CBC - India Reborn, Episode 1 of 4: Myth and Might

CBC - India Reborn, Episode 1 of 4: Myth and Might

“Indians and Chinese will rule the world” — a prophecy and a challenge from one of the unforgettable characters you will meet in MYTH AND MIGHT, a panoramic documentary that captures the drama of epic change in the world’s largest democracy.

The new superpower is emerging amid the collision of the ancient and the modern – and MYTH AND MIGHT gives you a front row seat. Explore India’s rich tapestry of myth — from the flames of the ancient cremation pyres on the Ganges to the unforgettable spectacle of Navratri festival’s tens of thousands of dancers. Experience the force of India’s might – in the mountain jungles where a war for the country’s future is being fought, to the concrete streets of the capital where millions demand justice from their government.

The colourful and charismatic Lalu opens the show. Extraordinary access to India’s powerful and successful railway minister provides a closeup of the face of power. Both beloved as a saviour of the lower castes, and reviled as a corrupt opportunist, Lalu embodies India’s hope and its contradictions.

The struggle for the soul of the new India is told through the stories of two brilliant doctors – both fiercely committed to their country, both determined to build its future. One, a rich heart surgeon, has returned home from America with a plan to build a medical system that will bring westerners to India’s door. He claims the future belongs to India. The other follows the example of his father who fought with Gandhi for India’s freedom, devoting his life to providing care and hope for India’s forgotten villagers. He fears India will dissolve into civil war.

The sublime city of Varanasi provides the backdrop for the powerful story of a father’s servitude and a son’s redemption in India’s ancient caste system. As one of India’s dalits or untouchables, Ramji Choudhury is doomed to spend his life burning bodies on the cremation pyres, but a breathtaking act of rebellion will allow his eldest son to escape the hereditary fate. On the other side of the country, a bustling prosperity masks the chilling undertow of religious intolerance and a Muslim woman fears history will repeat itself in bloody violence. And in the climax of the film, the Indian government faces off against those who have been left behind by the country’s race to the future.

Full of dazzling spectacle and unforgettable characters, MYTH AND MIGHT is a feast for the senses and a harbinger of change for the West.

Episode webpage: http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/indiareborn/about-mythandmight.shtml


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Specs

Format : AVI
Length : 349 MiB for 45mn 3s 672ms
Codec : Xvid
Source : HDTV

Video #0 : MPEG-4 Visual at 958 Kbps
Aspect : 528 x 304 (1.737) at 29.970 fps

Audio #0 : MPEG Audio at 112 Kbps
Infos : 2 channels, 48.0 KHz

Enjoy!
Ekolb

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CBC - India Reborn

About the series:

In 4 vibrant hours of HD television, INDIA REBORN charts the kaleidoscopic rise of one of the world’s newest and most unlikely superpowers. Epic and cinematic in scope, each episode unfolds with fascinating intimacy and insight revealing characters who reflect India’s dramatic transformation. INDIA REBORN is a potent mixture of dreams and despair, an entertaining and informative window into a land that could soon shape the future of the world.

Home to charismatic gurus, prowling tigers and shimmering temples, India today boasts 28 billionaires, 100,000 millionaires and a middle class that is now bigger than the total population of the United States. A sprawling, chaotic democracy with 850 languages in daily use, 28 federated states and a stubborn caste system, India has a population of more than a billion people, half of them under 25. Almost in spite of herself, she is poised to become the world’s third largest economy, and a powerful voice in world affairs.

Propelled by an IT sector boasting some of the best engineers on the planet, India is taking over the world’s cyber business. Multi-nationals around the world are rushing to her doorstep and superpowers both east and west aggressively court her affections. Thousands of “medical tourists” flock to India’s luxury hospitals for cut-price, first-rate treatments while sumptuous new hotels draw in growing crowds of vacationers seeking Indian secrets to rejuvenate mind and body. Movie-goers around the world worship the stars of the world’s largest dream-factory, Bollywood. In India, actors are the new gods and goddesses, or, at the very least, some of the country’s more successful politicians.

INDIA REBORN shows how the Indian miracle is among the strangest stories in economic history. It is a “jobless” boom, with the IT sector employing just 1.6 million lucky people. Outside the formal job economy, five hundred million workers wait impatiently for their turn at fortune in the Indian renaissance. The starker reality is an impoverished village life that is the norm for over 70% of Indians. Every night, half of India’s children go to bed hungry. Rampant corruption, patronage politics, cities that are choking on their own growth, staggering pollution and severe water shortages – all conspire against the Indian dream. Hanging over it all is another cloud; nuclear war with neighbouring Pakistan and the constant threat of communal violence from religious tension at home. But just like a Bollywood movie, hope and an enduring belief in happiness are a part of the soul of India.

The series will take full advantage of India's breathtaking land and seascapes, its colourful festivals and religious ceremonies and most of all, its diverse and articulate people, to bring this portrait of a nation to a broad, prime time audience.





SERIES AIRDATES

Myth and Might, 8:00 pm, March 15, 2009 on CBC-TV

]Manufacturing Dreams, 9:00 pm, March 15, 2009 on CBC-TV

India on the Move, 8:00 pm, March 22, 2009 on CBC-TV

Mother India, 9:00 pm March 22, 2009 on CBC-TV


CBC's India Reborn website: http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/indiareborn/about.shtml

(Please note that all above screenshots are NOT actual screenshots from the rip but are taken from the documentary website)