Series

The Story Of India
Documentary, TV	9.0 (24 votes)
(2007) 60 mins
This is the first series by Michael Wood that I see and I really enjoyed watching it. The history of India is certainly so rich that one could do a sixty episodes series as well. Wood has a colloquial style that makes complex subjects attractive. Here he catches the pulse of the Indian history and of the diverse civilizations that succeeded on the sub-continent and brings them to life, filming on site and interviewing people who are not only experts but also survivors, continuators and keepers of the traditions of the different religions and peoples who lived and survived in this huge country. His style is never dry, although a little bit superficial, but in the limits of time he is doing quite well. Even folks who were very little familiar with the subject end by learning some useful information and especially by having their interest open to learn more.

	Ep#	Description	Date	Time
	1	Beginnings: Michael Wood travels throughout the subcontinent, tracing the richness and diversity of its peoples, cultures and landscapes. Through ancient manuscripts and oral tales Michael charts the first human migrations out of Africa. He travels from the tropical backwaters of South India through lost ancient cities in Pakistan to the vibrant landscapes of the Ganges plain. In Turkmenistan dramatic archaeological discoveries cast new light on India’s past.In Turkmenistan, there they find a civilisation named "Zorashtrian", and there they also find horse drawn carts or chariots called Raths which are mentioned in the Rig Veda. Wood also attempts to re-create soma, an ancient drink recorded in the Rig Veda.
	2	The Power of Ideas: The second episode in Michael Wood’s series moves on to the revolutionary years after 500BC - the Age of the Buddha. Travelling by rail to the ancient cities of the Ganges plain, by army convoy through Northern Iraq, and on down the Khyber Pass, he shows how Alexander the Great’s invasion of India inspired her first empire. The Rise of Maurya kingdom.
	3	Spice Routes and Silk Roads: In this episode he traces India in the days of the Roman Empire. In Kerala the spice trade opened India to the world, whilst gold and silk bazaars in the ancient city of Madurai were a delight for visiting Greek traders. From the deserts of Turkmenistan Michael travels down the Khyber Pass to Pakistan to discover a forgotten Indian Empire (Kushan Empire) that opened up the Silk Route and at Peshawar built a lost Wonder of the World. That wonder nowadays people known as "Bare Raja Ka Tila". Also offers an interesting theory about the death of Emperor Kanishka at Mathura.
	4	Ages of Gold: The achievements of the country’s golden age, including how India discovered zero, calculated the circumference of the Earth and wrote the world’s first sex guide, the Kama Sutra. In the south, the giant temple of Tanjore and traditional bronze casters, working as their ancestors did 1,000 years ago are shown.
	5	The Meeting of Two Oceans: The documentary series about the history of India charts the coming of Islam to the subcontinent and one of the greatest ages of world civilisation: the Mughals. Michael Wood visits Sufi shrines in Old Delhi, desert fortresses in Rajasthan and the cities of Lahore and Agra, where he offers a new theory on the design of the Taj Mahal. He also looks at the life of Akbar, a Muslim emperor who decreed that no one religion could hold the ultimate truth, but whose dream of unity ended in civil war.
	6	Freedom and Liberation: This episode examines the British Raj and India’s struggle for freedom. Wood reveals how in South India a global corporation came to control much of the subcontinent, and explores the magical culture of Lucknow, discovering the enigmatic Briton who helped found the freedom movement. He traces the Amritsar massacre, the rise of Gandhi and Nehru, and the events that led to the Partition of India in 1947.

Michael Wood ...... Himself (6 episodes, 2007)

Director ..... Jeremy Jeffs

Writer ..... Michael Wood

Filming Locations:
India