The Story of India - by Michael Wood. Review on Michael Wood The Story of India

About 100 million years ago, a gigantic block of triangular landmass drifted away from Africa, it headed north in its epic journey and collided with the larger landmass of Asia and thus the most spectacular mountains, the Himalayas were born and with the Himalayas came into existence: “India”. I was inspired to write this review of a British Documentary film called the Story of India  which was telecast on BBC in UK and PBS in America. The Story of India is a 6 part series made by legendary British historian and documentary film maker Michael Wood. The documentary is exhaustive; it covers the history of India from the very first human beings   who came to India all the way into the modern India.

Part 1 the Beginnings: In this episode, Michael travels to various parts of India interviewing historians and genetic scientists. In the state of Tamil Nadu, Michael interviews a historian and scientist who has been conducting DNA analysis of a small village and who has established the origins of the first people in India directly from Africa. The first migrations took place well over 50, 000 years ago. Michael then travels to the ancient cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro in present day Pakistan. He is astonished to see the ingenuity and culture of people in a settlement which is thought to have existed in 3500 BC and was booming around 2000 BC. Climate change and the change in course of the Indus River may be attributed to people moving out of these cities and settling into the Indo-Gangetic plains. Michael further explores the sacred chants of a clan of Brahmins in Kerala and the origins of the Vedas. He travels to a lost city in present day Turkmenistan to find the ingredients of the holy drink called “Soma” and how horses were tamed in central Asia and mainly to investigate who the Aryans were. He also gets views on the existence of a vedic common language which could have been the source of Sanskrit, Latin and Greek.

Part 2 the Power of Ideas: Michael has moved on to 500 BC, when India is the most civilized part of the known earth. In 326BC Alexander camps outside the rivers in Punjab thinking has reached the end of the earth when he is told by the local people of rivers much bigger and lands much more vast that lay ahead with mighty kingdoms that had tens of thousands of war elephants and millions of soldiers. Young Changragupta is inspired by the forces of Alexander, he becomes the first great king of India and sets the Mauryan empire. The Birth and life of Buddha is explored in detail in this episode and in doing so Michael visits Bodhgaya and Kushinagar interviewing Buddhist monks and historians to learn the teaching of the Buddha. He moves on to the topic of King Asoka, detailing his atrocities and his realization in the later days when he becomes an ascetic preaching non –violence, love and kindness. He also gives us hints into the composition of Mahabharata and Ramayana between this and the previous episode.

Part 3 Spice: India is better known in the west for its spices and this has been going for over a thousand year. Michael heads to South India to the port cities in Kerala where boats are still built the way they were built in Rome. This is because India had trade relations with the Romans. Spices, metals, animals, wine etc were on the table between the Indians and the Romans. He travels north and again into Pakistan to describe the Kanishka empire which trickled down from China and its trade relations with the west – popularly known as the silk route.

Part 4 Ages of Gold: Michael heads to Tamil Nadu to describe the Chola empire of Raja Raja, his temples and his city at Tanjore. He describes the cultural depth of the Tamil people, the extent of development in literature which is comparable to any western nation and the military and sea fairing prowess of the Chola Empire. Michael also explores the ancient Brass casting methods still in use. He brings in the age of the Gupta empire which is considered as the golden age of India. Michael interviews a professor who show the Iron pillar at Delhi to prove the advance in metallurgy during this age. Michael talks about the advances in mathematics – especially the invention of Zero and the modern number system, he also gives us insight into Aryabhatta who calculated the exact circumference of the Earth.

Part 5 Meeting of two Oceans: The next major change in the Story of India came through religion with the invasion of the Mughals. Michael talks about Babur – Ibrahim Lodi and how the Mughal Empire took shape in India, the acceptance of a new religion in India and the emergence of  the next great emperor after Asoka which is Akbar. Michael describes the efforts of Akbar in ruling India in a noble and peaceful manner and his attempts to establish one religion which is an amalgamation of every known religion. He further drives the story to the building of the iconic Taj Mahal and the final rule by Aurang Zeb. Michael spends a lot of time in the episode describing the battle between Aurang Zeb, Dara and imprisonment of Shah Jehan and finally the fall of the Mughal Empire.

Part 6 Freedom and Liberation: This part of history we are well aware of, it is the setting up of the British Raj in India and the people like Mangal Pandey, Rani Lakshmi Bai/ Nana Sahib/ Tantya Tope who led the resistance against the British. He talks about the British military officer who took the side of the Indians and finally the freedom movement, the partition of India and the riots that followed. Michael ends the show at a very promising note that India has always been a super power and envy of the world in the past and after countless invasions and a plethora of cultures, India could absorb all of it and continue to be itself as it endeavors to be a world power again.(he does not mention the mean-ass politicians s*cking our blood these days)

Verdict: History of Ancient India/ Vedic period and Aryan Invasion is based on the views of historians, as there is very little documented evidence of what happened 5000 years ago and as one has to rely on excavations and understanding cryptic languages of the past, the first episode may not be accurate, however the program has made an effort to reach a common ground from the findings of many archeologists  and historians. The series is excellent in all respects and is a must watch.