it a point to buy them. I almost wanted to suggest this as a good birthday gift for myself :). So then, 2 weeks ago, I won a raffle prize at one of our office parties and got a best buy gift card. What a stroke of luck that BestBuy had this DVD and within days this now adorns my DVD collection.

This documentary series by historian Michael Wood traces the history of India in 6 parts right from the Mohenjodaro/Harappan times 2000 BC all the way to the British Raj and now the 21st century India. In the first part of the series, he traces some pre-historic African tribes moving to Kerala. Some of the practices and chants that are still being followed have now been identified to African roots. He then travels to current-day Harappa. Its amazing to visualize the historical significance of this place in lieu of the Indus valley civilization.

So on he follows the ages- to the growth of Buddhism and Jainism, to the Mauryan dynasty- Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka. To the Chola empire in the south- the Tanjavur temple, Raja Raja Chola and his regime. To the Kushan empire- to Kanishka's invasions.

He then moves to the Golden Age in 300-400AD of the Gupta dynasty. Further on, the local fiefdoms are full of strife and petty quarreling till Mohammed of Ghazni who came towards Somnath and further amassed a significant part of the country. That is when and how Islam came to be in the story of India. Furthermore in the 16th century came the invasion of the Mughals- with Babur. This went on till the British Raj in the 17th century.

While this might sound like a history book, what makes this series different is the fact that Michael travels to present day cities of India- like Delhi and Calcutta, to Mathura, Ayodhya, Patna, Tanjavur, Madurai and to Allahabad as he follows the history trail. He visits the historical monuments and talks to eminent historians of India who hold within themselves a mine of information on the story of India. Like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, he pieces it all together to make up a wonderful tale.

The reason I was reminded of Nandan Nilekani's book is because both the book and this series end with a note that India is now waking up to an optimistic future. India, that has established itself as the world's largest democracy, that is all set to have the highest GDP by 2020 is a country filled with hope for a brilliant and prosperous future. Perhaps the time for a modern day Golden Age is truly upon us.

For a sneak peek into the series, here's a clip.