0:00:03 > 0:00:07This is the Ganges, a river like no other.
0:00:09 > 0:00:14Its waters bring life to hundreds of millions of people across India.
0:00:14 > 0:00:15Turn... Other way.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17That's not good - that way.
0:00:17 > 0:00:18That's better.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20To a billion Hindus,
0:00:20 > 0:00:24it's an immortal mother Goddess who will wash away a lifetime of sins.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33I'm going to explore the length of this beautiful, contradictory and
0:00:33 > 0:00:35rather pungent river.
0:00:35 > 0:00:36SHE COUGHS
0:00:36 > 0:00:39I don't even know what that smell is.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42From its source high in the Himalayas...
0:00:42 > 0:00:45This is why my make-up is so flawless.
0:00:45 > 0:00:50..through some of the most crowded, chaotic and exciting places on Earth.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Is this the queue for the toilet?
0:00:52 > 0:00:55It is? God, I've got to wait, haven't I?
0:00:55 > 0:01:00Following it 1,500 miles all the way to the Bay of Bengal.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03If you want to know how important this incredible river is to these
0:01:03 > 0:01:06millions upon millions of people, then you should come here.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09I'll be poking my nose into the lives of its people.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Do you come here with boys?
0:01:11 > 0:01:13- No!- Yes, she does!
0:01:13 > 0:01:18And bearing witness to its most intimate of rituals.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22You're struggling to try and make sense of it, but it is not of this Earth, this place.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27India is changing,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30taking its place as one of the world's great superpowers.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33This is Trumpian in its blingtasticness.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35I'm with the big dude.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37The heart's going like a shrew.
0:01:37 > 0:01:38Literally.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41The answer's still no, you rogue.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46But as India grows, the Ganges is under threat like never before.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49So this is raw sewage?
0:01:49 > 0:01:50Yeah.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53So what does the future hold for the great Ganges in the India
0:01:53 > 0:01:55of tomorrow?
0:01:55 > 0:01:58I'm so sorry, so sorry.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08It feels like I've run a marathon.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10I've only done about 20 steps.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14I'm in the town of Gangotri,
0:02:14 > 0:02:16which is high up in the Indian stretch of the Himalayas.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20And we're on a trek to one of the most spiritual sites in the entire
0:02:20 > 0:02:24world, where I'm hoping to firmly embrace the Hindu god
0:02:24 > 0:02:25for altitude sickness.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31My journey down the Ganges begins at the source,
0:02:31 > 0:02:37high up near the border with Tibet in the highest mountains on Earth.
0:02:38 > 0:02:43From there, I'll then follow this sacred river all the way to the sea
0:02:43 > 0:02:47to try and understand the role she plays in the life of her people.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54So, how far up here is the source?
0:02:54 > 0:02:57- 18km from here.- 18km.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00Well, bearing in mind I'm out of breath after 100 metres,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03you're in for an interesting couple of days.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05This is Deepak,
0:03:05 > 0:03:09a local guide who has the difficult job of getting me up this mountain
0:03:09 > 0:03:11over the next two days.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15He must have done something awful in a previous life.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17Deepak, I need you to know,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21I'm already extremely emotionally invested in those donkeys.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24They're going to have names and back stories in ten minutes, I'm telling you.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26I'm going to call this one Tamzin.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30In my head, she probably had a successful career in retail but gave
0:03:30 > 0:03:32it up because the pressures of the shop floor were too much.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36So she decided to do something simpler with her life.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39To be honest, I'm not just here for the donkeys.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42I know that everyone always says this on telly,
0:03:42 > 0:03:44but this really is an emotional journey for me.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48I've had a horrible year.
0:03:48 > 0:03:49A really horrible year.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52But it feels weird saying that because in the west
0:03:52 > 0:03:56we sort of swallow down pain and we swallow down our emotions.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59Because we think it's the right thing to do to keep on going.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02And that's the sort of indictment of the way we live back home, actually.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05That you need to come so far, you know,
0:04:05 > 0:04:115,000 miles and 4,000 metres above sea level to actually just
0:04:11 > 0:04:15properly live through your experiences.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18And properly inhabit and own them emotionally.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21And I'm sure at the end of this, I will...
0:04:22 > 0:04:25..have been changed in some way.
0:04:25 > 0:04:31Or I will have had a fluttering of some new feelings or emotions.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36Or experiencing things that I've repressed and sort of subsumed for years.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40So, that's a complicated ask for a walk, isn't it?
0:04:44 > 0:04:47But if any walk is capable of working miracles,
0:04:47 > 0:04:49then surely it's this one
0:04:49 > 0:04:51along the banks of the Ganges.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58Legend has it that Lord Shiva, one of the most important gods in Hinduism,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01absorbed the power of the Goddess Ganga
0:05:01 > 0:05:04when she fell from the heavens through the locks of his hair.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14Namaste.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18For devout Hindus, that makes this river a living Goddess,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22with the power to wash away the sins of a lifetime.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27In the words of the 1980s gurus Eurythmics,
0:05:27 > 0:05:30everybody's looking for something, and you get a sense of that here.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34You get a sense that the people that have trodden this path
0:05:34 > 0:05:37are all craving enlightenment of some kind.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40I don't know what enlightenment I'm craving.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42I don't know what I expect.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45But I'll take on board anything that I receive, put it that way.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48This sacred landscape is home to hermits,
0:05:48 > 0:05:54wise and wandering holy people who have forsaken all worldly goods.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58- Wha-hey!- Be careful there.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00People like Materji...
0:06:00 > 0:06:01Pranam.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04..who lives in a cave near the river, to be as close as possible to the goddess.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06- How are you?- I am fine.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Shall I take my shoes off?
0:06:08 > 0:06:10- No problem.- Are you sure?
0:06:12 > 0:06:15- So how long have you been here? - Six years.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18- So this is your bed?- Yes.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Now, I don't see any mattress, pillows...
0:06:21 > 0:06:23- It's on this side.- Oh, a few.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26That's not happiness there. You can't be happy if you lie on that.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29Oh, I used to, but now I got things.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33You'd make an osteopath happy, but I don't think you'd be very happy.
0:06:33 > 0:06:39I know it's a hard thing to sum up, but what does the Ganges mean to Hindus? What is its significance?
0:06:39 > 0:06:45Ganga is the one who gives salvation to all our forefathers
0:06:45 > 0:06:48and whoever comes in with fate.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51- So it'll wash your sins away? - Your sins.- It will cleanse you.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Yes! Cleanse, right.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57It cleanse our sins and, you know, whatever...
0:06:57 > 0:06:59Our sins and whatever.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Whatever else.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06As a young woman, Materji lived in Delhi and was chasing a career as a
0:07:06 > 0:07:10ballet dancer before she answered the call of the divine.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12You say you wanted to be a ballet dancer.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14Then you got all your grades,
0:07:14 > 0:07:18and you were achieving and achieving and nothing made you happy.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21What was the thing that made you go, "Stop, I want to be different?"
0:07:21 > 0:07:25I want to, you know, like, serve people, serve people.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27Make everybody happy.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29I mean, I'm normally a happy person.
0:07:29 > 0:07:30But I'm very happy to be with you.
0:07:30 > 0:07:36Because it's nice to meet people who have overridden
0:07:36 > 0:07:40the over-thoughtful, over-analytical mind and can find peace.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44And if you can't find peace in this, then you're in a real mess.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48- God bless you.- God bless you. And God brings you some gloves,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51- because these hands are chilly. - I have got them, I have got them.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54- I have got gloves. - Thank you so much, darling.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Thank you.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58Now we're on our travels.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11Fred, you never mentioned this bit.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13SHE SIGHS
0:08:17 > 0:08:20In the high mountains, the air becomes thin.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24Breathing becomes difficult, and the oxygen levels in my blood crash.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28These are the early signs of altitude sickness.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31SHE COUGHS
0:08:31 > 0:08:32I might be sick.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35SHE COUGHS REPEATEDLY
0:08:40 > 0:08:42This is not how I planned it.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45You know, it was going to be a glorious, triumphant hike.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47And I would...
0:08:47 > 0:08:49CLEARS THROAT ..meet Mother Ganga,
0:08:49 > 0:08:51and I would have this amazing communion.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Instead, I'm retching over a hillock.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59And I am not going to stop.
0:08:59 > 0:09:00I'm going to carry on.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02Mind over matter.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07I shall walk, I shall hurl, I shall walk then hurl,
0:09:07 > 0:09:09and I shall wash my face in the waters of the Ganges.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12Although, I think, let's keep them pure, actually.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16I'll wash my face in some bottled water and leave the Ganges be.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23In the thinning air, every step leaves me breathless and drained.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29But, thank the Lord, four hours later,
0:09:29 > 0:09:31Deepak delivers me safely to base camp.
0:09:32 > 0:09:37Our own boutique spa retreat, 5km from the source of the Ganges.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41So this is our very own Taj Mahal.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43Let me take you through the palace.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45- Namaste!- Namaste.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48Oh, there's wonderful Deepak there.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51So this is my vanity unit.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54This is why my make-up is so flawless.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58And my hair, like I've just stepped out of a salon.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00Some water,
0:10:00 > 0:10:02which is great.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06If you touch it, it literally freezes your hands off.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08Out there somewhere,
0:10:08 > 0:10:11in that building that looks like it's part of the Saw film franchise,
0:10:11 > 0:10:13is a toilet.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17This is my favourite room.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22Hey, Namaste!
0:10:22 > 0:10:25- Namaste.- Namaste.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28# There were three Sherpas in the bed, and the little one said... #
0:10:28 > 0:10:30Four Sherpas!
0:10:34 > 0:10:37It's only when I sit down that I realise how utterly exhausted I am.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44The thing is, pilgrimages aren't supposed to be easy,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47because everyone would do them and they would be meaningless.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50You know, pilgrimages are not supposed to be a little skip in green fields
0:10:50 > 0:10:53with a parasol and sitting down for some cucumber sandwiches and would
0:10:53 > 0:10:56you mind passing the sun-dried tomato focaccia?
0:10:56 > 0:11:00They're supposed to be hard and they're supposed to ask something of yourself and
0:11:00 > 0:11:02take you to a different place.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04And that's certainly done that.
0:11:04 > 0:11:10I mean, for me, the more sort of physically depleted you become,
0:11:10 > 0:11:13weirdly, the calmer you are inside. The more exhausted you are,
0:11:13 > 0:11:16you can't fight the simplicity of the experience.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19And you don't have what I call chattering chimps, you know,
0:11:19 > 0:11:22the sort of endless psychobabble in your head.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26You just have a serenity as your body just tries desperately to deal
0:11:26 > 0:11:28with, you know, being sick or having a headache
0:11:28 > 0:11:31or being very high or far away.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33And being very cold.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35So, I had...
0:11:35 > 0:11:39After a while, I just heard a voice in my head which said, "Take it steady."
0:11:39 > 0:11:42I think I know who that voice belonged to,
0:11:42 > 0:11:45but that's for another time, and it was just...
0:11:46 > 0:11:48It kept me going
0:11:48 > 0:11:52and I made it, and I'm just dead chuffed now.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08It's a very strange sensation, altitude.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12So, I feel sick, I have a headache, but you're a hero
0:12:12 > 0:12:14- and you're going to get me there. - We'll go slowly, slowly.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17Yeah, we'll take it easy. It's a beautiful day.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20- Yeah.- It's a beautiful day to find purification.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24It's just a short walk to the source from here.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30It sounds easy, but I'm now over 4,000 metres above sea level.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34That's nearly the height of Mont Blanc.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37Every breath and every step is a massive effort.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59- We'll see the glacier.- The glacier? - Yeah, glacier.- That's it?
0:12:59 > 0:13:02- Yeah, that's it. - Is that where the source is?
0:13:02 > 0:13:04- The source is.- So we can see it. - Yeah.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16As we get to the source, we can see this beautiful Shiva temple.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18This is my first Baba.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22And first thoughts are, if we were playing beard cricket,
0:13:22 > 0:13:24that's a six and out.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29I think a bit of hats off might be more deferential too.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32Beneath the glacier, a Baba, or holy man,
0:13:32 > 0:13:37has built a small temple where he offers blessings to pilgrims like me.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39Pranam, Baba. Pranam. Pranam.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41God bless you.
0:13:42 > 0:13:43Sit down.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45- Here?- Yeah.- Thank you.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47Oh, there.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15- Are you a good man? - Not full good.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18- You're not full good?- No. - I think you're pretty 99% good.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24- God blessing them full. - I think you are very high.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26I think I'm here and then Baba's here.
0:14:26 > 0:14:27And then God's...
0:14:36 > 0:14:39Baba's commitment to his faith in this wild place
0:14:39 > 0:14:41is truly astonishing.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45He tells me that he spends 13 hours a day in silent prayer
0:14:45 > 0:14:49communing with the Goddess and the mountains around him.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52Mother Ganga...
0:14:52 > 0:14:55What, you think the bird is now Mother Ganga?
0:14:55 > 0:14:57- Reincarnation?- Yeah.- Why not?
0:14:57 > 0:15:00Do you know what? I looked at this bird and saw something different.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04But, yes, I agree with you. Blackbirds are special to me.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18I'm not a religious person, but I can't deny the spiritual impact of
0:15:18 > 0:15:20this magnificent landscape.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24And the simple act of just walking here has had a profound effect on me.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32When I hit the wall and I was really feeling altitude sickness,
0:15:32 > 0:15:36I just had this phrase in my head which was,
0:15:36 > 0:15:40"Take it steady," which is not very unique phrase.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44But it was something my dad always used to say.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47He'd always say, "Take it easy," or "Take it steady."
0:15:47 > 0:15:51"Take it steady," when he took my stabilisers off my bike,
0:15:51 > 0:15:54or "Take it steady, old girl,"
0:15:54 > 0:15:57when I was leaving him and driving back home.
0:15:57 > 0:15:58And, erm...
0:16:00 > 0:16:03..my dad died about six months ago and I found it so hard to even...
0:16:05 > 0:16:07..say that out loud.
0:16:07 > 0:16:12And because I live in London and it's always so fast-moving,
0:16:12 > 0:16:16it's provided the perfect excuse to just suppress everything and bury it
0:16:16 > 0:16:22so deeply down so that I don't have to feel that surge of pain, and to
0:16:22 > 0:16:27re-identify with the fact that he's not here.
0:16:27 > 0:16:32And what this trip has done that has been so profound for me is to...
0:16:35 > 0:16:38..let me be sad, you know, just to
0:16:38 > 0:16:42give me the space and the breathing room
0:16:42 > 0:16:46and the time to be truly, truly sad.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49Because, I tell you, you don't know my dad but...
0:16:49 > 0:16:52..he's really worth grieving over
0:16:52 > 0:16:55and I'm really glad I've started that.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13I'm now going to start my journey south, following the Ganges as she
0:17:13 > 0:17:16tumbles over 1,500 miles downstream,
0:17:16 > 0:17:19gathering speed across the Gangetic Plain
0:17:19 > 0:17:23through the oldest living city in the world, Varanasi,
0:17:23 > 0:17:26towards charming and chaotic Calcutta.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29And on to the vast delta on the Bay of Bengal
0:17:29 > 0:17:31where she finally meets the sea.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40I'm back in Gangotri, about 20km downstream.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Winter is coming and today is an important day in the calendar.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Very good. I'm scared of him.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56You're powerful, you are handsome, you are a magnet.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59- Everybody loves you.- Thank you. - You've got it.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05Pilgrims from all over India are in town waiting to see the effigy of
0:18:05 > 0:18:09the Goddess Ganga as she leaves her summer temple
0:18:09 > 0:18:11and heads down the mountain.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15For many, it'll be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
0:18:15 > 0:18:18to get up close to this very important Goddess.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21So I have come 5,000km, maybe.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23Yeah, yeah. To see Ganga.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26- It's like heaven.- Exactly.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29- What does it look like to you? - Very good.- Very.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31- Same like you.- Very good.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36It's a slightly curious festival, this, lots of fits and starts.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39So, you know, there will be a lot of activity and shouting,
0:18:39 > 0:18:42a guy will go in with a sprig of something, everyone will go nuts.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46Then it's tea break, then the pipes will start and everyone will reconvene.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48A moment of frenzy.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50Drenched with a couple of litres.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52Off again for some quiet time.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55At the moment, chanting.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58And at 12.38 exactly, Ganga will appear.
0:18:58 > 0:18:59A stickler for time.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03Apparently, 12.38 is the perfect time astrologically for her to make
0:19:03 > 0:19:05her descent down the valley.
0:19:07 > 0:19:1050 years ago, before roads were built,
0:19:10 > 0:19:15only the most devout pilgrims would make the arduous journey here.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17But then India's economy went into overdrive,
0:19:17 > 0:19:21so more and more people could afford to make the long pilgrimage.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24Now, up to 30 million people a year visit the region.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30A whole industry has grown up to cater for this new flood of pilgrims
0:19:30 > 0:19:33and trekkers, with blessings to Ma Ganga, souvenir stores,
0:19:33 > 0:19:37and an endless supply of priests for hire.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39It's quite hard to follow the beat of that drum, isn't it?
0:19:39 > 0:19:40It's quite irregular. Yeah.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44Da-dum. You think you know where you are and then it's all...
0:19:48 > 0:19:50She's coming.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52- Ganga.- Ganga.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54She's coming.
0:19:57 > 0:20:02Bang on 12.38, Ganga makes her appearance to her adoring fans.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05And a sea of mobile phones.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08Oh, the bagpipes are a lovely touch.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10Love the Scots. Get everywhere.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18- My name is Sue.- Sue.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20What is your name?
0:20:20 > 0:20:23- My name is Ragini.- Lagini?
0:20:23 > 0:20:25- Ragini.- Ragini.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28- What do you feel when you see Ganga? - I feel good.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30And do you feel that God is around?
0:20:30 > 0:20:32- Yes.- In the sky?
0:20:32 > 0:20:33- Yes.- In the trees?
0:20:33 > 0:20:35- Yes.- And the brilliant sunshine?
0:20:35 > 0:20:38- Yes.- God is everywhere.- Yes.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47The Goddess will wind her way down the valley over the next two days,
0:20:47 > 0:20:50along new roads and ancient paths,
0:20:50 > 0:20:54collecting villagers and spirits like a Himalayan Pied Piper.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06But this influx of visitors and their cash to such a remote and
0:21:06 > 0:21:09fragile environment is changing life in the high mountains.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14And there's a holy man in town who's seen it all.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18Today, I'm going to meet the Clicking Baba.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20I've got no idea why he's called the Clicking Baba.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24Maybe he has legendarily dry joints, or speaks fluent dolphin.
0:21:24 > 0:21:25SHE CLICKS
0:21:25 > 0:21:26I guess I'll find out.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31- Namaste.- Namaskar.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33- May I come in?- Yes, yes, come.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36- Thank you so much. Thank you. - Please.- May I sit?- Yes.
0:21:36 > 0:21:37After you.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43So, how long have you been living here for?
0:21:43 > 0:21:471948. Many years. Yes.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50And what first drew you to this spot?
0:21:54 > 0:21:57I can see, by the way, why you're called the Clicking Swami,
0:21:57 > 0:21:59because around there are photos, millions of photos.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02These yoga poses are extremely impressive.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04That is definitely the struggling colon.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07And I don't even know how you get your feet to do this.
0:22:07 > 0:22:08You know, practice.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10I practise every day.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12Eight-hour sitting.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15But it's very intimidating, being in the shadow of that.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19I will never ever be able to do that.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22The most profound pictures that you take are not of you doing
0:22:22 > 0:22:25these incredible yoga poses, but they are of the environment.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27So you have charted the way that the environment has changed
0:22:27 > 0:22:29since you've been here.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39- Can I see?- Yes, see.- Ah!
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Family slide show time.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Swami Sundaranand is now 90 years old.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52His life's work has been to photograph the effects of
0:22:52 > 0:22:55climate change on his beloved mountains and river.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57Oh, you've got them all down here.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59Oh, brilliant, there's a full list.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02Of all the mountains, how high they are...
0:23:04 > 0:23:06Oh! You've written here, "Oh, sky, I love you."
0:23:08 > 0:23:11I love that. That makes me love you even more.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13"Oh, sky, I love you."
0:23:13 > 0:23:16His archive records the dramatic retreat of the glacier,
0:23:16 > 0:23:19and a world changed beyond recognition.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24If this is Gomukh, then the glacier I'm seeing in this picture
0:23:24 > 0:23:28in the 1950s doesn't resemble what I saw a couple of days ago at all.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32So the retreat is very, very marked indeed.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34Swami, how far do you think the glacier has retreated
0:23:34 > 0:23:36in the last 50 years?
0:23:38 > 0:23:40You think it's retreated three and a half kilometres?
0:23:40 > 0:23:42- Yeah.- In 50 years?- 50 years.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48This is like a sort of very, very beautifully told horror story,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51isn't it? I mean, 3km seems a huge amount.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54- Three and a half kilometres. - Three and a half, sorry.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56You're a real stickler, and I respect that.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01The flood of new pilgrims has brought new problems.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Trees cut down to make room for new buildings and guesthouses,
0:24:04 > 0:24:08along with raw sewage pouring into the river.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12When you came in the 1940s, what was this place, what was Gangotri like?
0:24:26 > 0:24:29- No, not finished.- Finished. - You think finished?
0:24:39 > 0:24:42That makes me really sad.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44Altitude always makes me cry.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46But I...
0:24:46 > 0:24:49I have to believe it's possible to change things.
0:24:49 > 0:24:50Otherwise, you'd lose your mind.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54Swamiji, dhanyabad.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56Thank you. Dhanyabad.
0:24:56 > 0:25:01For your time and for your passion and your wisdom. Thank you.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08I loved meeting Swami. He's just a lovely, gentle,
0:25:08 > 0:25:14passionate man who doesn't try and use religion as a way of
0:25:14 > 0:25:16obfuscating the issue.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18You know? And who's so immersed in this landscape.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21And I don't think I've ever been anywhere in my life where the notion
0:25:21 > 0:25:25of landscape and spirituality are more interconnected.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28And it just seems, to me, as a passer-by, really,
0:25:28 > 0:25:30that if you degrade one element of that,
0:25:30 > 0:25:32then the whole is going to suffer.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34So, I...
0:25:34 > 0:25:37I can't understand why,
0:25:37 > 0:25:41if you believe that this space right next to where I'm standing
0:25:41 > 0:25:44was the space where Ganga came down
0:25:44 > 0:25:47and flowed through Lord Shiva's dreadlocks,
0:25:47 > 0:25:52why you would want to put an open sewage pipe in it.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54That, I will never understand.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06Oh, good. Another climb.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13No wonder so few people live here.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15They can't make it up the hill.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19This morning, I'm in Mukhba, 20km downriver,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22where the Goddess Ganga will see out the cold of winter.
0:26:24 > 0:26:25That's Ganga's new home.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27So she's going to come down from the mountains and that's where
0:26:27 > 0:26:31she'll stay until the spring, when then she'll then process back up
0:26:31 > 0:26:36again to Gangotri and she'll stay and enjoy the summer climes there.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38Namaste.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41How are you, sir? When is Ganga coming?
0:26:41 > 0:26:48- When will Ganga arrive?- Ganga is reaching here at exactly 3.30pm.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50- Exactly 3.30?- Exactly 3.30.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52Or, say to quarter to four.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55- Quarter to four. - Exactly 3.30, quarter to four.
0:26:55 > 0:26:56- Quarter to four.- Yep.- Four?
0:26:56 > 0:26:59- You are from which part of Britain? - London.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03The climatic condition of England and Mukhba is the same.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06The climatic conditions of this village and England?
0:27:06 > 0:27:09- And London.- I bring news - we have no sun in London.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13- You have not seen the sun in London? - I think once or twice.
0:27:13 > 0:27:14- Once or twice?- Maybe.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17So that's why you are telling, "Good morning, sir."
0:27:17 > 0:27:18I know, because it's so beautiful.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Good morning, good morning, good morning.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23This is such a beautiful village.
0:27:25 > 0:27:26Namaste.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35Mukhba feels like it belongs to an older world.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42200 years ago, the British arrived in these forested hills,
0:27:42 > 0:27:45chopped down the trees to make sleepers for India's railways,
0:27:45 > 0:27:47and introduced the nomads to farming.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55Now, village life is changing again, as more and more pilgrims
0:27:55 > 0:27:58make the long journey up the valley.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02Namaste, namaste.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06For Chumli, one of Mukhba's elders, the changes are welcome.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11And what is it you love about it?
0:28:13 > 0:28:15So, do you have a lot of Westerners come to the village?
0:28:18 > 0:28:20Oh, mine's gone very weird.
0:28:21 > 0:28:22Really weird!
0:28:35 > 0:28:37This is for you. The chapati superhero.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44So, do you want to see the village develop?
0:28:44 > 0:28:47Do you want to see more buildings and roads? Is that what you'd like?
0:29:01 > 0:29:03- Good.- Good.- Really good.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07The best chapati maker in the Himalayas.
0:29:09 > 0:29:11Delicious.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14Tourism is now the main source of income here.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19With most of the village men working away, I'm joining Chumli and her
0:29:19 > 0:29:23merry band of women as they prepare for the arrival of the Goddess.
0:29:26 > 0:29:28The women are also very keen to dress me.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33I'm not sure the sari goes with a boiled woollen jumper.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35Whatever makes the Goddess happy...
0:29:35 > 0:29:38What you've done there is a classic East-West fusion.
0:29:38 > 0:29:42You're the Trinny and Susannah of the Himalayas.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
0:29:44 > 0:29:47She's got a very firm... Very firm touch, hasn't she?
0:29:49 > 0:29:50Yes, I'm getting married?
0:29:50 > 0:29:53I'd like to see the man who takes this on. I really would.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58That's bone, that's bone.
0:29:58 > 0:29:59Oh!
0:30:00 > 0:30:03I came here with love.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06Thankfully, the priests have now arrived, so I have a perfect excuse
0:30:06 > 0:30:09to end this agonising makeover.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11I can hear them, I can hear them.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22You like? Good?
0:30:22 > 0:30:26- I've had a rebrand. - Yes.- It's good? You prefer?
0:30:26 > 0:30:28Yes, beautiful.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30Thank you. You rogue.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32Lovely. The answer's still no, you rogue.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37Hundreds of local villagers have flocked here to welcome the Goddess.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57THEY SING IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:31:18 > 0:31:20This scene feels utterly timeless,
0:31:20 > 0:31:23with its epic stories from the dawn of Hinduism.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28But modernity is sweeping up this valley on a tide of tarmac
0:31:28 > 0:31:30and mobile phones.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34Everyone wants to come to this region,
0:31:34 > 0:31:36pay their respects to the living Goddess,
0:31:36 > 0:31:38and wash away a lifetime of sins.
0:31:41 > 0:31:45But in doing so, they are causing genuine harm to the environment,
0:31:45 > 0:31:48and destroying the very Goddess they're here to honour.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55I can only hope that places like this will survive and prosper
0:31:55 > 0:31:57as change rushes in.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12At Gomukh, the source of the Ganges, kilometre zero, if you will,
0:32:12 > 0:32:15sort of felt...
0:32:15 > 0:32:17..purely at one with the elements.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21I connected directly with the sky and the mountains and the water,
0:32:21 > 0:32:24and yet just 20km from there,
0:32:24 > 0:32:29I've been immersed in this world of colour and a riot of sound
0:32:29 > 0:32:32and pageantry and madness,
0:32:32 > 0:32:36and if we've got so far in just 20km, it makes me think,
0:32:36 > 0:32:39"What on earth is waiting for me downstream?"
0:32:41 > 0:32:44HORNS HONK
0:32:47 > 0:32:50After you. After you, sir.
0:32:50 > 0:32:52Been here for two and a half hours.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55Politeness has no place on this bridge. No place.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57After the peace of the mountains,
0:32:57 > 0:33:00Rishikesh comes as something of a shock.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02It's a far cry from Gomukh.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04Gomukh, you could touch the hand of God. Here...
0:33:04 > 0:33:08Well, I can touch an awful lot of strangers, a cow, some monkeys,
0:33:08 > 0:33:10some Ghandi pants, and a Lord Shiva onesie.
0:33:10 > 0:33:12After you. After you.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22What are you doing? You're a cow on a bridge!
0:33:24 > 0:33:27We need a system. I think it should be cows first, then bikes,
0:33:27 > 0:33:28then monkeys, then humans.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33Rishikesh lies in an auspicious place,
0:33:33 > 0:33:36where the Ganges flows through forested hills.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40It's just 160 miles downriver from Gangotri,
0:33:40 > 0:33:42but it feels like a world away.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48They're wonderful, aren't they? I mean, they are wonderful.
0:33:48 > 0:33:49I come back. I come back.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55Now it's an all-you-can-eat buffet of Eastern mysticism,
0:33:55 > 0:33:57a smorgasbord of spirituality,
0:33:57 > 0:34:01a one-stop shop on the backpacker trail of enlightenment.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06I feel as if I'm leaving a higher place
0:34:06 > 0:34:08and crossing back into the material world.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12What is your top-selling God?
0:34:12 > 0:34:15- Top-selling God? - Yeah, Shiva?- Shiva.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17Shiva. Ganesh a bit?
0:34:17 > 0:34:19Ganesh also. Ganesh also.
0:34:19 > 0:34:20Let's have a look.
0:34:20 > 0:34:24Lord Shiva. That's what I'm looking for, perfect.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27- Do you have any...big pants? Big...- Big pants, for you?
0:34:27 > 0:34:29- Big pants, massive pants. - Like this...
0:34:29 > 0:34:31Ooh, yeah, this is sort of...
0:34:31 > 0:34:33What do you think?
0:34:33 > 0:34:35Sort of Hillary Clinton at the weekend, isn't it, this?
0:34:35 > 0:34:38I think these ones. Can I try on? It's OK?
0:34:38 > 0:34:42The important thing about going to a new area is that you blend in.
0:34:42 > 0:34:44You know, you have to...
0:34:44 > 0:34:48..merge with the crowd, not create any kind of ruckus visually,
0:34:48 > 0:34:50so...I think that does it.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52The trousers, I don't know about the colour,
0:34:52 > 0:34:54but the Shiva T-shirt for me is an absolute...
0:34:54 > 0:34:56Oh, hello. He's gone for it.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58Yeah. I think you could be right. You've got an eye, sir,
0:34:58 > 0:35:00is what I'm saying. You've got an eye.
0:35:04 > 0:35:06There's an entire family in here just sitting watching me.
0:35:06 > 0:35:07You all right?
0:35:08 > 0:35:11Yep, they're coming down again, I'm afraid. Just, er... I'd avert your eyes.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16I'm heading across the river to a sacred place,
0:35:16 > 0:35:20a site of holy pilgrimage where, many years ago,
0:35:20 > 0:35:24four gods descended from heaven and real magic happened.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29What drew Westerners to Eastern spirituality in the late '60s wasn't
0:35:29 > 0:35:33devotion to Lord Shiva or Ganesh,
0:35:33 > 0:35:36it was devotion to four working-class lads from Liverpool.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38It was all less Ganga and more goo-goo-ga-joo.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45This was once the Mahesh Maharishi Yogi Ashram,
0:35:45 > 0:35:49where The Beatles came in search of divine inspiration.
0:35:50 > 0:35:52Namaste. Namaste.
0:35:52 > 0:35:53I'm Sue. Nice to meet you.
0:35:53 > 0:35:57My guide is Raju, local journalist and fellow Beatle nut.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02This is the place where The Beatles came in 1968,
0:36:02 > 0:36:05and this is the place where they learned about meditation.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11The Fab Four first crossed paths with Maharishi in London.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17He was already a guru to stars like The Beach Boys, and promised bliss
0:36:17 > 0:36:20and enlightenment through transcendental meditation.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22So how many songs did they write here?
0:36:22 > 0:36:24- 48 songs.- 48 songs.- Yeah.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27- It's a hit machine, this bungalow. - Yeah, yeah.
0:36:27 > 0:36:28And it all originated from here.
0:36:30 > 0:36:32Oh, it's great.
0:36:32 > 0:36:34So there they are. There's the Fab Four.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37What I love about this place is that there's the sort of layers of
0:36:37 > 0:36:42devotion, so some people come here to venerate Shiva, Ganga,
0:36:42 > 0:36:45and then there are people who come to venerate
0:36:45 > 0:36:48the greatest pop icons of all time.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52There's a real sense of sort of Guru, you know,
0:36:52 > 0:36:54kind of Guru eyes bearing down on you.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58For a brief time in the late '60s,
0:36:58 > 0:37:02this must have been the coolest place on the planet.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07As well as The Beatles, Mike Love from The Beach Boys was here,
0:37:07 > 0:37:09Donovan and Mia Farrow, too.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11Imagine.
0:37:13 > 0:37:17Ringo left after just ten days, in search of proper food.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20What he did, he came here with baked beans.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23- He brought his own baked bean stash? - Yeah, yeah...
0:37:23 > 0:37:26All of The Beatles members who came here,
0:37:26 > 0:37:29they were very annoyed with monkeys and mosquitoes.
0:37:29 > 0:37:30I don't know much about Ringo,
0:37:30 > 0:37:34but I do know that he can't abide a monkey taking his baked beans.
0:37:34 > 0:37:39The rest of the band followed soon after and finally the Yogi himself,
0:37:39 > 0:37:41amid claims of sexual impropriety.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46But The Beatles and the Maharishi turned the West onto Indian
0:37:46 > 0:37:50spirituality and put Rishikesh firmly on the world map.
0:37:52 > 0:37:54There's an incredible energy and presence about this place
0:37:54 > 0:37:59which is as much to do with the wonderful natural environment as anything else.
0:37:59 > 0:38:01You can hear the Ganges, you can smell the flowers,
0:38:01 > 0:38:04there's butterflies everywhere.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08But there's also a sense of it being, you know, a spiritual home to many.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12Although, running alongside that, you do get a sort of sense
0:38:12 > 0:38:15of the beginnings of the branding of Hinduism.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17The Maharishi came to London, he sought out The Beatles,
0:38:17 > 0:38:20he made that connection and brought them back to Rishikesh.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23Why? Because he wanted celebrity endorsement.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25Maybe that's what all major religions need.
0:38:28 > 0:38:3050 years after The Beatles passed through,
0:38:30 > 0:38:34Rishikesh is THE place for people in search of...
0:38:34 > 0:38:36..something.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39There are dozens of ashrams now.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43They're a sort of health spa for the soul, places where you can meditate,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46receive spiritual guidance, and detox from the modern world.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52Oh! You are the cutest little sausage ever!
0:38:56 > 0:39:01More and more Westerners are being drawn to these quiet places and Eastern religions.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05So I've booked a short stay at one of the ashrams to try and understand why.
0:39:08 > 0:39:13Every night, down by the river, hundreds of people gather for Ganga Aarti,
0:39:13 > 0:39:16to give thanks and worship to the Goddess Ganga.
0:39:16 > 0:39:17These are great seats.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21SINGING AND MUSIC
0:39:21 > 0:39:24How many of these do you see a week?
0:39:24 > 0:39:25I come every night.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28- And always different? - Every night, it's different.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30- Always moving.- Like a theatre show.
0:39:30 > 0:39:32Every night, it's a new show.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34And when you hear Pujya Swamiji singing...
0:39:34 > 0:39:37- Really?- ..you can't get enough, can't get enough of that.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45Swamiji is the guru at the ashram.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52I'm told that he will sing 108 verses.
0:39:52 > 0:39:56HE SINGS
0:39:56 > 0:39:58Could be a long night.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00But, on the plus side, I've been promised a buffet the end of it.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06Let's get a bit of that dahl going on.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09This is Elise, originally from the UK
0:40:09 > 0:40:12and now a full-time administrator at the ashram.
0:40:12 > 0:40:13She's invited me for supper.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18What's your story? How come you came here? What drew you to this place?
0:40:18 > 0:40:21- So I had my full-time job. - What was your full-time job?
0:40:21 > 0:40:23It was very corporate. I worked, er, for...
0:40:23 > 0:40:26- You were in a corporate world? - I was in the corporate world.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29- Can you imagine this now?- Asset management and venture capital.
0:40:29 > 0:40:30You were in asset management?
0:40:30 > 0:40:33Yes. You know, I was dealing with a lot of staff.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36I felt I had the capacity to be more caring, but not necessarily...
0:40:36 > 0:40:37In a different environment.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39I mean, assets - grabbing, getting, getting...
0:40:39 > 0:40:41- This is what I struggled with. - And now you're giving, giving.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43This is where I struggled.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46You know, I turned around to my colleagues and I'd say to them,
0:40:46 > 0:40:49"You know, we're sort of making rich people richer."
0:40:49 > 0:40:53And so when you come here, although obviously there's the Hindu practices,
0:40:53 > 0:40:58it's about bringing everyone together and the answer to everything does tend to be, like,
0:40:58 > 0:41:02love and looking inwards at yourself.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04Will you ever go back, do you think?
0:41:04 > 0:41:05Depends if my mum's watching this.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11So if your mum wasn't watching this, you're not coming back. Is that right?
0:41:11 > 0:41:14I don't know. I visit home. I visit home.
0:41:15 > 0:41:16Does she come to visit you?
0:41:16 > 0:41:19No. I'd love my parents to come and visit one day.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22Do they get it yet, or not? Are they a bit bamboozled by you?
0:41:22 > 0:41:23At first, they were worried.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26You know, what am I doing, and like you say, what am I giving up?
0:41:26 > 0:41:31It's not like I'm bumming around and I've got my backpack, you know.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35I'm here trying to make a difference and I'm a small cog in a big wheel,
0:41:35 > 0:41:36but I'm playing some part.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39Let me tell you, you're...you're...
0:41:39 > 0:41:44in comparison to asset management, you are a massive cog.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46Congratulations on being now a massive cog.
0:41:46 > 0:41:48Putting the likes of me to shame.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57Relax.
0:41:58 > 0:41:59Relax your knees.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04The ashram is a place of quiet devotion.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06The aim is moksha,
0:42:06 > 0:42:10a release from the endless cycle of death and rebirth.
0:42:10 > 0:42:12Raise your arms up forward.
0:42:17 > 0:42:18Breathe in.
0:42:20 > 0:42:21And out.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23Oh, that's how you do the downward dog.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28Relax. Good.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31Unfortunately, yoga, meditation,
0:42:31 > 0:42:35and veggie curry will not get you to heaven on their own.
0:42:35 > 0:42:37You're expected to do some work.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47For every Hindu, it's their duty to do seva, or service,
0:42:47 > 0:42:50to help the smooth running of the community and the country.
0:42:52 > 0:42:56This morning, we are litter-picking on an epic scale.
0:42:56 > 0:42:58So far, we've just been picking up a few fag butts,
0:42:58 > 0:43:01and you turn a corner and you can see what
0:43:01 > 0:43:05an ineffective waste management system does.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08This is right by a stream that feeds into Ganga, into the Ganges.
0:43:10 > 0:43:12That's pretty shocking, actually.
0:43:16 > 0:43:17Ah, thank you. Great.
0:43:17 > 0:43:21Cheers. So much nicer to rake through shit than sweep it.
0:43:21 > 0:43:23Got a pair of jeans in here.
0:43:23 > 0:43:26- Have you?- Yeah.- There's a couple of saris I had earlier on.
0:43:26 > 0:43:30Got some glitter, some foam, some sort of belt.
0:43:30 > 0:43:34Coffee cup. Tobacco pouch, condom.
0:43:35 > 0:43:37That's actually a human beard.
0:43:38 > 0:43:39That's somebody's beard.
0:43:41 > 0:43:45Anything people don't want, they bring up here and dump.
0:43:46 > 0:43:48And because it's not happening on the banks of the Ganges,
0:43:48 > 0:43:50people think they are maintaining their respect,
0:43:50 > 0:43:54but of course all this waste simply trickles down eventually and meets
0:43:54 > 0:43:56the very waters that they're taking their bath.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59I suppose it's a bit of an own goal, isn't it, really?
0:43:59 > 0:44:01They think they're dumping it away from the Ganges,
0:44:01 > 0:44:03but it comes back to roost.
0:44:05 > 0:44:09Swamiji's here. Oh, I'm slightly... I'm slightly overwhelmed.
0:44:10 > 0:44:13Swamiji is a truly impressive man.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15Called by God at age eight,
0:44:15 > 0:44:18he meditated in the mountains for nine long years
0:44:18 > 0:44:22before gaining a Masters degree in Sanskrit and philosophy.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25He's now a scholar, religious leader,
0:44:25 > 0:44:29and environmental campaigner to clean up the Ganges.
0:44:29 > 0:44:34To me, it is a green crime against humanity that our air is not clean,
0:44:34 > 0:44:36water is not clean, rivers are not clean.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39What we are going to leave for our coming generation?
0:44:39 > 0:44:43What I love about the ashram is this work.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45It's not just a life of the mind.
0:44:45 > 0:44:50Now we have gone to the courthouse, so very soon the order will be there
0:44:50 > 0:44:54that no-one will be allowed to do this any more.
0:44:54 > 0:44:56So you're changing the law as well as...?
0:44:56 > 0:45:00We are trying. No-one has a right to pollute any piece of the river.
0:45:01 > 0:45:04- The theme is togetherness.- Always. - Give me the hand.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06- Promise.- Done.- Done.- It will happen. - Done!
0:45:09 > 0:45:11What an amazing man.
0:45:11 > 0:45:15All the way up towards Gomukh, you meet babas who don't have much
0:45:15 > 0:45:17interface with the community,
0:45:17 > 0:45:21who prefer to retreat and commune directly with God.
0:45:21 > 0:45:25How much more powerful, though, when you can put that to work in a community.
0:45:25 > 0:45:30You can clear land together, whilst pressurising the government to do something from the top down.
0:45:34 > 0:45:35Right...
0:45:38 > 0:45:41I have to say, I'm leaving the ashram just a little bit ashamed of myself
0:45:41 > 0:45:44because in retrospect I've been guilty of spiritual snobbery.
0:45:44 > 0:45:48I arrived in Rishikesh and immediately dismissed everybody who went out and,
0:45:48 > 0:45:51you know, bought a Lord Shiva T-shirt, and yet that night,
0:45:51 > 0:45:53I looked down and saw this raggedy old thing which was given to me
0:45:53 > 0:45:58three years ago in Laos and is supposed to unite my 30-something souls.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01These are just signifiers. All these things we wear.
0:46:01 > 0:46:02All they're saying is...
0:46:02 > 0:46:05"I've got an open heart, I've got a questing mind.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07"I'm human. I want to connect.
0:46:07 > 0:46:10"I want to understand. I want to love."
0:46:10 > 0:46:11So, shame on me.
0:46:12 > 0:46:14That's what I've learnt.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25I'm heading downriver to the holy city of Haridwar,
0:46:25 > 0:46:29where the Ganges leaves the mountains and flows into the plains.
0:46:31 > 0:46:36Everywhere you look, one bearded face smiles back at you.
0:46:36 > 0:46:40Baba Ramdev - one of India's most famous figures.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44He's a yogi/holy man turned business guru,
0:46:44 > 0:46:49who now runs one of India's fastest-growing consumer goods companies.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51No wonder he's smiling.
0:46:51 > 0:46:53Well, this is a very big day for a girl from Croydon
0:46:53 > 0:46:56because today I'm going to meet my first ever tycoon -
0:46:56 > 0:46:58a holy man who's made multiple millions
0:46:58 > 0:47:01by packaging Hinduism for the masses.
0:47:01 > 0:47:03Think Donald Trump, but with morals.
0:47:04 > 0:47:06There's a lot of entourage going on here.
0:47:07 > 0:47:09And sub-automatic machinery.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13Pranam, Swami.
0:47:13 > 0:47:15- I'm really good. Nice to see you, nice to see you. - Thank you, thank you.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18So this is it - the beginnings of the empire.
0:47:18 > 0:47:21So, will you take me on a tour?
0:47:21 > 0:47:23- Yes, yes.- Can I see?- Yes, yes.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25We'll tour the compound on an armed golf buggy,
0:47:25 > 0:47:29accompanied by his PR team filming us filming them.
0:47:29 > 0:47:31Oh, we're travelling in style.
0:47:31 > 0:47:33Life doesn't get any better.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36I'm slightly scared by this guy with a gun here.
0:47:36 > 0:47:38Does he follow you around, the guy with a gun, all the time?
0:47:38 > 0:47:40Is there a lot of warfare in natural products?
0:47:40 > 0:47:42HE LAUGHS
0:47:46 > 0:47:50Baba Ramdev founded Patanjali with his business partner,
0:47:50 > 0:47:54selling traditional Indian versions of over 1,000 common household items,
0:47:54 > 0:47:57all made using Ayurvedic techniques,
0:47:57 > 0:48:00a traditional holistic form of Hindu medicine.
0:48:05 > 0:48:06So, no additives?
0:48:12 > 0:48:14So no big American multinational influence?
0:48:14 > 0:48:16HE LAUGHS
0:48:16 > 0:48:18SUE LAUGHS
0:48:18 > 0:48:19That was a great laugh.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22It was both benign and terrifying at the same time.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31We start in the herb and spice warehouse.
0:48:31 > 0:48:33Oh... Ooh!
0:48:33 > 0:48:35It's like an edible Ikea.
0:48:35 > 0:48:39You are feeling the different type of smells?
0:48:39 > 0:48:42Beautiful, yeah. So perfumed, spicy.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45But these are all natural products.
0:48:45 > 0:48:48You are looking here, 20...
0:48:48 > 0:48:5520,000kg weight of hops are here.
0:48:55 > 0:48:56This is javitri.
0:48:56 > 0:48:59Javitri. What would you use this for?
0:48:59 > 0:49:01This is good for lung.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04Good for lungs. Again, you can eat straight?
0:49:04 > 0:49:07No, no. But you can eat. No problem.
0:49:07 > 0:49:09HE LAUGHS
0:49:09 > 0:49:12I love the way you said, "No, no," after I'd put it in my mouth.
0:49:12 > 0:49:13- So you can't...?- It is very hot.
0:49:13 > 0:49:17The heart's going like a shrew! It's literally dr-r-r-r-r-r!
0:49:17 > 0:49:20HE LAUGHS
0:49:21 > 0:49:22You're a torturer.
0:49:22 > 0:49:24HE LAUGHS
0:49:26 > 0:49:28I don't think I'm ever going to have any lung problems again.
0:49:28 > 0:49:32Hoh! Hoh-oh-oh-oh!
0:49:32 > 0:49:36- This is good for lady. - Good for ladies. OK.
0:49:36 > 0:49:38For menstruation problem.
0:49:38 > 0:49:41- So is it curing your menstruation problems now?- Yes, yes, yes.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45- You can eat. - What are your teeth made of?
0:49:45 > 0:49:47They're incredibly strong, your teeth.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50I'm eating Dant Kanti, our herbal toothpaste.
0:49:50 > 0:49:52Oh, OK.
0:49:52 > 0:49:53Maybe I need some of that.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02Namaste. I'm with the big dude.
0:50:02 > 0:50:03THEY LAUGH
0:50:06 > 0:50:09The company is growing at an astonishing rate -
0:50:09 > 0:50:11100% a year -
0:50:11 > 0:50:14and is expected to hit sales of three-plus billion dollars
0:50:14 > 0:50:16in the next 12 months.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19And now they're taking on the big guys.
0:50:27 > 0:50:28- Is it?- Yes.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30This is India's answer to Colgate.
0:50:36 > 0:50:41Lovely! I love the fact that a Swami, a holy man in orange robe,
0:50:41 > 0:50:44just saying, "Three to five years, crush. Kill, crush!"
0:50:44 > 0:50:47- No, no!- Rrrrr!
0:50:47 > 0:50:50Ramdev isn't quite what I expected.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53He's sort of equal parts mad monk and Bond villain,
0:50:53 > 0:50:55but I absolutely love him.
0:50:55 > 0:50:59- You're making 2.5 million of these every day?- Yes, every day.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06This has all gone a bit Willy Wonka. I might end my days in a toothpaste vat.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12This is one hell of a thing you've got going here, it really is.
0:51:16 > 0:51:18- Like this?- Like this.
0:51:20 > 0:51:22It's unimaginable. The scale is unimaginable.
0:51:24 > 0:51:29Patanjali employs over 200,000 people and is growing fast.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32Profits have doubled this year already.
0:51:32 > 0:51:36It's an odd fit, a holy man and a multi-billion...
0:51:39 > 0:51:41Not yet. Five years.
0:51:41 > 0:51:42Crush!
0:51:47 > 0:51:49- Not for mine.- Is this for India?
0:52:04 > 0:52:07- Because you are Swami, so you are...?- I am Swami.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13But is it strange, then, that you're now a celebrity?
0:52:13 > 0:52:17- I'm not a celebrity. - You are. I see you everywhere.
0:52:17 > 0:52:21Even in the rural parts of India, I see your wonderful face.
0:52:21 > 0:52:23Boom, there. You are.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31A Swami, yeah. And everyone else thinks you're a celebrity.
0:52:40 > 0:52:41This is our store.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45A whole store with just your products in?
0:52:45 > 0:52:47- That's amazing, isn't it?- Yes.
0:52:47 > 0:52:52Some people say it's hard to reconcile spirituality, Hinduism, with business.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54But that is how you do it, by saying, "I give to people."
0:53:01 > 0:53:02So you put it into practice.
0:53:02 > 0:53:05It's not enough to have a life of the mind, you must work and give...
0:53:08 > 0:53:10Yes, I agree, I agree.
0:53:12 > 0:53:16I would like a tiny piece of your energy,
0:53:16 > 0:53:19your ability, your inner peace.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23If you could sell that, I would buy it. Amazing. Thank you.
0:53:23 > 0:53:25- Namaste.- Namaste.
0:53:30 > 0:53:32I think what, if I'm being honest, I expected to find here
0:53:32 > 0:53:36was a man cynically exploiting his position,
0:53:36 > 0:53:40bottling spirituality and selling it to the masses for a fortune.
0:53:40 > 0:53:44But instead what I found was the nicest, sweetest, funniest guy.
0:53:44 > 0:53:50So dynamic, and driven not by money but by a desire to put India
0:53:50 > 0:53:52firmly on the map.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56A sort of old-fashioned almost Victorian benefactor and philanthropist, if you will.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59In the mode of Cadbury's and Quaker.
0:53:59 > 0:54:03A guy that all he wants to do is to provide the best foods...
0:54:04 > 0:54:06..for his people at the best price.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09I'm going to go to a forest and live with him forever.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17My journey along the upper Ganges is very nearly at an end.
0:54:17 > 0:54:19But I have one more place to visit.
0:54:19 > 0:54:23The Ganga Aarti ceremony in this holy city of Haridwar.
0:54:29 > 0:54:31He thinks I'm Sue Pollard.
0:54:33 > 0:54:37I'm now going to Aarti, which is the nightly prayer to the Ganges,
0:54:37 > 0:54:41which takes place on the banks here. Thousands of people attend.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46It doesn't feel very religious, though. At the moment, it sort of feels like Tottenham-Arsenal,
0:54:46 > 0:54:50sort of afternoon match, with people eating, chatting and joking.
0:54:51 > 0:54:54That's the sort of religious vibe I can half get into.
0:54:56 > 0:54:58THEY SING AND CHANT
0:54:58 > 0:55:00There are no tourists here.
0:55:00 > 0:55:06Just everyday folk coming to praise a sacred river and the Goddess that lives in her.
0:55:09 > 0:55:11It's an Indian wave.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29You could never know, coming into all of the mess and muddle of this place,
0:55:29 > 0:55:33that it would end up being so utterly beautiful.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44The sense of love and devotion here is overwhelming.
0:55:46 > 0:55:49This is how the Ganges is worshipped.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05It's been an exhausting and emotional few weeks.
0:56:14 > 0:56:18I may not believe in gods and goddesses, but this pilgrimage
0:56:18 > 0:56:22along a sacred river has genuinely touched me.
0:56:23 > 0:56:28It's not just the Ganges that connects this place to my time at the source.
0:56:28 > 0:56:32It's also a feeling, and you're probably thinking,
0:56:32 > 0:56:35"How on earth can the feelings you have here in amidst all this chaos
0:56:35 > 0:56:40"and noise and thrum be the same as you experienced in the elemental purity of the mountains?"
0:56:40 > 0:56:41But I feel it.
0:56:41 > 0:56:46And it's not a feeling that needs to be mitigated by babas or sadhus or swamis.
0:56:47 > 0:56:48It's pure joy.
0:56:49 > 0:56:52Not peace, by the way. Not peace.
0:56:52 > 0:56:53Joy.
0:57:03 > 0:57:06Next time, I'm in Varanasi...
0:57:06 > 0:57:07This one is trouble.
0:57:09 > 0:57:11..the ultimate destination for Hindus.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14If you want to know how closely life and death are linked in this place,
0:57:14 > 0:57:18the ashes of a recently cremated human rubbed all over.
0:57:18 > 0:57:20Ooh!
0:57:20 > 0:57:24I never thought I'd been sharing tattoo stories with an 83-year-old!
0:57:24 > 0:57:27It's a breathtaking city, but, I warn you,
0:57:27 > 0:57:30it's not for the faint-hearted.
0:57:30 > 0:57:33You're struggling to try and make sense of it, but it is not of this earth, this place.