Inside PBS Blog

Looking forward to watching the series on PBS!

I was wondering if "The Story of India" covered Assam and the northeast.

* If yes, I look forward to the section.

* If no, did you and your team think the region is disconnected from Indian history?

I am excited about this series. Just wanted to point out that the map showing India, incorrectly labeled Sri Lanka as Tamil Nadu.

Hope you can correct that for future publications.

Sir / Madame;
I love these programs. I watch them to learn. However I find it extremely annoying when the narrator is drown out by the music.
I like the music but not if it interfers with the content. This is not the first program to display this problem. The music is a nice addition but I watch the program for its content and the narration is essential to that content.
Thank you

Wow, another attempt by western 'scholars' to misinterpret the vedas take away Sanatan Dharma's true meanings.

Sanscrit has its origins in what is now Turkey? That's a new development as some thirty or so years a go I read that Sanscrit's roots were from the Russian Step.

Best --------- Jim Parsons

I am very happy to see that you are putting shows like this on TV for people to see Worldwide.While watching your show and your search for the origin of the Arian race,I think its important to understand that the original name for India is Bharata Desha where the Epic Mahabharatha was manifest. Bharat(India) was much bigger geographically than it is now sprawling way beyond Pakisthan and Afghanisthan. So we should not think that the Origin of Sanskrit and Indian or Arian Culture comes from beyond the borders of Todays India but rather India was the Origin of Sanskrit and the Arians..

Jason Gaynor

I missed most of the India story, did they cover names and how "house" names are part of the cast system and how they are incorporated?

does this series cover anything on the SIKHS and the SIKH raj before clonialism. Moreover, from what i know, and my knowledge is very limited- india as a nation never existed prior to independence in 1947- wasn't a mere compliation of small kingdoms.

Very good comments on India and it s culture
you will learn more on who we are really
we are servants of Krishna we all are spiritual souls in this temporary body you have the chance to discovered your real self through the reading of the Vedas and please read the Bhagavad Gita as it is from His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada

It was very interesting to hear you discuss the importance of Kerala in Indian history as a Keralite.
I was wondering if you had stayed in Kerala long enough to encounter the great Christian population, being Christian myself. Later on, will you ever discuss the religious diversity and feature Christianity along with the other numerous religions in India?
If so, thank you and if not, why not?
Thank you.

"the beginings" is still a white man's burden on the subcontinent. White man still cannot accept the fact that Indian civilization could be native to India, and therefore, is always looked for the source of India's history outside of India. In Centeral Asia, people still ride Donkeys, and terrain is not hospitable for riding chariots. I can bet you that cannot show this documentary in India, for they will get still criticism about their lies, distortion, and propagation of English version of History about India. White man is ugly, and manipulator. With white man I do not mean with white skin... It is just that hated breed of Viking blood and native to British Isle. If India had the might and power today, they would drag the whole production staff the court, and get sanction on their documentary full of distortion... Poor White man, still cannot find Aryan location, but surely feels, Aryans are not Indians but outsiders... O well. In India, we believe in Karma. Long after British Isle submerge into atlantic ocean, or another ice age, India would still be there, with her hidden history, and completely indifferent to how a white man sees it... Today, in California, White man cannot even defend the history of India in courts. They still depend on their own planted distortion for evidences, but utterly fails.
Email: Aryasarecoming@aol.com

I loved the first episode. Watching it prompts this question for Mr. Wood from me.

Given the state of modern archaeology, should the much maligned scholarship of Godfrey Higgins and his book "Anacalypsis" be re-examined. While I acknowledge many inaccuracies in his work, the program suggests that he must have been right concerning the role of India in much of pre-historic history. He relied heavily on William Jones for his theories and I have long felt he was short-changed because of his amateur status.

Thanks.

Thank you very much for broadcasting this really awesome program! On a whim, I tuned into the program not expecting much. Really blew me away!! Addressed those questions that linger in teh back of our minds but most of us (even natives) are too ashamed to ask!

Beautifully projected India's various cultures!

Thanks again Michael Wood!

As expected from PBS, the "Story of India" program was beautifully shot, respectful to locals, and engaging.

However, in 2009, I find it hard to believe that your choice for the host of this program is a person who is incapable of pronouncing city names and basic Hindi/Sanskriti words correctly. Indeed, pronunciations of words that have Sanksriti origin, differ across India...however NO Indian pronounces "Mathura" the way that Michael Wood does.

Please prioritize casting native speakers for your segments. It will distinguish PBS from CNN. Your target audience values accuracy, please don't insult us.

Michael came so close to getting to the real source - Mamuni Mayan - or Vishwakarma. He is the source of the Prananva Veda cognised 10,000 years ago.The Agamas and the Vastu Shastras for centuries were in the care of the Shilpins - the architects and carvers or Sthapatis of the great temples. This day,one of the great Shilpins and one of India's great temple builders Dr.V. Ganapti Stahapti has copy of the texts on preserved on ancient palm leaves.
Where did sanscrit come from? Most likely developed along side Tamil. The great temples were built before there were brahmins - the Shilpins were the knowledge holders. Only they had the ancient knowledge that Mayan developed - particle and wave theory and creation principles of the universe from source or Brahman. The great temples were built to honor the inner space from which all came.The idols like Shiva and Nataraja etc were "coded' with the principles of creation - a visual grammar.
Key points from a monograph written by Dr.Sthapati:

The science underlying the spiritual culture of India is called Vaastu Shastra, which brought forth a splendid technology dealing with more of the inner energy than of the outer gross energy.
It was expounded by Brahmarishi Mayan whose eminence left no field untouched. It is found that people of the ancient period worshipped the cosmic space, which is the source of all in this Universe. Temples of remote India did not house any deities. They were installed only later and only the inner space of the sanctum was worshipped. With the passage of time the temples grew into full fledged structures and were looked upon as the human form of God, the whole structure idolized the form of the Divine in all aspects. The building is a living being capable of breathing in and breathing out and conferring enormous good to human life. It is the form of God not the home of God, a manifest form of the unmanifest.
The technology in the Vaastu Shastras comes from the Pranava Veda, which means Om though it is pregnant with a deeper meaning as it unfolds a mathematical formula underlying all manifest forms.
One of the Vaastu Shastras called Manasara literally means the essence of measurements. The divine power descended upon a Vaastu form occurs because of these essential measurements.

Michael:

Thanks for the wonderful and educational journey. Generations to come will appreciate your adventure and explanation.

Bravo!

Dhanyawaad, Shukriya

Namaste!

1. Aryan invasion theory
2. Harappa Mohanjodaro - India's first city
3. Ratha which was mentioned in scriptures not chariot but a cart
4. Caste divides people by birth and decides jobs
- mmm...who decided which cast do what job. We don't have any answer, so let's blame Brahmans for this.
5. Mahabharat - family feud

I request PBS to stop this non-sense story.

Missing the encompass of Gita, its philosophy, elucidation of what is caste and what is the role of God in the end, has left a gap that is all too vacant to be even remotely filled with all other beautiful details you have gathered in dilligence.

Neverthless, thank you for capturing a good part of our history in a very engaging and beautiful manner.

Srini Kasturi

Why turquoise? Is there a meaning to that color?
Pilgrims wear orange and orange scarves in India to signify their spiritual intent. Are you shown wearing a blue scarf for a reason? Or is it a simple fashion statement?

This is a brilliant series. I know I will watch it again and again. Thank you.

I believe India extended well into central Asia and all of the land till present day Iran was a part of India. So it is possible that Sanskrit originated in this unified India 4500 years ago as opposed to originating in Central Asia and migrating east to present day India. This unified kingdom existed even during the time of emperor Ashok. He ruled over much of central Asia. In fact under his rule, Buddhism spread to present day Afghanistan and further west. Most people will remember the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas by the Taleban. These were sculpted around the time of Emperor Ashok's reign.

My specific questions:

1) Shakuni, one of the prime characters in the Mahabharat, was also known as "Ghandhar Naresh" or the "King of Ghandar". "Ghandhar" is present day "Qandhahar" in Afghanistan. Was this trail followed in your research?

2) If it is true that two groups/tribes originated from central Asia, one moving east into India and another moving west into present day Europe, which probably explains some of the similarities in language of origin, then how is it the tribe that moved into India maintained its link back to their origin including their names, traditions etc. as documented in the Rig Veda, where as the tribe that moved into Europe lost it?

When will you produce a series on Mexico? The Aztecs, the Maya, the Toltec, Olmec, and so many other great cultures, and then the incredible Spanish Colonial period. The wealth of art and architecture, music, history.....how can you resist? And of course, the BIG question....where is Mexico headed?

Of course, I lived there for many years, speak the language and am passionately interested in the rich history of the central plateau of Mexico, so I think the rest of the world should know about it too. You could do a marvelous job with this! Think aout it.

It is almost comical the way this guy intentionally mispronounces Indian words, titles, and names. Mantra - like man as in not woman; Mahabharata - as if Maha bear ot-uh; Chandra - as if Charlie Chan-druh.

I remember in the early days of NPR that the British correspondent reporting from Nicaragua pronounced it as if Nick-ar-og-yew-uh. An intrepid listener, not me, asked why he didn't pronounce the capital, Managua, like Munn-ogg-yew-uh. If I remember right, the reporter was asked why, and could only resort to arrogance.

I think it is unavoidable for a Briton, especially one from the "upper class," to overcome completely the near-genetic arrogance towards the rest of the world, especially towards a former colony.

Good show otherwise.

I'm always suspicious of photojournalistsand fim makers that make extensive use of filters for artistic effects.

Notice that so many times during the filming of this documentary the sky is dark, even on a bright day, or how many times Michael will be brighter than the person just a few feet away? How is this any different then when OJ Simpson's image was altered in Photoshop for the cover of Time magazine?

It is here that the ethical issues arise. Any manipulation distorts the truth. The best, or artistic intentions often are not good enough and that ethical principles should be upheld at all times.

As a person who was born in India, I was impressed and moved by your show. I learnt quite a few things about my ancestors and their beginnings.
I wonder what effects the stories might have had on you as a westerner? We hear so much about India from the westerners and yet often the bottomline view of India and Indains is nothing but stereo-typical. Can you comment on your personal experiences and feelings as you did the show and journeyed through India and India's history? Has it shaped or reshaped you in any way? Are there lessons here for us all?

Thanks.

Please watch the you tube series link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2yHPkO1oIM&feature=related

which proves that the Aryan theory propoganda is wrong . The Britishers have wrongly spread these lies . The Shiv Sutras which were carved on stone date back more than 5000 and are written in Sanskrit.

Michael - your attention to detail and sincerity in covering the vast history of India is undeniable. There will obviously be many blogs requesting you to conver more...but, if you have to tell the story of India - then how can you not mention Adi Sankara. He was instrumental in spreading Hindu dharma and travelled more of India than even Buddha and that too by foot. Please go to this link -

http://www.kamakoti.org/newlayout/template/hindudharma.html?PHPSESSID=f7...

And read what one of our greatest saints has to say about Varna Dharma specifically in Part 3. Read the whole book to understand Vedic Dharma and then think about your comments on the inferiority of the caste system..ofcourse, it's a different story that humans as usual mess thiings up.

Any case, you have done a good job and thanks.

Thank you very much Michael.
Excellent work !

I will recommend all my friends to watch this master piece. Can't wait for the next one.

Keep up the good work.

Recent excavations in the deep south, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, have unearthed Harappan pottery and artifacts. Does this information negate the theory that the Harappans were from Central Asia? How do we connect the dots?

Dear Sir,
I must congratulate you on an excellent program.
I however must point to one inaccuracy.
In 1921, when the city of Harrappa was discovered, it was inaccurately considered the certer of the 5000 year old civilization. And the closesnt river, the Indus was chosen as the reviver around which this civilization must have grown.
However this is incorrect. Harrappa and Mohenjodaro are only some of the cities of the great civilization. It was actually on the bank of an ancient river called the Saraswati. The Saraswati valley civilization was quite larger, and extended to the current states of Gujarat and UP.

I am enjoying the series on India. Personally I think you have to trivilize the country to cover it in 5 segments - especially when you cover Buhhda in about 20 minutes. I reealize this is something you have to do to fit it in the time slot available, but it is a very ancient and complex country to condense into such a tine time slot.
One question I have is if you are covering India are you going to cover why the Indians themselves refer to the four Indias? I have several Indian students and work with many Indian people at the University and they talk about the 4 Indias. I realize that this is mostly geographic boundries, but am curious as to why the people are so definitive about dividing the country this way. I am curious if this is something that you experienced in your travels, and if you have an explaination for this. Most of the Indians seem to just acept this and just talk about geographical divisions, but I am curious if it goes deeper than this.

Consonant with PBS and BBC's slanted comprehension of a subcontitent as only able to be decoded by their whitewashed brand of journalism, they create another series about darkest India for their upper-middle class audience in the US and UK.

Does it ever occur to them that perhaps Indian journalists, Indian academicians and artists and politicians might have something to say about their own country unfiltered by a white, eurocentric gaze?

It is 2009 isn't it? Not in PBS land I guess, where the Raj and Victorian and Edwardian England is constantly reminisced about with absolutely no space for the colonized and post-colonized voice. Grow up...

I am currently watching the program on PBS. I must say this is one of the best programs produced regarding the history of India. It is bringing us back in touch with the ethics and spirit on which our country was built.
As Michael Wood rightly put it "Many empires were built by sword but Indian empire was built by spirit". This truly summarizes the message that the renowned men of India gave the world many centuries ago., the message of Non Violence and Peace and respect for all other living beings.
Hope the world imbibes it today.
Thank you for bringing this program.

1.why did you not talk about Ramayana it to is important as the mahabharata and the Ramayana is the not another myth because archeologist followed the places and was able to follow the route completely
2.you should have mentioned that in the mahabharata they said that everyone from the beginning of world was humongous compared to dwapara Yuga in size

SCK age 8

M!
Thanks so much for putting this documentary together, I have enjoyed you interpretation of the history of India very much. As a practicing Buddhist, I am looking forward to a visit to the Ganges region in 2010 and the beautiful camera work and layouts are making me very excited for my visit.

As to all those wonderful people that sit at home and read books, then criticize others who go halfway round the world and actually do something! Is it not much better to come up with an original thought or idea of your own than to criticize those of others? Michael has put together a documentary based on his own understanding and that of the people he interviewed! He and they are not wrong! they are interpreting it as they know how. You are not wrong, for you are interpreting it as you know how. Please take time to refine your own journey and stop making others wrong. Have not the great teachers from Buddha to War, taught you nothing? Pluck the wood from your own eye before attempting to remove the splinter from your brother's eye.

Once again Michael, thank you for your wonderful story telling and reminding us to seek our own truth!

Don

Mr. Woods,

I would have suggested more information on and about the Vedas. The whole second part was devoted to Budhism and the first part to the Dravid civilization (briefly) and mostly to the theory of Aryan invasion. There is no clear potrayal of the Vedic faith which is neither monotheistic nor polytheistic. There is a very brief mention of the 3 million or 300000 Gods, which leads to the concept of one God from which we all came. I guess you were somewhat refering to that. Also no mention of Anu (atom), concept of zero, the digit system, algebra and the many things Hindus gave to this world of ours.

I am not sure why you did not talk more about it or glossed over the Hindu thoughts. The history of India can never be told without talking about the Vedas and the Hindu way of life. Buddhism followed.

I am always amazed by Mr. Wood's thorough research for his project. I have a few questions:

1. It is my understanding that Aryan Invasion Theory is by most part discarded. Have you talked with scholars doing research on that aspect? It is now accepted by most scholars that the word 'Arya' referred to an address such as 'Gentleman'; it was not a tribe at all. There no such evidence. The word 'Aryan' is not used by any other central asian countries.
2. Languages - scholars maintain that development of any civilization is determined from the level of development of their languages and literature. Did you find any literature comparable to that has been produced in Sanskrit in any other language derived from the precursor language?
3. Caste system you portrayed is not a true representation of the fact. One was not bound to caste by his birth, but only by his Karma. The evidence is obvious from the castes of many of its Rishis - for example, Ved Vyas, Valmiki, etc. were of so called lower caste. There was no such thing as lower and higher castes. By the definition of the Varna system, all those who were involved with service-oriented profession would be considered 'lower' caste - Shudras. Those who teached and provide for moral value lessons - Brahmins, the one protecting were the Kshatriyas and one good with agriculture and trade - the Vaishyas. Like any original ideas, this went off-track after generations of almost religious following resulting in extremely harmonious society.
4. Prof. B. Lal has also explored the sunken city of Dwarka. You should talk to him about it.
5. Buddha is to Hinduism as Christ is to Judaism. His philosophy, though divine, it was extreme, not practical to follow for common people. His ideas of renunciation had given rise to pacifism. Motivation to do anything creative was gone and society's progress suffered. This is when great Adhya Shankaracharya came and showed the path of Knowledge, devotion and Karma.
6. The philosophical ideas of India - Upanishads and especially Bhagavad Geeta are so profound that after that contribution to the world, you do not need offer anything else.

wow !! Such an incredible show to watch on television. I am pleased at the intent of the show but actually quite annoyed at the way that Michael Wood portrays Hinduism. I appreciate the time he takes at explaining everything yet once again irritated by the way the comically presents Hinduism. It was quite interesting in which he described where the originals Aryans came from. I learned the lesson in classes on Ancient India. Yet, I absolutely abhor and I repeat abhor when he comically went to the cremation grounds and had an interaction with the person who is responsible for lighting the funeral pyre.. actually done by the son of the family. Its is given to be by the person he interviewed. He talked about the caste system. Great!! Here we go again.. a western interpretation of it. Its shows Brahmins boys learning the sacred scripture... it fails to show the derivation of it. Breaking the down the Vedas would have been a nice way of showing it. He mentions the Rg Veda but what about the others? Furthermore, one must bebe born, live, and die within caste by the system in Ancient India but yet it was the Brahmins who rigified this over time. He fails to mention that they were the ones who created it as a way of controlling society. When he interacts with the low caste individual, he is quite sarcastic with his comments. He doesn't full explain it..... so I hoped he would have done it throughly. Then he goes to show the Mahabharat, the epic battle between familes.. fine, but HE DEFINITELY FAILS to mention the Bhagavad Gita and how that holds true to all Hindus. Futhermore, what about the Ramayana? Or even showcasing other prominent Hindu scriptures such as the Upanishads. If you are going to do a documentary on India, don't leave out important stuff its going to give a better picture of India and the Hindu people. Also, when even mentioning Hindus to begin with, the original religion was not "Hinduism", but the sanskrit word "Sanatana Dharma", Michael Wood fails to even mention that. Finally, he sarcastically made the comment of 33 million gods, or the 330 million gods. That irritated me the most because All Hindus believe that those so called "330 million gods" lead to one "Brahma", the creater and cosmic entity known as Brahman. The Hindu strives to join hence attaining Moksha. I feel like I should be doing this documentary. What about explaining the various dieties.... Brahma, Vishnu, shiva or the concept of karma and dharma...... These are essential to understanding the perspective of the Hindus. I am sorry but if you are going to cover the subject matter, it should be somewhat accurate !!
Aside from all of this.... I love his portrayal of Buddhism and Jainism... favorite quote given made "Conquerors used the sword", but in India it is more of the spirit".. I paraphrased it. Ashoka edicts and the Chandragupta empuire was covered in great detail and I appreciated that. Almost done, the lady translating the Rg Veda at the Asiatic Society of Bengal was not a Brahmin uttering sacred words of a Sanskrit text found in the Rg Veda, that shows that non-Brahmins can learn the language too !!
The End... no question, but rather comments.

Michael, you have done a great job! Made me think!
I have been always curious as to exactly when the Vedas (and the Upanishads) were first put in written form and by whom. In your documentary the film shows a written version approx 500 years old at the library of the Asiatic Society in Kokata.
My question is whether this finding is based on research which was done for the program and/or is this a well accepted fact. Also, based on your visual examination of these documents, do they appear that old. Have these documents been "lab-tested" for their actual date?
Would welcome comments from Michael Wood or anyone else who is knowledgable about this subject. Thanks.

Mr Wood has done a wonderful job of our history and brought to fore what is generally obscured by lack of profundity. The back drop and narration are most engaging and painstakingly descriptive combining geography with events. The Rigveda and Aryans provided a fascinating backdrop which one could have taken further connecting language and symbols. For example Iran comes from word Aryan and so does Eire for Ireland. The Swastika has been missed out a a symbol of wellbeing a sacred a mark not only with Rigvedic people but also knights in Lithuania, Latvia and Finland.The Iron pillar at Delhi next to the Kutub Minar merits mention for this is the first evidence on globe of welded cast iron which hasnt rusted since Chandragupta's times . The Aryan civilisation was exclusively Kshattriya or warrior nobilty and it was only later that Brahmins emerged from them as a priestly class. Strange as it may appear to Western thought it was the warrior kshattryias who gave the great founders of religious philosophies such as the Buddha, Mahavir and Ashok .Every school library aught have this DVD
Thank you

I like the documentary very much. Though it is not covering all the stories in detail and in accuracy; it is by far very the best with showing evidences and covering whole history in short duration.

As being an India, I was wondering why not our government or our media should take a step ahead and cover all the things in detail and show the world over perspective rather than fighting over other culture's perspective? it will be a great treasure having captured our culture in our ways for future.

I guess Ramayan, Ashok stambh and many other things mentioned in comments above are going to be covered in next episodes.

So, should wait till next monday.

Thank you for the recognition given to my birth country.

I would like to point out that the Jain religion was NOT founded by Mahavir as stated by you. Mahavir was the 24th and last of the Tirthankers or gods. Bahubali whose statue was shown in the episode was a contempary of Adinath the first tirthankar.

Buddha was born a Jain and found the religion to be too strict and so shaped Buddhism as a Middle path religion, between Jainism and Hinduism.
Most of the religious beliefs of Buddhism are similar to Jainism. Jains believe in Moksha and the ultimate knowledge. The concept of Ahimsa is the basis of Jainism.
Being liberal in eating meat and other such practises made it easier to follow Buddhism, and so it spread to other countries.

Gandhi was influenced by Srimad Rajchendra (a Jain scholar) on the idea of Ahimsa, as stated in Gandhi's biography.

Thank again for the series

Loved the documentary and what a wonderful job Mr Wood has done narrating the story and taking us through the narrow roads of India and in the lives of its people. Can watch it again and again.
~Excellent Job!

Hi Michael and Everyone at PBS,

I'm delighted with the series. I've been involved with Daily Meditation, Indian Culture, Philosophy, Food (oh yes, the food), and Religion (both Hinduism and Buddhism) since I was a teen-ager, for most of my adult life - about 45 years ago.

I see great similarity in the supposedly disparate religions of Buddhism and Hinduism (especially Kashmir Shaivism, the Shiva tantras of N. India). It is often said that the invasion of the Mongols put an end to Buddhism in India. I've never thought this sounded like a convincing argument.

I've often thought that Early Buddhism with its continued emphasis on the Doctrine of No-Self (Anatta) offered too great a contrast to the Vedic Culture, especially in regard to the concept of Self (Atman). My question is:

Have you uncovered any resolution to the question of How and Why Buddhism became extinct in the land of its birth - especially as it prospered in China, Thailand, Tibet, Japan and other Countries?

Best of Luck in all of your endeavors.

Sarva Mangalam,

Van Baldwin

Mr. Woods,
Thank you for the wonderful work. I am sure you must have observed that we, Indians do not have the habbit of recording our history. That is something we still have to learn from westerners. Thanks to William Jones and Max Mueller and others who helped us in rescuing our ruining heritiage. The history of 5,500 years cannot be told in 6 hours. I hope the Indian producers will be inspired and would make some more such documentaries. I presume the other 4 hours of episodes are already in place and it is too late for additions. But, hope there is a mention of Dravidians who lived in India way before Aryans have migrated.

Thank you once again.... Shyam

Thank you, Michael, a great job done with immense and infecting enthusiasm!

To those criticizing Michael who seems to be of Indian origin, remember that the series was produced, paid for and narrated by western entities. If you would like, you may go and produce one yourself, and then you can be sure to pronounce words impeccably! I would not be able to one tenth as good a job, if I had to do the same say in China. Neither would you. Read Ras Mala by Forbes and it will put you to shame.

One question. The Saptasindhu area mentioned in Rig Veda refers to Saraswati river (some 70 times) which since has vanished. Some research done through satellite imaging by ISRO seems to point to this (now dry) riverbed as passing through Rajasthan and ending in Rann of Kutchch (which was a shallow ocean then). Did you come across any such hypothesis? The end of Rig Veda appears to be about 1000 BC. So the only time Saraswati could have disappeared is between then and Buddha's birth in 563 BC. There is no indication of any tectonic shifts in this interval that can possible account for this, so how is this plausible?

Thanks.
-A. Kothari

I am enjoying the series so far - nicely done!
I'd love to contribute an excerpt from my memoirs "Five Weeks in India" in the "Your Stories" section but it seems my 1496 character entry exceeds the 1500 character limit. And, yes I counted spaces, etc. Not sure what math that entails but it's beyond me.
:-)

I've edited it all I can and it's not going to get any shorter and maintain context. Oh well... carry on - without me.

Thanks for a great documentary series so far though!!
Cheers,
C

What about the Indo-Scythian(Huns) wave which was the latest to come to India via the Silk road in central asia?

Did you visit the regions of Punjab and interact with the martial Jatt Sikh tribes?

India has too many different kingdoms with different castes, which have also some ethnic differences, did you run any DNA tests on that?

Pakistan part of Punjab is the true source of the invasions from foreign invaders into south Asia, any potential to research there?

Are you familiar with the Pashtun tribes of Afghanistan, its said the Pashtun and Jatts are descendants of the last wave of migrations that were after the Aryans which are the Scythians(Huns), thoughts?

Mahabharat as far as I know has not been proven to take place, theres not enough evidence to support it, thoughts?

Dear Mr. Wood,

I appreciate your efforts to explore our India from your view. From my personal opinion, it is very difficult to show the whole vision, mission, history and future of mother INDIA.
Because, it is the soul of 1000 crore humans who lived therein the past, living currently with diverse thinking minds. The only factor which INDIA as united is the fundamental humanity. Nothing else.
As a person from south INDIA, I will be happier if you project the south Dravidian Kingdoms of Chera, Chola, Pandiyas, Chalukyas, Pallavas.
Since, the Tamil language is the one of the oldest language in the world and it has distinct origin and it leads to other south Indian languages like Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada.
The origin of Tamil starts at least from 10,000 years back, has well defined grammar "Tolkappiam" and an ever interesting epic called " Tirukkural" written by Tiruvalluvar 2000 years back, still it governs and fits to the human laws of life.
We wish to see more interesting information in future episodes.
We again appreciate your sincere efforts.
Well done.
Regards
Sasi Sundar

Wonderful production about Indian culture. Appreciate the hard work of Mr Wood and all his crew members.

I would like to suggest another such series about Rich and varied cuisine of India. I would be happy to asist you in the research.

I have always been intrigued by the Caste System in India. I have always wondered if those in the different castes could marry out of their respective castes. (I don't know if I have the correct spelling of that.) Thank you for your time

Michael Wood has drawn and presented his view of the history of India based on a set of findings, observations. He has done a very good job. However, there are many other observations and findings, manuscripts etc that may and do contradict his findings especially with respect to whether Aryans actually came from outside India.

At the minimum a mention of the evidence that does not support his conclusions would temper the conclusions.

Witness this evolution of language!

...clonialism cast system, Indinan Himalaya's Arianism...

What is the language of birds to humans, if not the best game of telephone?

Tele vision scream and scream re vision!

Aware and still we are in transition

Excellent documentary - still watching episode 2.

In episode 1 (or maybe at start of 2?), Mr. Woods mentioned that Jainism was founded by Mahavir. In fact, Mahavir was the last & 24th Tirthankar (apostle), who lived about 2500 yrs ago. He revitalized the faith and was probably a contemporary, or senior of Buddha.

Some other posters before me have given more eloquent synopsis of Jainism.

According to (Dr. Yosef A A. ben-Jochannan) the name for the Ganges River was derived from one of the conquering African Generals by the name of General Ganges!

Dr. ben-Jochannan taught at Cornell University and attained his Doctorate Degree in Cultural Anthropology and Moorish History, from the University of Havanna, and the University of Barcelona, Spain!

Have you heard of such information, and if so why is this information not included in discussions on the History of India?

I am anxious to hear any information, or referrals you may know of!

Thank You;

Mr. Ronald Rucker

The many critical comments about this program are bewildering, since we found it eminently informative and entertaining. Great photography, wonderful sweep of history in a limited format, excellent selection of subjects on which to focus. Michael Wood's ingratiating and modest, yet educated presentation is completely admirable.

I understand that the origin of the Celts was as an Indo-european culture; they have the same four castes as Hindus, the language (as pointed out) is sourced in an indo-european culture and there are many other similarities to ancient Indian civilisation. I was particularly struck by the 4-wheeled chariots in the film which were similar to those that the Celts made, and the interview with the Russian archeologist where the film showed a burial of a person lying on their right side in a curled up position. This was a practice of the Celts. I would like to know what Michael has to say about these correspondences.
I am intrigued by the show. Much new information for me, and would like critics to bear in mind that history is not a static but a gradual uncovering and interpretation of what actually transpired.
A great program.

Mr Wood - Thanks for a wonderful attempt at covering the history of India.

It would always be difficult to compress 5000 years of history in 6 hours. However I found 2 big areas which are left out

1. 'Gita' and 'Ramayana' are completely passed over. :-(. These 2 holy books (for lack of a better word) are the foundation of hinduism for the past 3000 years at least. They form what majority of hindus would want to strive for. And so basically the soul, the essence (or in hindi - "the satva") is missing from your series.

2. You don't talk much about the life of the common man in different ages. Was it good/bad? What were the challenges in those society? What was the situation/growth in terms of architecture/science, etc.

Thanks for the effort anyways.

Thoroughly enjoyed this well shot series on PBS. I am a Buddhist from Sri Lanka I enjoyed the portion about Lord Buddhas life and teachings as well as King Ashoka the mighty ruler, who gave up his fighting ways and embraced Buddha's teachings, spreading it across the world. However Michael failed to mention an important fact about King Ashoka, which also helped change the face of another country, Sri Lanka.

King Ashoka was such a devotee to Buddhism, that he had both his children, a son & a daughter become buddhist monks. He sent them in spreading the message across the region. In fact his son Mahinda is solely responsible in bringing Buddha's teaching to Sri Lanka. Later on his daughter Sangamiththa brought the southern branch of the sacred Bodhi tree, lord Buddha meditated, which is planted and cared for today in Sri Lanka. If not for King Ashoka, Sri Lanka would not be one of the major Buddhist countries in the world today that practices Theravada Buddhism. I think this is an important gift the world and Sri Lanka in particular received from India, which should have had some mention in such an epic & important TV series.

Mr. Wood:

Good try, but I come down on the side of the commentators who are not pleased by this rendition.

I am confused by the comment in your documentary, that suggested that the Aryans were the first settlers of "Hindukush". My studies in India, suggested that is not factual.

The "southern" part of India (closest point to the equator) - home to the Dravidans (the dark skinned folks) - were the first settlers and what came first to India. The Dravidans it is said actually "evolved" from apes. And they were first vegans, as they had not yet conceived of arms and methods to kill animals, and have remained vegans to this day. The Dravidans developed much of what is now known as "India" or defines "Indian". The created the religions, the castes, the languages, the script, mathematics, astrology, astronomy, medicine, theater, dreamed of the Gods and contributed many discoveries - including the telling of tales - and the Mahabharata is one such tale. The author to my view incorrectly states that the Mahabharata 'happened'. I don't think it did - although the ideas conveyed in it could have some referencable basis in reality. Mostly it is a compendium of a set of stories or tales and it has many contributors or story-tellers. Its subject matter was to convey 'values' of life and most particularly what is the Hindu way of life and expresses its philosophy.

The Aryans (the fair skinned folks), were all "invaders", who came to "India", (mainly from the west of what is now Afghanistan) and were amazed with the success of the Dravidans (as they truly lived well, and showed many of the results of their evolved thinking, processes, products and services), and some plundered them by force and went back to their origins while others were so enamored with the society of the day (which they regarded as vastly superior), and for a variety of reasons settled in India, but mainly to the North - the then uninhabited areas of India at that time. The South could not be settled by the Aryans, as the Dravidans ruled that part of India, and while the fair skinned person was looked at in awe, they were treated as 'foreigners' and as such not overly welcome, to settle or to merge with this part of society.

The Aryans, then tried ever so hard to influence the thinking of the Dravidans, and succeeded somewhat, but mostly cherished and adopted the ways of the Dravidans. This led to the evolution of the 'values' of what is now seen as typical Indian. This includes the 'value' or idea of re-incarnation, for example.

I also doubt that climate change ended many settlements as was reported. It seems too contrived and convenient. I believe, that people were largely nomadic, and traveled often. What 'killed' certain settlements were epidemics. Diseases occurred and some consumed entire cities. The surviving few had 'just' moved-on, mused by their lust for wandering and were lucky enough to have avoided the epidemic and thus lived to tell another day and create newer settlements.

There is much that is not addressed in this documentary, and it seemed rambling and shows evidence of poor research to my mind. But thanks for trying.

Hi. I will miss the broadcast of the story of India because I am traveling overseas during January. Any chance the entire program will be rebroadcast or made available on CD?
Thanks.

Frasier

Dear Michael,

Thanks for the wonderful presentation that gives us a deep insight into this ancient culture and enables us to draw from it, the implications in today's India.

I had seen last night's episode on the internet about a year ago and I have been frantically searching, ever since, on the internet for the remaining 5 parts. I am very pleased that PBS has decided to air them, ending my search!

I have a question for Mr. Woods: Do we accurately know what is the oldest language in the world? I have read many accounts by 'experts' and each claiming a different language as the oldest? Some say Arabic is the oldest or that it is Hebrew and I have heard a consistent account from my Dad, since childhood, where he claims (without any evidence, of course!) that Tamil (which also happens to be our mother tongue) is the oldest language in the world!

Mr. Wood,

I'm enjoying your series on India. Right, wrong, or indifferent -- it makes me aware of a vast part of ancient history I had never given much thought to.

I do have a question -- in all of your research and travels, have you ever seen or heard mention of an individual called Aaron the Great?

dear sir, way back in 1983 i got copy-right for my concept that symbol Aum, (O'hm) actually represent astrophysical concept of Space-Time-Continuum.
There are three semicircular lines originating from one point, like three axes of solid geometry x,y,z creating three planes of space each at right angle to other two(in Riemanian geometry, lines are represented as curves !)
Fourth dimension of time is represented by moon crescent and asterisk, because time is measured from movements of heavenly bodies since antiquity.
Thus, Aum stands for Albert Einstein's concept of space-time-continuum. Could it be that Mr. Einstein was inspired from vedic texts translated into German ?
I have graphic to illustrate, which can email if you wish to use in your series.

I loved parts 1 and 2 so far and am waiting eagerly for the rest. I was quite dissappointed however that you completely did not mention Chanakya. He is the mastermind behind the success of Chandra Gupta Maurya and mentioning him for 2 minutes wouldn't have made a difference, considering you spent atleast 20 minutes on Gautam Buddha.
Also...Buddha and Mahavira were not contemporaries. Buddha came after Mahavira and for that, you should have mentioned Mahavira even before the Buddha segment, instead of making him an after thought.

Once again however - excellent production!

As a member of the Zorarastrian faith, I was intrigued that the Aryan settlemenst showed signs that the occupants were Zorastrian. This would mean that the history of the Zoarastrians in India is MUCH older than we Parsis would believe. Would you please elaborate ?

Dear Michael, Your work is fantastic! Thanks so much.
I heard a program a year ago about discoveries around the world of stone formations and hiways etc. that went out into the sea. One was off the coast of India under 50 ft. of water.
The program claims there were old civilizations that were wiped out by floods. Some as old as 13,000 years old.
Do I have this right? Is there some new evidence that leads in this direction?? Thanks so much for your wonderful work. Bob Marshall

As a former resident and frequent visitor to India, I thought the program was superficial tripe that looked like the vaporings of a 1960s hippie. My Bombaywalli wife fell asleep out of boredom watching it, and I was turned off by Michael Woods' junk science about linguistics, the origins of the Aryans (Turkey? get serious!), and contradictory recipes for soma. I finally switched it off because I was offended by Woods' long-winded effort to convert us all to Buddhism.

Dear Michael Wood,

Even when there are points I might disagree with, I have found your series starting with In Seach of Troy to be a real joy in this life. Thank you for your gifts to humans. I would like to express my appreciation to you by suggesting you might find my latest book, The White Island and the Black Book: A Scientific and Philosophic Re-Creation of Eurasian Culture, a general road map for the ancient Vedic, Zend Avestan, and Tngris traditions and texts. It's on Amazon.com, or I could have a copy sent. These historical point to a far northern Eurasian site for such a sophisticated Eurasian culture, if read literally and naturalistically, which is one of the main points. They also are based on a cosmic rather than planetary perspective, and are very compatible with current science. One geneticist called Eurasia the "unknown continent" because of the neglect and suppression of this culture. Tracing down from the far north is a highly probable hypothesis for the repetition of themes, names and actions found in all these texts.

This comment really isn't meant as spam. I would like to share these hypotheses with Michael Wood, if at all possible. If there is some other method of contacting him, would you do me the great favor of letting me know.

Dr. Colleen Clements

I would like to applaud Mr. Wood For this sincere effort. It is thought provoking and makes me proud.

You termed the Aaryan theory controversial but did not explore the inconsistencies of it. Which can be misleading for a first time viewer.

The proof that some words in Sanskrit match with the Latin is grossly insufficient to explain the uniquely detailed rituals and practices that define the Hinduism. The Hindu "myth"ology is so vast and comprehensive that it is hard to figure out what is true and what is not, from the historical perspective.

The problem is compounded due to inadequte home grown archaelogical efforts. There are layers and layers of evidences being distroyed every day. All we have is the "legends" that are being passed from generation to generation.

I am not a historian or archaelogist but I am well travelled and I have not found many paralels of Hinduism in other cultures. There are some inherent similarities which can be termed "coinicidence" perhaps.

How can the time erode a strong culture from the face of earth that was able to subdue a fully blown civilization thousands of years ago?

Thank you for showing the story of India in PBS starting from Jan 5th. I watched it completely on the first day and plan to watch it daily.

My feedback is that the Author should also talk to Sri Sri Ravishankar, founder of Art Of Living Foundation about the four Vedas (Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda). Sri Sri Ravishankar is an expert in Spirituality and has understood Vedas, Shastra's, Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabharatha and the Bhagawadgeeta very well. He has given discourses in several topics from these complex topics. All these have been written in Sanskrit language.

The author is just trying to prove that Sanskrit and Vedas came to India from Central Asia. If you look into the map of India during the Mahabharatha period, included Afghanistan and some of the central asian countries that the author Michael Wood is talking about. Todays Afghanistan was called as "Ghandhar" during Mahabharatha. Dritarashra's wife Ghandhari and Shakuni actually came from Ghandhar.

I strongly feel that Michael wood should talk to scholars like Sri Sri Ravishankar.

Best Regards
/BVM

Dear Mr. wood: It is great show! We, me and my wife, had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Wood in Thiruvannamalai two years ago when he was filming this series. We have been eagerly waiting for this! Having seen your series on South america [on Conquistadors] and other work, we expect nothing but the best. You have proven your talent! This eries is far better than the short one you had few years back! Of Course! You cannot satisfy every one. But I wish you had mentioned Buddha's movement was a rebellion against Brahmin domination of his time! Also I wish you had dispelled the well known misunderstanding of 'caste' system with that described by Manu.

First of all, I want to commend Michael Wood and his team on this massive effort to try and encapsulate the great living mystery that is India, and thank PBS for airing it - great job!

I have a question for Michael Wood: Were you able to spend adequate time on the two major families of languages in India - namely, Indo-European (Sanskrit-based) and Dravidian (such as Tamil)? I hope anyone with a reasonable amount of linguistic background would agree that these are two distinct families, despite the considerable number of 'borrowed' words in Tamil, which is now designated as a 'classical language'.

A related question is on the scripts used: all the scripts used in India are phonetic. A large number of these, especially in the North, are said to have derived from the Brahmi script used during Ashoka's time (another contribution either by Ashoka, or from that period). It is even possible that the Vedas were first written down around this time, moving from oral transmission up until then. Also these scripts are said to have directly influenced other scripts used in South East Asia (Thai, Cambodian, Burmese), and even the Hangeul script (Korean). Can you comment?

Michael
Great series. I wanted to add one comment, In the documentary you correctly mentioned that Buddha had given up food during his search for truth and enlightenment. There is a statue of fasting Buddha that is in Lahore, Pakistan museum, which I believe they found from Taxila archaeological sites.
Here are a couple of links to it. I think it would be beneficial for you to include it in your materials.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tango48/2950103268/
http://www.tourtopakistan.com/pakistan-historical-sites/tour-to-taxila.html

The Story of India is infected with extremist Hindutva (see Wiikipedia) theories. An example was the assertion that the Aryan invasion contributed very little DNA to the current Indian population. Studies of Indian DNA actually indicate that in the northern part of India and particularly among the Brahman and soldier caste the predominance of DNA is of Indo-European origin. Lower caste and people in the southern-half are more likely to be of Dravidic origin, i.e. descended from the original settlers of 50,000 years ago. The program does not mention that the caste system was imposed by the Aryan invaders to maintain their supremacy and it has worked incredibly well.

Contrary to the TV program, the people inhabiting Europe, the Americas and China are descended from the wave of Africans that reached India 50,000 years ago. The came fromsubsequent waaves from Africa that traveled first to central Asia. I cite as my reference Genes, Peoples and Languages by Luigi Cavalli-Sforza, who is generally considered the father of population genetics.

Also contrary to the TV program, the people arriving in India 50,000 years ago had a spoken language. Modern man has had spoken language for at least a 100,000 years.

Contrary to the program there are not a billion people in India who speak Hindi. In southern India most people do not speak Hindi but speak languages of Dravidic origin that are totally unrelated to Hindi. I have known several people from India who could not speak Hindi.

I'm glad to see that someone has finally tried to give we Americans a clue about India. It's a good start, and should get people interested to dig deeper. Yes, some of the interpretations and pronounciations can be argued about, but the sub-continent is vast and complex, and hard for a westerner to understand. I'm still trying to understand it after many years, and have spent part of today trying to find more information about the mound at Hastinapur.

Krishna's impact on India and the world through the dialog in the Bhagavad-Gita has had a much greater impact on India and the world than Buddha, yet you didn't so much as mention the Gita in your discussion on the Mahabharata and spend very little time on Krishna, whose impact within India has never declined, unlike that of the Buddha, whose impact on India declined and virtually disappeared for 900 years. Krisha's dialog has been very influential outside of India, being the root of Transcendentalism and was more influential in Ghandi's non-violence than the writings of the Buddha. Ghandi himself translated the Gita, and often quoted it in his efforts to gain India its independance.

I view this misfocus on the Buddha as very unfortunate, as too many people in the west know about Krishna only through ISKCON, which is not an accurate view of Krishna and his teachings as lived in India by the vast majority of Hindus.

Budha preached that attachment to humanly desires leads to unhappiness. In Story of India, Mr. Wood extended it to conclude that the attachment even with God leads to unhappiness.
I wonder if the intention was just to present "protestant" nature of Budhism or was it to insinuate that there are inherent differences between Hinduism and Budhism.

Michael Woods has done a great job in trying to understand India and its historical and cultural evolution. He appears to be really passionate about the country and its history. The cinematography is equally wonderful and I see glimpses of buildings and ruins that I have never seen before. However, I wish he had spent a little more time to really read about the history of the country and the work by various scholars to ensure that the show had historical accuracy. He should have spent a little more time with Shashi Tharoor and Dr.Gupta at the Imperial College who really provided some great insights. However he appears to rely on local librarians and curators to expound on the deeper and underlying philosophies during particular historical epochs. For example, I was surprised when a local librarian allowed him to touch 14th century manuscripts with his fingers (imagine anyone touching the US constitution or the Magna Carta) and also affirming with absolute certainty that Indra was the God of rain and wind. There was also a holy man that was deeply engaged in explaining the Kurukshetra war. Did Michael Wood validate the accuracy of some of the statements before airing it? Also, chronologically, it appears that the show darts back and forth between different historical periods without an accurate timeline. Despite some of these "flaws" I will continue to watch it.

When is Part II of the India program?

Give the man credit for spending the time in India to educate the whole world about our history. Kudos to you. Keep it coming.

Buddha was a prince he left his throne to find his real self
or soul through meditation and renouncement of materialism and to mainly saves the animal from being killed for sacrifices done by inhumane killings (( Ahimsa)).and nonviolence to all living entities.
In the bible in Genesis states also the savings of lives for the animal kingdom and the law of not killing, great prophets gave us the laws of goodness and how to reach happinness trough renounciation from the material entanglements to this world ,it is our duties today for us to follow the paths of these great souls who passed and gave us the way for enlightenments

Being an Indian, I watched many documentaries in the past on History particularly on India filmed by westerners. In most of the documentaries either they show snake charmers or Cows/bulls on the road side. It may be true, but I wondered whether these journalist know only Snake Charmers and Cows in India or they really want to show only Snake charmers and Cows about India!

I honestly feel M.Wood did a good job the way he gathered the information on Indian History.

I look forward to see the remaining parts on 'The Story of India!

I liked the program from a perspective of receiving a refreshing course in the history and to trace through from Indus Valley Civilization to Ashoka kingdom, I did learn new things about Indian history and found it very interesting.

But in the first 2 parts, Michael makes some big claims about Aryans and Vedic cultural evolution which has been a controversial subjects for so many years. I would like to see more related materials and talk about a few other thoughts that goes against the aryan invasion theory.

Great job and would like to see more PBS air more programs on ancient India.

Hi there,
I am curious to understand where the people of Kerala availed from? Especially the Nairs?

Can anyone provide insight?

Thanks,
Isis

How much time did Wood (and his team) take to finish this series? I mean, when did they first start, and when did they finish?

Dear Mr. Wood,

First off, congratulations on producing a series on India. The photography is superb and so are the locations. Watching the film, I almost felt myself to be within the scenery. However the contents leave something to be desired and the points below are something I'd like you to address:

(1) You talk about the Indus Valley Civilization and even visit show us the ruins of Harappa and Mohen-jo-Daro but omit mentioning any of their most interesting and important achievements such as:
(a) The world's first planned cities built on a grid plan
(b) Standardization of brick sizes and to some extent, weights & measures over the entire area - again a first
(c) Entire cities with in-house baths and a sewage system - again a first
(d) The world's oldest evidence of dentistry in-vivo
(e) An apparently egalitarian society going by the absence of palaces.
Omitting these is like discussing the Greek civilization but failing to mention their democracies!

(2) You refer to The Mahabharata is referred to has a "Myth" even though Indian tradition holds it to be actual history (Itihaas) unlike the Puranas (stories of the origins of the Universe, the various deities and so on).

(3) Your comments about the painted grey ware at the site of Hastinapura (a capital during the time of the Mahabharata) were vague and confusing and sounded like a deliberate attempt to downplay the significance of the findings there. Your suggestion that archeologists in post-Independence India were desperate to find something of significance and eager to attribute significance to the findings at Hastinapura sounded like an underhanded attempt to minimize the importance of the site without providing any evidence whatsoever.

(4) You fail to mention the existence of independent city-states during the time of the Buddha that practiced democracy much like the contemporaneous Greek city-states - surely an item of interest given that the popular myth in the Western world is that democracy was a Greek invention.

There are more issues I have with your presentation but I shall stop at four. Your errors of ommision suggest to me that you've avoided presenting any material that might give your mainly Western and Christian audience reason to doubt their most fondly held beliefs. Belief that the greatest achievements of the ancient world were in Greece, Mesopotamia and Egypt seen as the foundation of Western Civilization. Belief that democracy is a purely Greek invention. Belief that the epics of Hinduism are mere myths with no basis in actual events.

Since I have the supposed opportunity of communicating with you personally, perhaps you could let us know how and why you managed to omit these basic truths about the topics you presented. Thank you.

Prashant Rao

A friend of mine is in Southern India RIGHT NOW after having been inspired to go there by Woods' series on the History of India. Only 1 in 10 tourists to India go to its southern reaches, the region that the British mostly avoided.

i would love to make documentry films for PBS! Any suggestions?

I thought this was a nice post by Michael Wood. I watched the Story of India asshat on the couch yesterday and thought it was a fucking delightful film.

I agree that the sanskrit writing is holding the country back from becoming more modern and developed. The
documentary is extremely well done. Keep up the good work!

I thought the scenes were fascinating at the Jain festival. What is the symbolic meaning of the saffron powders being thrown. There were also many colors of powders. Were they all saffron or were there other substances each with some symbolic meaning?

Unfortunately, I missed the launch date of this, so I may have missed some of what you discussed. I am a writer-artist with an avid interest in South America, Macchu Pichu & that vastly undiscovered continent.

I wondered how you choose the subjects for your documentaries, and what your next film will be about.

Thank you.

As it seems that Indian filmmakers missed the opportunity to explore what you present in your work, I wondered how this might happen there. How did you discover what natives aren't?

I also wondered what your next film will be about? As the daughter of a Peruvian, it seems to me that there is vast unexplored territory with regard to Peru. We know a lot about Mexico, Puerto Rico, and maybe even Brazil, but not this vast continent.

Thank you. Fascinating approach.

Mr. Michael Woods,
It is commendable that you have taken up the story of vast and historic India as a subject of your exposition for the benefit of the western world through the PBS telecast. While the effort is commendable, there are elements in the program that are egregious and are of very serious nature. This is not an aw shucks moment or oops! since I am sure that the material has been carefully reviewed before presentation. It appears to be a deliberate act and hence the intended message is the outcome.

Characteristics of the first episode include:
a) Weilding colonial era weapons of mass deception to break the backbone of her spiritual, religious and cultural heritage. As part of the colonial approach to usurping a people's freedom, they employed instruments such as flimsy archaeology and dubious evidence to support pre-determined notions that India got her heritage from foreigners. You have delibrately used the same instruments to discredit India of her sanskrit heritage, Hindu Vedas (which are the heritage of all free Indians and free people), and Mahabharata, just to name a few. India takes credit for ugly flaws in her historical past throughout the presentation but the credit for the heritage that goes along with it is denied.
b) Euro-centric views - This program is clearly a euro-centric view of India with the Indian characters being utilized as a means to formulate the basic Indian views which are used to debunk by producing flimsy evidence. Free Indians will take full ownership of telling their story to the world in time. But, in the meantime, it is disappointing to note that Europeans are not stepping up to help in that process.
c) Cultural/relgious Genocide - Using powerful and public medium to propogate colonial era falsities is nothing short of a kind of Genocide. How did Free America's media get reigned in to broadcast it? Colonial era "evidence" concerning the heritage of a people ought to be fully scrunitinized by free people through a fair and valid process prior to making its way into mass media which is relied upon as one of the sources for people to form their opinion.

Free people irrespective of caste, creed, sex, nationality, race, and religion will do what is natural to all humans - try to achieve their God given potential. Free America has proven this for all humanity. Free India is demonstrating the same. Colonial India was denied the freedom. Historically India has seen properous golden ages resplendant in art, culture, literature, science and spirituality among other things whenever freedom reigned.

The 21st century is an opportunity for the growing ranks of free people to include those that have been denied such freedoms. Proping up colonial era tactics to effectively brainwash millions of viewers while usurping heritage that rightfully belongs to India is outrageous and puts a pall over the celebration of a world looking forward to a freer world.

PBS - this exposes flaws in your governance.
India - where is your voice to take back what is rightfully yours?
America - when freedoms are threatened you rise. Where is the outrage?

God Bless America
God Bless India
May peace be upon Earth
or as ancient Indians would say it - Om Shantih Shantih Shantih

This show has previously aired in the UK, from where I write. Although Michael Wood certainly offers praise for the culture of India, and respect for her antiquity, by failing to research up to date evidence he falls back on the increasingly doubtful claims made by European historians.

Please read my analysis on my site: www.deshika.wordpress.com (Search: 'Hinduism Damned With Praise')

If we want to get a historically-accurate documentary, where is the discussion of the caste system in this series?

I highly recommend you watching Slumdog Millionare. Those people living in the slums are victims of the caste system, many of whom are known as Dalits who are subject as bonded laborers and have no chance at getting an education and rising on the social ladder.

I'm bringing this up for the sole reason that India's rich is getting richer, buy the poor are only becoming poorer and more vulnerable to violence, prostitution, and religious persecution. Though the documentary shows the hope this nation does hold, it's one-sided and appears as a promotional. It seems to give the notion that India, like other nations, grew prosperous out of honest means.

By the way, I'm not Caucasian or any other non-Indian. I'm an Indian American myself, and have witnessed these atrocities first hand.

Great stuff..Michael Wood passion shows. Thank you for a great program.
Only request would be to correct the position of Tamil Nadu on the map.
Unfortunately it still points to 'Sri Lanka' - a different country.

' "Now it has become clear to me," Akbar wrote, " that in our troubled world, so full of contridictions, it cannot be wisdom to assert the unique truth of one faith over another. The wise person makes justice (?) his guide, and learns from all. Perhaps in this way the door may be opened again, whose key has been lost." '

This quote (or a version thereof, lol) came from one of your documentaries. If you recall it, please tell me the name, as I would greatly enjoy watching it again. It is possible it was called 'Civilization'.

C.J. Lee
Sylacauga, Al. USA

A very interesting series on India. One question for Michael Wood: why does he wear the blue scarf in so many segments? Is there a significance to the scarf or its color?

I hope there are more series like this one on PBS.

A.L.

Well, I am looking forward to Michael Wood taking us to Jerusalem and tell us the tales and myths of Jesus Christ.

Dear Mr. Wood,

While filiming, how on earth did you get those spectacular crane shots?

Thank you.

I have heard stories that the Hindus and Druids had virtually the same ancient beliefs and religion. I have also heard that the Celts and Hindus were considered by the ancient Greeks and Romans to be one in faith and that even their ancient languages were very similar. There are even stories that the Brahman priests were known to travel to the British isles to be taught by the Celtic Druids. I have even noted many similarities between these two peoples. What do u think?

Hello Mr. Wood,

I enjoyed watching this documentary and looking forward to next week's. I love the music you put in.

One question is you had footage from Ramayanam (1932)...I would LOVE to see it, but can't seem to find it anywhere.

Any suggestions? Thanks and looking forward to more documentaries from you.

I think Mr. Wood is sincerely interested in India, but has done a fine job of trivializing Hinduism as well as propagating once again the desperate and offense belief in the aryan invasion which was born out of a few insular Western minds who could not fathom anything older than Mespotamia not to mention Rome or Greece. It was originated by one Max Muller who believed the Earth was 6000 years old, and hence it would have taken several hundred years, until 1500BC in fact, for people, namely Aryans, to make it over to India.

What's funny is that the few who still believe in the Aryan Invasion, don't believe in the Aryan Invasion! They have in fact admitted that there is no evidence whatsoever for an invasion, hence they have changed their tactic and called in an Aryan Migration, because migrations, they say, need no evidence--so in a pitifully desperate attempt to somehow link Sanskrit, Hinduism, and the Vedas to the outside, they have agreed on something that doesn't require any evidence at all, but only an ideology, a so-called migration theory. The funny thing is, even a migration theory is based on a society to migrate from, none which has or can be found, and a migration itself cannot take over or conquer an already established people--so it falls flat on its face. The ancient Indus Valley fell into trouble as the great river tried up, not when some fanicful made up people came and destroyed a great civilization without leaving any evidence of doing so.

One way Invasion-proponents would try to disprove the Indian origins of the Vedas was the lack of the divine river Saraswati mentioned so often mentioned in the Vedas--NASA has now found a massive dry river in the region where some widths are 6 miles long--in addition a tributary coming off the river has been found, adding two to the 5 rivers of the pun(5)-jab and equaling the 7 rivers spoken of in Vedas.

MItochondrial DNA and vasts amount of other evidence, shown by countless Indian, American, and European scholars show India as the oldest civilization on Earth where all the great languages originated, where Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism were born and which (as per the paris-based OECD) was the richest nation 1500 of the last 2000 years.

Mr. Woods withstanding, the facts about India and its immense influence are finally being straightened out for the world to see.

I enjoyed this program greatly, but was surprised that this program didn't cover Eastern India. These regions had an enormous impact on the subcontinent. There were many influential kingdoms and empires that sprung from there such as the kingdom of Kamarupa (Assam), the Pala Empire (Bengal) and the Kalinga (Orissa).
These political entities are notable as their leaders were elected by the populace. The Palas in particular are responsible for the spread of Buddhism to Tibet and South East Asia. They also established the world famous (in that age) universities at Nalanda and Vikramshila.

Also it was stated that the Kushan dynasties opened up trade with Western and particularly Greek spheres of influence.
This is completely wrong, the earliest kings of the Seleucid Empire were in constant contact with the Magadhan Empire. Seleukos I received 500 war elephants from the Maharajah Chandragupta Maurya in exchange for a royal marriage and the establishment of a Greek embassy in Pataliputra (Megasthenes). The Emperor Priyadarshi/Ashoka sent Buddhist emissaries to the most prominent kings of the Eastern Hellenic world; Ptolemy of Egypt, Antigonus of Macedonia, Antiochus of Syria and Magas of Cyrene.

Hi Mike,
Thanks for your series. Any non native Indian who goes to India and spends months filming the corners of India deserves praise.
One of the important things you mention is that India is a place where the old stays with the new even after 2000-3000 years. I agree but my question is why do you think India is distinct from Europe that way? A lot of India customs, traditons come today from the Buddha to British which is about the same time frame as christianity. How did you think India was different? Just curious since I am not exposed to europe and christianity that much.

I am surprised at the detail and depth of this show. As Indian, I myself haven't visited many of the places shown in the program. The video is simple superb in HDTV.

The Golden Avatar Shri Krishna Chaitainya
which you can watch on Video or movies at
Google and type in Gouranga tv you can watch all the movies that were made of him one film is Nimai of Nadia
and the other is Nilacala Mahaprabhu , you can also see some on youtubes and the reasons why He came to give the most matchless gift of all the realization of getting free from Karma and bondage of material life
by simply chanting the holy Name of
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

i was hopeing to talk to somone at pbs who has been looking into this story and researching this story. i just saw one hour of it and you spoke about finding or seeking where the aryans came from. i myself have done extensive research on this matter and i must say that we are on the exact same page.

my problem is i would like to know more about myself. from what i have been told and the stories that have been passed down for generations we are the decendents of aryans. i am of jatt, sikh decent. i have been able to trace back my ansectors to the great war of mahabharata and found that they fought in it. they were one of the opsoing clans that found along side with the kauravs.

i want to help prove this in any way possible. perhaps somone can contact me and i can help out in some way to proving this. who ever contacts me, when they meet me they will realize that i do not look like any indian they have ever met, that is i do not fit the usal apperance of indian. instead i look more like the apparence discribed of the aryans.

please do contact me.

Thank you for the program that I watched on PBS on January 11.
I was born in singapore as a third generation tamilian. I am now living in minneapolis. As I watched your program, I was fascinated by the depth of information you have provided for us to wonder.
I have not travelled to india. I have no relatives in india. but the information tells me everything I need to know.
My question for you is would you explore the indians living in other continents. I have met indians from South America (guyana, belize) Africa( Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe) austrailia and europe ( England, Scotland).

Thank you for your time and I look forward from you soon.

I enjoyed the four parts I have seen so far. One point
I found to be problematic is the statement that
the sculpture of Nadaraja in South India originated
from King Raja Raja's time. I believe this is
incorrect. The sculpture found in the temple of
Chidhambaram is older, and has references even
in the historical records associated with the grandfather
of Rajaraja, by the name of Paraanthaka Cholan. Paraanthakan
was supposed to have contributed money to cover the roof
over the inner sanctum with gold leaf.

Could you please trace the origin of Christianity in Kerala?
There is evidence that St. Thomas did come to Kerala and 4-5 families of Namboodhiris(highest caste of Hindu religion got converted) But there were people who were escaping persecution in the land of Christ who came to Kerala too. In other words could they be the descendants of those who walked with Jesus?
The orthodox/Marthoma church maintain the oldest form of teaching like in the times of Christ but there was the introduction of the idols ( eg; the picture of saints, Mother Mary etc) during one of the European invasion.
Also the cuisines in especially in Kerala the Christain Families the Appams made without fermentation...... the significance of the 7 candles lit in these churches during services.
Also could you find out the mix of the races of India Today?
Thanks for excellent work and the detail Micheal Wood.

The trip from Delhi to Agra took 5 ½ hours by car. It was nighttime. The highway was divided and all seemed pretty routine until we came to a sudden stop behind another car. I could see a barricade and two soldiers. I asked the driver what was going on. He said they were collecting vehicles so that we could proceed to Agra in a sort of convoy. "Why would that be necessary," I asked? "Bandits," was the reply. "They only go after stragglers." For the next few hours I worried every time the cars and trucks ahead and behind were out of view.

After looking at the first episode on PBS, I imagined my self how wonderful the rest of the episodes are going to be. I immediately recommended the series to my school. I would have been a much better student in history if I have viewed such an amazing work in my secondary school. I appreciate all the crew, producers in specific to have Michael wood and amazing cine-photographers and editors work in unison to come up with such a master piece.

Simply put: It am sure it would do the intended job of inspiring children and reminding Indians how beautiful their civilization have evolved in human history.

Finally my Questions for Michael Wood:
1) What is the most memorable moment while making "The Story of India"?
2) What prompted you to name your daughters Meenakshi and Jyothi; such a wonderful names to hear?
3) Looking at current generation's fantasy of westernizing itself, do you think India transforms in to an industrialized country imbibing western values some day forgetting its roots?

(P.S: PBS Rocks)

Vamsi Parimi
www.timmiri.com

Dear Mr. Wood,

It is inevitable that in any ancient civilization, Mythology tends to overlap History and over several generations it becomes hard to tell the difference between the two. You as historian must find it frustrating when you have to ask this question over and over again while doing your research.

My question to you is - did you find this to be true while you were working on this documentary and if yes how did you deal with it.

Regards and Good Luck to you.

Michael,
I have a question for you regarding the section on "kamasutra and women". The person you were interviewing said very enthusiastically that men and women had equal power in the Indian society. In your travels in India did you see much of that equality in modern India? Was the author refering to historial times or to present day India? What impression did you want the western public to get from viewing that segment?

You have made an amazing TV documentary. Thanks
Sydha

Will you be covering the Armenian and the Indian language similarities and what their relationships?

I notice that Michael Wood continues to wear the lovely blue colored scarf in each episode regardless of the location he's in or the weather. Is there some significance to this blue scarf?

thank you.

hi i real amazed about the video u showed in the tv. i am from india and i was wondering if you could show kerala. that is the state we are from. do know how manylanguages is spoken in india and how are there and who gave freedom to india? i hope you'll read this soon.

p.s
i am going to india this summer
sincery,
----------------------------------

HAVE A GREAT DAY

As an Indian ceramic artist I am extremely interested in the system of proportional measurement the bronze casters use for the Shiva statues that you briefly mentioned. Would you have any more information on it? Where can I learn more about it?

Also, I would like to thank you for the wonderfully warm and compassionate way you are describing our beloved country.
Sometimes it takes a foreigner to remind us of the wealth and beauty of our own traditions despite the minor discrepancies between some of your interpretations and ours.( I notice some comments have been critical of this.) I am learning many small things that fill in the stories we have grown up hearing.

So, how did the Roman and Greek merchant ships get from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean centuries before the Suez Canal was even thought of???????????

mr wood, i have been watching your program on india. you have hardly mentioned the impact that persians had on ancient india. you keep mentioning the romans and greeks, yet history shows that persians, or iranians, had a much greater trade and impact on india.

is it deliberate or just a choice to erase history.

"Story of India" Misses the Mark on India's History, Hindu Watchdog Group Announces

January 10, 2009 (Washington, D.C.)-- Historian Michael Wood's visually stunning documentary on India's history, "The Story of India," currently appearing on public television, is reigniting a bitter debate over the origins of Indian civilization. The Hindu American Foundation, a prominent Hindu advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., recorded a deluge of phone calls criticizing Wood's presentation of the Aryan Migration Theory (AMT).

The AMT theorizes that in 1500 BCE, pastoral tribes that came to be known as Aryans, migrated from Central Europe to Northwest India eventually dispersing indigenous peoples and imposing their own culture. This theory, that is not supported by archaeological evidence, was first posited by European indologists and British colonialists, eventually finding support from a section of India's politically motivated linguists and historians such as Romila Thapar, and famously, controversial Harvard linguist, Michael Witzel.

In his documentary, Wood holds that the early Hindu practice of worshipping devas, or demigods representing elements, somehow implies that these practices were imported from Central Asia. And while referencing obliquely that the Aryan Migration Theory is controversial, Wood fails to present contrary evidence that many scientists believe refutes the claim that the progenitors of Hindu civilization came from west of the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan.

"There is no debate that India was always the cradle of Hindu civilization, and the Vedas, the Hindu's holiest scriptures, are the recorded history of our ancestors," said Suhag Shukla, HAF's Managing Director. "We strongly oppose the insulting theory--advanced by agenda-driven activist historians--that our rishis, the great sages who composed the Vedas, were foreign to India, and Wood does viewers a disservice in not presenting both sides of the coin of the debate, in an otherwise admirable and beautiful work."

The AMT is reviled by many Hindus due to its implicit proposition that a tribe of "Aryans" migrated into the Indian subcontinent, subjugated an indigenous people dispersing them to South India and established a caste system where the highest castes are comprised of "Aryans" and lower castes were indigenous peoples--an ethno-religious apartheid system.

This explosive theory that narrates that Aryans were only the first colonizers--followed by Greeks, Mongols, Turks, Persians--was used by European historians to justify the last foreign claim on India, the British Raj.

However, it is the latest genetic evidence, based on chromosomal and DNA analysis, that scientists believe definitively discredits the AMT. Studies published in 2006, in the highly reputed Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and American Journal of Human Genetics, demonstrate that Y-chromosomal data collected from dozens of Indian sub-populations and tribal areas confirmed a common ancestry between all caste groups and tribals. The scientists in both studies concluded that there was no genetic basis to a claim that any migration occurred from west of India, and in fact, theorized that a northward migration may have occurred from India, out to Central Asia.

"Michael Wood clearly admires India and its people, and this shows through in his passionate depiction of India," said Sheetal Shah, HAF's Director of Development and Outreach . "We are not seeking to discredit the "Story of India" in its entirety, but viewers should be aware that a major error was made in the documentary that fails scrutiny and should be corrected."

I read with interest (but no opinion) the discussion of whether the Aryans were "in" or "out" of India. I think the new but growing study of paternal Y-DNA as it relates to patterns of migration throughout history may throw some light on this subject eventually. A larger database of samples will need to be collected before any definitive statements can be made, but there are currently on the internet maps that show the patterns as they are now known (check National Geographic's Genographic Project). My paternal DNA, for instance, shows an original father from either India or Pakistan, but our known family history is in Wales! Of course, we are talking thousands of years of migration here. History is "story" and interpretation, after all, and you throw in religion and you really have an unscientific mix. What we have been taught to believe, what we want to believe, may crumble before the facts of science---not that science isn't susceptible to interpretation, too, but I believe it must be considered if one wants to discover Truth.

Dear Mr. Wood -
I happened upon the second of the series today and was thrilled to watch the documentary. Your evaluation gives much justice to the history of India in start contrast to other modern documentaries which simply focus on the poverty.
My question is this: among the >1 billion Indians in India, could you not find even one Indian who could teach you how to pronounce correctly the Indian words in your documentary? In the "west" one is instantly corrected, mocked or even ridiculed if mis-pronouncing "western" names and words.....how about some reciprocation of correct pronunciation of cultures other than "western" - one typical example: your pronunciation of "Mathura" is just such a massacre of the proper name, it begs a mercy killing.
Regardless - I commend on your fair exposition of a great civilization, the depth and width of which, unfortunately, the "West" has not even begun to understand....

It is amazing when you see the cause and effect history has on all of us. If it was not for the discoveries of math and science in India, today the whole world would have been quite different. No space exploration, no computers, an probably very little advancements in medicine as well.

The Indian civilization has given humanity so many gifts.

However, these advancements have given birth to very successful human populations which can eventually end up causing the monumental devastation of our race and our planet.

So in a way, our social structure is just like Indian beliefs, creation, then the fire of destruction.

Hopefully, we will be able to learn that for every action there is a reaction. If we have great advancements in science, and medicine, as the result of such, we are also able to live longer. And if we are able to live longer, we have to make some sacrifices and bring less of our kind to this world to make sure that our population does not eventually destroys us and all of the great creations we have made.

It is sad to see when civilizations die. And they usually die because of our lack of cause and effect knowledge.

We can not imagine the things we could do, the problems we could solve, and the peace we could bring to this world, if only humanity was full of wisdom.

There are just a few things that we all need in order to bring true peace into this world. We need to love all beings and all races, we need to embrace the science of cause and effect, we need to know the true meaning behind our actions, and we need to act upon the right actions so that they can grow a better world.

If we can do this. Not only we will be successful in this world, but we shall flourish to such an extent that we will make other planets into our home and spread throughout the galaxy.

Just think for a second how many decisions we make based on belief and not on fact. We can not go anywhere by flipping coins and then acting upon it. We can not have clarity when we do not have logic.

Dear Mr. Wood,
Do you have a personal bibliography upon which you relied in preparation for _The Story of India_, and might you share the titles of some of the sources you found most valuable? Thank you.
DW

Thank you Michael Wood for a brilliant show! I feel so proud to come from such an ancient and wonderful land. And India is lucky to have found someone like you to tell her story. You are the rarest of rare breeds - a man of deep erudition and fidelity to the truth, and a communicator of exceptional ability with a deep love for the subject at hand. Excellent stuff!

Enjoyed the first episode of The Story of India and commend Michael wood for a great production. Your description of making the metal statues seems to have missed a step. After the sculpting in bees wax and before the wax is melted how is the mould made? Obviously it has to be extremely heat resistant to withstand the molten metal being poured into it - please enlighten us. Thank you. We are so looking forward to the remainder of the series.

I have been watching/reading Michael Wood since the middle 80s with "In Search of the Trojan War" and I just want to applaud his historical treatments of the subjects to which he is addressing. The energy and enthusiasm in his presentations show his love and care of the subjects and peoples that he is treating. Tons of kudos Mr. Wood!

Mike Jackson

I have enjoyed this presentation tremendously. As one who is more familiar with the time lines of European history I appreciate the cross references. A core premise of the first four programmes is that the principles and rituals of the Ancient India are still prevalent in modern India, and that this phenomenon exists only here. How does this compare with Judaism? It seems that the traditions of the Old Testament are still vibrant today in Jewish households. I was surprised to hear that Buddha ate meat; when did vegetarianism enter India?

Historians are the worst type of politicians. While the tv series is mostly beautiful and does a great job of dumbing down India's vast history for Westerners, I lost all faith in the series after it set in stone the Aryan invasion. It is ok to claim the invasion happened, but at least give other views. Before the next airing, please add a video that apologizes for portraying opinion as truth. As a thoroughbred desi, I can no longer allow the rewriting of our history. Our children must know the truth about our roots before they can move forward into the future.

While a tv show is the worst place to study history, it reaches the most people. Many of these people will not think twice before accepting what is portrayed as reality. I'm cool with all of the occupations on India's land, repeated stealing of its wealth, and stereotypes, but please stop the propagation of this Aryan invasion b.s.

I like to bring the attention of the viewers to a statement found in the book called "A Survey of Hinduism", second edition by Klaus K. Klostermaier, published by the State University of New York Press,ISBN0-7914-209-0,in 1994. See page 477, "The formerly held notion that the invasion of the Aryans, the Vedic Indians,brought a sudden and violent end to the Indus civilization is all but abandoned."
The key to undertsanding the suject is to trace a river called Saraswati that was mentioned in Rigveda, Maha Bharata and other books. It was a large and long river that ran parallel to the present Indus at places having a width of almost 8 km. When I read this description I was reminded of the great Amazonas at Manaus, Brazil, a huge river looked like an ocean. This Saraswati river dried up and traces of it were discovered by Satellite imagery. As a matter of fact old Geological Survey papers by one OLDHAM in 19th century refer to the present Khakkar as the Saraswathi. The British adept at divide and rule policy completely ignored their own Geological Survey findings and let a missionary Max Muller dictate the history of India to divide the South from the North India. The psuedo scholar and a Protestant partesan Max Muller played to the tune of his British masters. Later he retracted the theory at the behest of his masters and said there was no Aryan race. Read his biography. As a matter of fact the word is only an adjective. There was no race called Aryans. It suited the bloody British propaganda. Read also History of India by John Keay, an Independent British Historian, where he refutes the Aryan invasion.
Any way the radio carbon datings of the soil samples from river Khakkar give a figure of 8000 BCE. That means Rigveda and Maha Bharata were written before Harappa. So the so called Aryans were present in various parts of India including in the South long before Harappan civilization. They could not have destroyed the much later Harappan civilization.

What Wood is trying is resurrect in his Story of India the abandoned British propaganda. This is at best disingenuous and at worst the Anglo propaganda.

Naveen Chandra, chandraalex@hotmail.com

Very much enjoyed the episode of last night. I was not aware that there had been trade by sea between either the Roman Empire nor the Greeks and India for spices. I was aware that the Romans traded through the Silk Road as I recall reading that Julius Caesar after he became the king of the Roman Empire restricted the wearing of silk clothing by the upper crust women of Rome of those times as the women were apparently trying to out do each other in their various very expensive outfits.

Hi Michael Woods: We love watching your exceptional programme on India. I would like to share a poem I was inspired to write after visiting Fatehpur Sikri in November 2007.

Sisodia Raani Kabagh
Runs down a narrow hill
As we leave the City of Jaipur
At sunrise while everything's still
A solitary camel cart passes
"Carry market food into town"
We are lured by the sun to the East
And the land of the Taj Mahal.

The rising sun, a perfect ball
Of brilliant Rose Madder and Gold
We watch it glide across the sky
A new day about to unfold
Soon it will be too hot, too high
To see in this Indian sky.

We pass the trucks and miss the bikes
By a hair's breadth with no fear
"HORN PLEASE - HORN PLEASE"
A common view from the rear.

Wobbling along
Carrying people squeezed
And riding on their faith
In tuk tuks they go
Bright saris aflow
Gentle rudders in the breeze.

In beauty and silk like a goddess she stands
A solitary speck of blue.
Hazy trees fade on parched dry lands
Expectations of crops are few,

Approaching another town
Noisy cars, bikes
And boys
All seem to shout
In tuk tuks
People spilling out
Sacred cows sauntering, frightened goats avoiding
And dogs, sleeping, anywhere.
In their chaos they are all at one
Churning over in the sun
All going
Somewhere
Nowhere.

Jennifer Taylor

Having grown up in Andhra and Tamil Nadu (then Madras), I was delighted to learn more about Indian history - and the sights and music made me even more homesick than usual. One possible faux pas, however - and it flew by very quickly; but during the program on the early migrations down the west coast of the subcontinent to what is now Kerala, thence into Tamil Nadu, I though the map had labeled Sri Lanka as "Tamil Nadu" - a slip which might delight Tamil Tigers, but offend Sri Lankans. If I was not mistaken, this might bear editing before the next airing.

It is clear Mr. Woods has a sympathetic interest in India.
But I wish he had explained the basis of the Hindu way of life; it is Hinduism that kept the subcontinent together.
Just showing scenes from the Varanasi/Ganges river banks and gthe Holi festival does not shed any light on the religion.
While he spent a good deal of time talking about Buddhism and to the Dalai Lama, hardly any information about Hinduism was imparted. One would think that the main idea behind this religion is the multitude of Gods...
But Hindus believe there is One Supreme Creator and all other Deities are facets of that creative energy.

Buddhism and Hinduism share the basic principles; the difference is Buddha - a Hindu - simplified some of the abstract and at time obscure ideas.
Hinduism doesn't bother having long theological battles with other religions. Vedas state that truth is one; sages call it by different names. In other words, every religion is valid because it promotes virtue and spirituality, and for a Hindu, that is enough. Buddha was considered as an incarnation of Vishnu.

Buddhism in general is simpler than Hinduism, because in essence Buddhism can be taught to a person by explaining the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, which are essentially the basic ideas in Hindu texts - which tend to be a bit verbose.
Buddhism and Hinduism state that life on this earth is full of suffering and when we begin to act without desire that we achieve bliss.
There is a very famous passage in the Bhagavad-Gita when Krishna explains to Arjuna that acting without desire is the first step on the path toward liberation. Hinduism and Buddhism also share a belief in moksha (liberation), avatar, karma, reincarnation and ahisma (non-violence).
Neither religion tries to convert anybody or disparage other religions. Yes, all religions have some problems - mostly created by its followers, yes we know about the caste system...but the fact remains that the people and Government of India are doing something to make amends.
Will take time no doubt.

I appreciate the attempt, but I do not want to hear "A Story About India." I would rather watch "The Researched History of India." The slip ups people have mentioned on this thread, may not be slip ups but purposely deceitful tactics to cause turmoil. The man is getting too good at br-washing. Realize that students will be seeing this in the classroom. It is on PBS - it must be fact.

Yours truly,

Indentured Servant on the sugar fields

people are criticising the series for missing out periods of Indian history or events... in 6 hours the team behind the series must have had to be very selective ANYWAY... so stop complaining! it is thousands of years of history compacted into 6 BRILLIANT hours!

also anyone who refuses to admit that the aryan/indian connection is possible is blantantly ignoring the facts and being very arrogant to suppose that they may not infact be correct...

i loved the series so far. thanks

(I am reposting this b/c I posted it in the wrong place.)

Pardon my ignorance, but of course, I have watched the series to learn and I find the Indian culture fascinating above all! So, regardless of the little time that is alloted for the show (something is better than nothing) and despite the fact that a "Westener" is doing the show, and notwitstanding the baseless comment about the BBC, I for one am GREATFUL for the series. (I happen to find great value and content in most of the BBC shows that air on PBS.)

Now to my questions: Is this Arian race the same as Hitler was referring to (the purebred, pureblood race)?

And, why do they throw colored powder on people in the feast at the end of one of the shows, and what was God/Goddess was that feast honoring?

One thing that came to mind after watching this series: I wondered why India had so many godesses/gods, then it came to mind that a civilization as old India would have many deities and one would just live alongside the other, instead of fighting over who's right like the rest of the world. And, I think that is wonderful!

Thanks in advance to those that answer my questions!

Oralia Acosta

i find your series on india very informative . in the 3rd part of the series you talk about "tamil manuscripts". i have one that had been given to me about 40 years ago as a wedding gift and never knew what is was until i saw one on your show on pbs today. the one i have has nine palm leaves with a thicker front and back cover tied around with a string of some sort that is attached to a coin with a square hollow center with engraving on both sides of the dark metal coin that i am unable to decifer. each of the palm leaves has exotic pictures of indian people etc. on one side and script on the other side.
how do i find out how old it is and how to perserve it . it is rather fragile but on the whole in very good condition.
thank you
janet van horne
madison, connecticut USA

It is a beautiful story of India for adults as well as children. The analysis of India, Indian culture, and religion is very nice. I would say that whatever happened India got its freedom. Thank God it is not like many other countries which are still struggling. It has past its Take-off stage and is flying. I think Indian railway was a great gift that British gave to India. I hope India should keep its culture alive and should not copy West

At the end of the program, statements were made about Indias recent progress and optimism about the future. It goes on to state that the GDP of India would overtake that of US. How about the break-away parts of India ? Where are Pakistan and Bangladesh headed to ?

The whole series is absolutely wonderful. I am a Westerner who has been interested in India for some years and visited twice. Thank you Michael Wood. I have visited some of the places depicted and he does an incredible job in 6 hours, obviously leaving out a lot.

Too bad for the person complaining about his Hindi pronunciation. Clearly he has studied the language. If he pronounced it "correctly" "us Westerners" probably would not understand.

History and Philology (study of word origins) clearly indicates that what is now India and Pakistan, although peopled very early from Africa, had a later influx of people from the north who merged in different ways with local indigenous people.

THIS does NOT mean that Sanskrit is a language that was BROUGHT IN from outside India. Sanskrit is the RESULT of a merger between the indigenous people's languages and the language of the new people. That is why it took so long to figure out the common root of Hindi and English.

Furthermore, just because there was a common root to parts of a language shared with outsiders does not mean that the original inhabitants were not the major creators of the culture.

As I have thought about this over the years, it seems pretty clear that NO OTHER PLACE has what India has in spiritual knowledge. I think it it pretty likely (Osho says sure) that yoga, and the basic understanding of the nature of spirituality that is found in many forms in India today came from somewhere in India. Maybe Indus River valley or maybe some other more recently discovered older sites in what is in India today.

(And yes TOO BAD Pakistan can't make Harappa etc. a welcoming tourist site...)

If the great cultural and spiritual advances made by people in the part of the world we now call India were not made by people whose racial stock directly changed into what we see today from the original human stock from Africa, who cares? Just because multiple sciences strongly indicate that the current Indian people is made up of contributions from a very early indigenous people plus a large group of outsiders likely from the north, this does not detract from the genius of the Indian people. The culmination of the culture is a result of many influences. Every great culture in history is one that merged with another and resulted in something new and dynamic. The Greeks, the Romans, and perhaps most unique in history up to now, what we know as India.

If Michael does a PART 2, it might be interesting to see more of this clarified. And my question for Michael is "what does he think is the source of the genius of India in it's ability to absorb cultural influences while remaining itself?"

I just watched the episode of The Story Of India ...it is really incredible ..the way the producer presented it with real old senior interviews from the old times and the beautiful sceneries of India. today was my first day to watch this serial......Now I will watch every single episode of this series for sure.... I like the host a funny and knowledgable guy and his way of presenting the history ....................thanks......

Hi,
First of all thank you for producing a good program about the story of India. There are some facts which are not presented in the program correct.
1. In the episode where you show about Chola period in southern India, you mention about Grand Anicut (the earthern dam). The Cholas who are shown belong to 10th century, where as the Anicut was built by Karikala Chola in 120 AD. Please refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karikala for the information about Karikala Chola and the early Cholas.
2. In the episode shown on 1/19/09, the local guide Ms Jalil mentions that Islam spread in North India not through sword but through the mix of people at the lower level. This is an outright lie. Please refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_conquest_of_India and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Hindus. I am providing wikipedia resources as they are vetted and have citations to justify the content.
3. In the first episode you travel to Turkmenistan and Afghanisthan to prove that Aryans came from Middle East. The three words you used were "Father-Pitar", "Mather-matha", and Ashwa for horse. Please refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Aryan_migration which disputes the timeframe that was mentioned in the program for the Aryan migration.
Hopefully you will provide a clarification and correct the errors so that the audience can learn the true history of India.

thanks,
Sriram

I am in school know in hopes to become an Anthropologist, I was wondering how one makes contact in a foreign place before going there; I would like a tour guide, for lack of better words, who is native to my destination and can give me realistic insight into everyday life, and not just the tourist attractions. How does one go about find such a guide?

So expected one more hour in the series, hoping it would explain what has been happening in the years since Partition.

How has India's cultural aspects as described in the show been an aid (or hindrance?) to adaptation to democratic choice and governance? What about the pressures of corporatism in the lives of Indians; has their experience with the British East Indian Co. and imperialism resulted in a response to corporate globalization that is unique to India?

Thank you for several weekends of armchair travel through time and space. It was a unique and splendid overview covering the large historic shifts, so I can understand why you did not go into social, economic issues like caste and controversies over women's rights, and the current struggles of Indian farmers today to continue their practice of agriculture in the presence of the tyranny of Globalization, corporate agriculture authoritarianism, and the threatening plans of privatization of resources made by these giant, unethical forces. Since the frame for discussion in this series was largely 'empire-building' and rulers, visiting the current forms of empire/imperialist methods may have been pertinent afterall.

And still, I loved this show as the amazing introduction to the full scope of Indian history and culture it is. Thank you.

The segment of the PBS program I watched showed how terrible the economic imperialism of the British colonialists was starting with the East India Company (a New World company was the Hudson's Bay Company, with similar results).

The program says that India's GDP is on schedule to overtake the United State's soon. Will they be using a regulated free market model or will they try to emulate the colonialists and push for self-advantageous "Shock Doctrine"-style free markets under a program of globalization and WTO laizzez faire theories ?

Too much history of Mughals rather than Hindus and other religions of India - Jains, Christians. I am not here to argue that India was peaceful and no Indian rler fought before the mughals came.Misrepresentation of things is what I noticed.

1. Yes the Mughals came and defeated India and took over India the same way as Britishers did years after. Tughlaq plundered and took wealth from India 13 times. No country gets occupied in a peaceful way.
2. Akbar did encourage all religions for a superior purpose - infact married multiple women close to a 100 from different religions - that was his strategy of peacefully acquiring multiple smaller kingdoms from his hindu rivals.
3. Shan Jahan did kill people who built Taj. Yes temples were destroyed. They did encourage art but for their own good. They didnt build temples.
4.. Was Jinnah really secular - this claim is from his one speech. Why have you stressed so much on this multiple times. You could have said Gandhiji was not happy at all with the partition. Nehru and Jinnah wanted freedom and power.
5. East Bengal incidents were tragedy. Remember genocide - so many Hindus were killed and hindu women raped and made slaves. As you have depicted it was not peaceful.

People of India are secular they do take good from everwhere and assimilate it. Every religion or country that fails to do this will die eventually.

It was obvious that the show wanted present the Islamic/Moghul period in a falsely positive fashion. Why was not the atrocities of Aurangazeb not covered. Why were not some of the great temples that were destroyed by the Islamic invaders not shown? Akbar, while was relatively less brutal than the other Islamic invaders, was nevertheless forced his rule on the natives. The rendition of Akbar reminded me of the Confederates talking about a benign slave master.

Why selectively be harsh on the British while trying to be politically correct with the Islamic rule? Also, the innuendo that Islam was spread peacefully in India smacks of falsehood and propaganda. The Sufis had a proselytizing agenda and they couched Islam in a wrapper of Hindu vedantic thoughts to make it palatable to the native Hindus. Sufism has no basis in the Quran.

I agree that it is almost impossible to cover the 'real story' of India in 6 hrs documentary. But I would have suggested Michael Wood to take clues from "Discovery of India"....

1) As a Maharashtrian, I did felt disappointed about the complete neglect of Chatrapati Shivaji and the rise and fall of the Maratha Empire in the 17th and 18th century. The rise of Shivaji was one of the main reason the Muslim conversion was controlled in the Deccan Plateau of India. If not for Shivaji and the Peshwas, The story of India could have been different today.
2) I noticed that the focus was on North India and sometimes south India. But never was the West or the East mentioned or referred.
3) Lastly the whole story missed the central point in the story of India. India was not formed by the British (as derived from this documentary), but was always one due to the 'way of life' of the people in this region.
- Respect/Worship for Nature. viz earth, fire, water etc...
- Tolerance
- non-violence
- brotherhood
- treating all guests with respect.
- Assimilation of external cultures...

the list goes on...

Wow. I just love how all these interesting points of discussion arose from a single TV episode. I missed that episode so I'm trying to catch up by reading interesting stuff here. I agree that Hitler twisted the concept of Aryans. Indians continue to be a great influence behind all the progress humanity has ever made. They're everywhere, literally and virtually. It's just that some bigot racists continue to shoot them down in every chance they get. They just can't accept the fact that Indians can be as influential as any "first world" nation.

Oh and by the way, no more Wikipedia links people. As somebody pointed out, it's not reliable. Better grab something else to convince us.

I hate to see when the "self-proclaimed" Vedic experts argue that all Indian languages originated from Sanskrit. That's not true. The south-Indian languages or the "Dravidian" languages trace their origin to proto-Dravidian group of languages of which Tamil is the closest relative to the early proto-Dravidian languages. All other south-Indian languages stemmed out from proto-Tamil. The reason these south-Indian languages got Sanskritized was because vedic style of living dominated then and you had to learn Sanskrit to perform the rituals and hence incorporated or borrowed lot of Sanskrit words into them. But Tamil resisted this Sanskrit influence so much that you find very few Sanskrit words in Tamil. Rather Sanskrit did borrow some words from Tamil.
Okay now, all the nay-sayers bring it on.

Reply to Lakshmi

I speak Telugu. More people speak Telugu than Tamil. I can speak Telugu without using any Tamil words. I can not speak Telugu without using Sanskrit or English words. It is comprehensible as both Sanskrit and English have influenced Telugu. If Tamil was the source for Telugu at least one or two words of Tamil should have been left- but no.

The only thing I remember is how Tamils stole Madras from Telugus in 1953. Influenced by Raja Goplaachary Nehru gave in to the obnoxious demands of Tamils. At the time there were more Telugu people than Tamils in Madras city. Even its original name Chenna Pattanam was a Telugu word.

Tamils like to think that they gave civilization to the whole world. A bit of humility will help. It makes friends.

There were no races called Aryans and Dravidians. There were made up by the dastardly British to divide North India and South India. If Laksmi reads my letter above on the so called Aryan immigration and realizes that American historians do not accept the Aryans coming from outside she will see the light.

Tamil language has borrowed a lot of things from Sanskrit. The words like Lakshmi are Sanskrit.

The most important Karnatic composers are Annamacharya, Thagayya, Kshetrayya all Telugu poets who wrote in Telugu. But Tamils pose that this is all Tamil. SO there you go- you deny Telugu contributions to Tamil music- no wonder you deny Sanskrit contributions to Tamil as well. Please some objectivity!

Ancient Indian knowledge in architecture, astronomy, cartography, metallurgy, logic, mathematics, metrology ,mineralogy, literature, relegion........ is from INDIA, INDIA only. When you talk about Aryans it is like saying humans were apes before so the original human knowledge is from the early apes from Africa. So stop bragging about Aryans being outside India, Who Cares. Ancient Indian knowledge was not imported from anywhere, it is from INDIA alone!!!. Thanks to the Indian soil where so much knowledge was born.
[If any of you talking about Aryans find time, kindly investigate British knowledge was imported from Apes in Africa???]

I am too interested in the northeastern region of India, The beautiful vallies of Darjeeling, Kashmir, Nainital, Mussorie, Kasauli, Tea Gardens, etc north east and Kashmir culture, tradition, languages.

Also the beautiful Jain temples at Mount Abu Delwada, Temples at Palitana, Ranakpur, Meenakari Temples made of glass, etc and the jain religion which is part of hindu religion, etc

Are you going to cover in next episodes?

If no than did you and your team are aware of it?

Years ago, Mr. Wood did a documentary about Troy. I have been madly in love with him and his boundless intelligence ever since. His abillity to present such fascinating material with honest exuberance is a winning combination!

Keep the documentaries coming!!

Reply to Antonio Bandeiras

Your biased opinions must be replied.

This is a reply to Antonio Bandeiras. Please read my comment on Aryan invasion.

American historians completely disagree with the colonial British on this subject.
It is very important to establish that Vedic Indians originated in India. Anyway if it was not important, why did the British want Vedic Indians to come out of India? To assert their mendacious propaganda that good thing as Vedas could not have come out of India. Further it was the contention first that Vedas were no good. They employed Max Muller to prove this. When the protestant slave Muller could not prove that Vedas were bad, as a matter of fact the translations showed a superior intellectual achievement, superior to all European philosophical thinking, they changed their tune to say that the Vedic Indians came from out side.

Then they said South Indians were Dravidians and North Indians were Aryans. Aryans killed Dravidians. What is this, if not a propaganda to malign India? They resorted to the same technique in Sri Lanka. They said that Sinhalese were Aryans and Tamils were Dravidians. We now know the tragic results of this propaganda.

To assume that British did something good to India is not supported by historical facts. For every pound they invested they took a thousand pounds or more out of India. They divided India into two parts. If Mountbatten was such a genius as portrayed by British why did he create a country like Pakistan two parts of which were separated by a 1000 miles? He was an evil genius. Germany, Korea, Rhodesia, Ireland, Iraq, Vietnam were all divided by British or their cousins to further their own self interests. British were supporting Pakistan when India liberated Bangladesh. Even today the British and their cousins are Pro Pakistan and anti India. Read various articles and books by journalists. I recommend "Arrogance of Power" by Anthony Summers, "Price of Power" by Seymour M. Hersh and Christopher Hitchens' writings.

Finally please read well before you comment.

Thank you.

The presenter has made very obvious attempts to subdue the contribution and 1000 year old History of Muslims and the resentment towards Muslims was clear in the presentation by background music chosen to describe Muslim kings.

Indeed british have a long history of hatred for Indian Muslims for they were the ones who revolted against the British and that's where there resentment comes from, Srirangpatnam was casually mentioned and no mention was made of Tipu Sultan the greatest enemy of the British oppressors on the other hand small time freedom fighters like Jhansi Rani and Tantya tope were glorified by the host .The name of the las Mughal emperor was mentioned in a documentary about the 1857 war of independence when he was the one who LEAD that war ... what ever happened to the objectivity....Taj Mahal was portrayed as a Hindu monument to confuse the gullible and naive shame on such yellow journalism.

Death of the Aryan Invasion Theory

http://www.ivarta.com/columns/OL_051212.htm

1...... India invented the Number system. Pingalacharya. invented ‘zero.' in 200 BC.
.
2...... Indians discovered the size, shape, rotation and gravity of earth about
1000 years before Kelvin,Galileo,Newton and Copper Nicus. Aryabhatta I was the
first to explain spherical shape,size ,diameter,rotaion and correct speed of
Earth in 499 AD.
.
3...... Newton's law of Gravitational force is an ancient Indian discovery. In
Siddhanta Siromani .( Bhuvanakosam 6 ) Bhaskaracharya II. described about
gravity of earth about 400 years before Sir Isaac Newton.
.
4...... The place value system, the decimal system was developed in India in 100 BC.
.
5...... Indians discovered Arithmetic and Geometric progression. Arithmetic
progression is explained in Yajurveda.
.
6...... Govindaswamin discovered Newton Gauss Interpolation formula about 1800 years before Newton.
.
7...... Vateswaracharya discovered Newton Gauss Backward Interpolation formula
about 1000 years before Newton.
.
8...... Madhavacharya discovered Taylor series of Sine and Cosine function
about. 250 years before Taylor.
.
9...... Madhavacharya discovered Newton Power series.
.
10.. Madhavacharya discovered Gregory Leibnitz series for the Inverse Tangent
about. 280 years before Gregory.
.
11.. Madhavacharya discovered Leibnitz power series for pi about 300 years before Leibnitz.
.
12.. Parameswaracharya discovered Lhuiler's formula about 400 years before Lhuiler.
.
13.. Nilakanta discovered Newton's Infinite Geometric Progression convergent series.
.
14.. Theorems relating the diameter,volume and circumference of circles
discovered by Madhavacharya,Puthumana Somayaji,Aryabhatta, Bhaskaracharya…….
.
15.. The value of pi was first calculated by Aryabhatta I in 499 AD,ie more than
1350 years before Lindemann
.
16.. Boudhayana discovered Pythagorus Theorem in 800BC. ie 300 years before Pythagorus.
.
17.. Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India. Quadratic equations
were by Sridharacharya in the 11th Century.
.
18.. While the Greeks were using only upto a max imum value 1000, Indians could
go upto 18th power of 10 level during Vedic period.
.
19.. Infinity was well known for ancient Indians. BhaskaracharyaII in
Beejaganitha(stanza-20) has. given clear explanation with examples for infinity
.
20.. Positive and Negative numbers and their calculations were explained first
by Brahmagupta in his book Brahmasputa Siddhanta.
.
21.. Maharshi Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health
scientists of his time conducted surgeries like cesareans, cataract, fractures
and urinary stones. Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India. He was
the first person to perform plastic surgery.
.
22.. When many cultures in the world were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000
years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley
Civilization).
.
23.. The world's first University was established in Takshila in 700BC. More
than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The
University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one of the greatest
achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
.
24.. According to the Forbes magazine, Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software.
.
25.. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans.
.
26.. Although western media portray modern images of India as poverty stricken
and underdeveloped through political corruption, India was once the richest
empire on earth.
.
27.. According to the Gemmological Institute of America, until 1896, India was
the only source of diamonds to the world.
.
.
28.. USA based IEEE has proved what has been a century-old suspicion amongst
academics that the pioneer of wireless communication was Professor Jagdeesh
Bose and not Marconi.
.
29.. The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra.
.
30.. Chess was invented in India.
.
31.. The first philosopher who formulated ideas about the atom in a systematic
manner was Kanada who lived in the 6th century B.C.
.
32.. All the atomic reactors in the world are in Shiva Linga Shape which is an Indian contribution.
.
33.. Padanjali maharshi discovered. Soundwaves.
.
34.. Yoga is an ancient Indian gift to the world.
.
35.. .Shayanacharya discovered velocity of light.
.
36.. Maharshi Bharadwaja discovered different types of light rays.
.
37.. Maharshi Bharadwaja was the first person to give definition about
aeroplane. He explained about different types aeroplanes in his book "Vimana
Thantra". about 2000 years before Right Brothers.
.
38.. Maharshi Bharadwaja discovered spectrometer. In his "Yantra Sarvaswa" he
explained about more than 100 instruments.
.
39.. The different colours of light, VIBGYOR are mentioned in Rigveda which was
written more than 6000 years ago.
.
40.. Maharshi Charaka discovered Psychology and Quantum healing system.
.
41.. Varahamihira discovered the concept of "Budding of plants".
.
42.. Seven continents are mentioned in Padmapurana.
.
43..... Judo and karate which are. coming to India from the far-east. originated in ancient India

A Little Detail about Plastic Surgery

I will provide evidence that Europeans learnt Plastic Surgery from India.

The year was 1794, the month was October.

The place was none other than London, England.

The journal was Gentleman's Magazine.

The authors were two British Doctors Dr. Thomas Caruso and Dr. James Findlay.

The subject was their amazing experience in Mysore that year.

They saw a person of Pot - maker caste perform plastic surgery on the noses of four Indian mercenaries in the employ of the British regiment. Their noses were cut off by Tippu Sultan soldiers as a punishment to side with the dastardly foreign army.

The pot maker performed a plastic surgery on the hapless mercenaries and restored their noses following a procedure described by Susruta, the Father of Surgery, in 600 BCE and handed down by word of mouth via parampara. The barbers and pot-makers learnt the surgical techniques and cured soldiers and others.

This was reported in a London journal mentioned above.

Following this a British surgeon Dr. J. C. Carpus performed two surgeries using Indian method.

In Germany Dr. Graefe successfully performed plastic surgery using the same method.

Then the Indian plastic surgery became popular all over Europe.

The bloody British or Germans rarely acknowledged the poor Indian pot-maker nor the great Susruta. They continued to down grade Vedic Bharateeyas and commissioned Max Muller who distorted the Vedic History to no end and is still followed by the shameless history professors of Jawaharlal University headed by Romila Thapar.

India is really a vast country with a rich and long history. There are people with so much varied backgrounds living in India. One of the beautiful places in India is Hyderabad where I stay. Its a lovely place too.

there was a timspan about many thosand yrs ago(currently replaced by the theory of evolution) than the estimated timespan of history where india was called bharatvarsha & the place outside india according to the bhagvadam was known as paradise where ppl cud easily live for 1 lac yrs &enjoy celestial bliss.this led many scholars to believe that india was led to imagine foreign land as celestial paradises. but foreigners(barbarians) like greek,huns,turks 2k yrs ago,according to the bhagvadam never even imagined that a place like paradise cud exist.
the reality was that bharatvarsha was the entire earth glob(even 5000 yrs ago) & the other eight varshas outside were celestials realms or heavenly planets,this is a common understanding which is illustrated by a 19 century diagram in south india in reference to bhagvadam. however understandings like these gets breached when some barbarians put forth their theories ignoring facts so as to suit their colonial ambitions is what aryan invasion theory is an example of.there r many embaressing theories put forth supporting india as a stupid country by british which r as ridiculous as
an uneducated cobbler(british) explaining vedic quantam physics(ancient india) to blind ppl (the world which is unknown to genuine ancient civilization).

I am a Westerner who is fascinated by India and I enjoyed most of the documentary. However, I feel that Indians are a little too arrogant about their history. This British narrator bent over backwards to make India seem superior to the West in my opinion, but yet we have Indian posters on here getting upset over the Aryan issue when there is plenty of evidence for it.

And I am getting tired of Indians constantly trying to steal the credit of advancements that were clearly developed by Westerners. What is with all this talk from Indians about "all knowledge coming from India". That sounds very false and very arrogant to me. In the West we learn that most science came from Europe starting with the Greeks. That is simply what all the evidence points to.

I noticed in the documentary that the narrator made a big deal about the advancements of the Gupta period when it is well known in the West that the Greeks already did all that stuff prior to that point.

And why don't we talk about his kind treatment of Islam and his harsh treatment of the British. He leaves viewers thinking that the British did nothing good for India. Give me a break.

He delivers this with passion and I have seen the controversy relating to AMT...I love his show.

For a long time we believed in the Aryan Migration Theory as well. There are fair and dark skinned south indian brahmins...what we have is a melting pot of Aryan and indigenous people. in fact there are tribes in Kashmir that European women visit to marry since this tribe has the purest', 'unadulterated' Aryan heritage.

Here is a wiki profile of Michael Wood,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Wood_(historian)

So what we are arguing about?

Sri Lanka is undergoing Ethic Cleansing bordering on Genocide, and a core aspect to the killings is the claims by the majority Singhalese that this is their country. I am led to believe that actually the native race were wiped out two thousand years ago and both the Singhalese and Tamils came to the island approximately two thousand years ago (although the British subsequently brought Tamils more recently to work in the tea plantations). It is even suggested that the two races are actually one, and have been divided by religion rather than genetically.

An analysis by Michael Woods on the real history of Sri Lanka would not only dismiss the myths, it may even put a stop to the killings and get the two races to re-examine their relationship.

A leading ORGANISATION wants to honour Michael Wood for his contributions to INDIA during their 34th Annual function in Cleveland early april(sat night April 3rd).over 3000 persons from all over the world attend this 2 week festival.
How do we contact him?
V.K.Viswanathan
(Member, organising committee)