Episode 1 The Real Marigold Hotel

India, a country bursting with colour and beauty.

I don't have words for that.

With year-round warm weather and a low cost of living...

..could it be the perfect place to retire?

I would love it, a different way of life.

Money might last longer, and a wonderful climate.

My muscles feel softer already.

I want to have a comfortable old age.

Let's go somewhere and live like kings.

Your Majesty.

Inspired by the film, eight well-known pensioners

are going on a real-life adventure in the city of Jaipur...

This is a whole new culture. I don't know where the superlatives end.

Oh! Hit by a bull!

..to see if they could spend their golden years here.

Oh! Wahey! This is like Dodgems.

I'm going to take this very seriously.

It's an opportunity to find out whether I could retire out there.

-Whoa!

-This is a kind of nightmare.

Madness!

But will the challenges of India prove a step too far?

Blimey! This is exhausting!

Or will they find somewhere new to call home

on the other side of the world?

You can't avoid loving this place. Magical.

On an overcast autumn day,

67-year-old dancer Wayne Sleep is about to meet his fellow travellers.

Oh! Looks like I'm the first to arrive.

I haven't been able to sleep for a week.

Somebody said to me, "You either come back with dysentery or enlightenment."

I'll probably come back with both, but I don't care.

Oh, my goodness me!

Also on this voyage of discovery is 65-year-old chef Rosemary Shrager.

I won't be doing the cooking, then.

-Thank God!

-No, you might want a lesson!

I think it will be fascinating

going to a completely different place and culture, everything, food.

You name it. It's different.

-Hello!

-Hello!

-Oh, hello!

How are you?

70-year-old darts champion Bobby George

is fulfilling a lifelong ambition.

You've never been to India or nowhere...?

-No, have you?

-Have you?

-No.

-I haven't either.

I was just saying to my wife, "Look, let's go to India.

"I wonder what it would be like to retire out there."

I said that 20 years ago,

so I'm actually doing what I thought of doing.

Also joining them is 75-year-old game-show host Roy Walker.

-Hey, how are you all?

-Mr Catchphrase himself.

Oh, Catchphrase! That's it! Hello!

And 72-year-old former Doctor Who Sylvester McCoy.

-Are you on your way to Jaipur?

-Yes, we are.

Well, could you take this for me, please? I can't be bothered.

I am a gypsy - continuously travelling.

And I'm not sure whether I'm running away from something

or running after something.

And I think it might be after something

and after a place where I can finally lay my head.

Next to arrive is 74-year-old Harry Potter star Miriam Margolyes.

The opportunity to go to India and find out whether I could live there

as an old woman, it seemed to me a glorious adventure.

EM Forster wrote

when you go to India, you come face-to-face with yourself.

And I hope that that will happen.

Completing the group is 61-year-old singer Patti Boulaye

and 74-year-old ex-newsreader Jan Leeming.

The whole question is,

is this a place that a pensioner from England would go and live?

I had never thought about India, but maybe.

Oh, thank you very much.

Lovely to have a man about the house.

Right. Which way?

They're flying 4,000 miles to Jaipur,

capital of the state of Rajasthan in northern India.

Known both as the Desert State and the Land of Kings,

the cost of living here is cheap for Westerners,

and for most of the year the weather is hot and dry.

-MAN:

-Welcome to India!

-Thank you.

They're being met by Janu,

who will be their driver for their time in Jaipur.

-Welcome to Jaipur.

-Thank you.

-I'm

-Janu. Thank you, Janu.

-I can't get up here.

-Thank you very much.

-Right.

-All right?

-Yeah.

I'm in, believe it or not. My bum is in.

For the next three weeks

they'll be living alongside the 3.5 million people of Jaipur.

-It's so busy.

-Yeah. Oh!

My goodness! Oh!

CAR HORNS BEEPING

-Nobody gives way.

-Oh, my word!

-Nobody gives way.

-It's just... Oh, wow!

-Unbelievable.

-Here, driving like a video game.

-Video game.

-Oh, I see.

-Everybody know what they're doing.

CAR HORNS BEEPING

HE GASPS

Now we're going in Pink City.

-Oh, we're going into the Pink City?

-Yes.

-It's orange, but never mind.

-It's Indian pink.

-Indian pink.

-There you go.

Together they'll set up a unique retirement home

in the heart of the Pink City...

..the old walled quarter of Jaipur.

There's a cow in the street!

Oh, there's a cow in the streets.

-That must be a holy cow.

-Yeah, it's holy cows.

Hi, holy cow!

They'll be taking over a haveli,

a traditional Indian mansion built around a courtyard.

-This must be it.

-What?

-CHEERING

-Here we go.

-Have we arrived?

-Yes, we're arriving.

Wow! Look at it. Hello.

Wow! Look at this.

It's not just finding about whether the medical's all right

or whether the house prices are all right, it's not just that.

It's actually about community as well.

It's about what's around and whether you could actually fit in or not.

-I'm Sushma.

-Sushma.

-Yes.

-How do you do? My name is Miriam.

-Miriam.

-I'm Wayne.

Khatu Haveli is the ancestral home of Brigadier Singh and his wife Sushma.

Namaste.

That's fantastic.

-How do you do?

-Look, we've got to share ours.

We ran out. We want one more.

-I'll manage.

-Listen, everybody.

-Yes.

Haveli is 160 years old.

It was built by my great-grandfather.

-Six generations of the family have been living here.

-Fantastic.

Who wants to stay on the ground floor?

We have three rooms here.

-Bobby, you take the ground floor.

-Thank you.

For under £20 a day, the eight senior citizens will get a luxury room each,

but these strangers will have to learn to live together.

-Wow! Is this all mine, this bit?

-This is yours, yes.

-Wow!

I'll be doing barre work every morning in

the open air after breakfast. Look at this.

I love it, Sushma. I love it.

Thank you. Are the wardrobes up there?

-Yes.

-I have so many clothes, you won't believe.

It's a very beautiful room and I'm so happy and grateful.

It's really beautiful.

I'm looking forward to the communal aspects of it.

Usually when I'm in a group I'm someone who makes jokes

and tries to lighten the atmosphere.

I do fart and they have to accept that.

It's just one of those things.

I'll always say that I'm going to.

But if people say, "Oh, I can't bear that!"...

I will just say... That will be it.

When I pack a suitcase it looks like a hand grenade's gone off in it.

My missus is very tidy. Look, does it all neat.

Medication.

Medication.

I've got arthritis, I've got rheumatism, metal back, shoulder.

When it's cold you feel the...grinding.

But when you're warm you don't feel it,

you feel more comfortable.

If you're going to retire somewhere,

you wouldn't go to the North Pole, you know what I mean?

I did actually say to my wife, "Let's go somewhere,

"live like kings in the sun."

It's got to be better when you're warmer.

During their stay the group will be eating all their meals together.

-This is amazing!

-Oh-la-la!

-Look at this!

-Mama mia!

That's chicken. Potatoes, rice, chapatti.

Thank you so much.

I find that I'm not just concentrating on India

and about how it would be to retire here...

but also feeling about all of you, the personal interactions,

because I only knew really Sylvester and Wayne, slightly,

so all of you are new to me,

and I'm enormously relishing the human part of this.

Roy, have you given up?

Beautiful food.

Very hot.

-It wasn't that hot.

-For Roy...

For me, I'm very tender.

I'm sensitive.

I better not let him try my chilli.

I am so excited. I'm just so excited.

I'm beside myself with excitement.

Because what is amazing, we've all been to Europe and whatever,

this is so different.

I don't know about anybody else...

I am loving this. I love my room.

The expectation, driving here...

Them people we see today, they are all doing something to live.

We're sitting in the posh place...

of India tonight.

They're sitting on the floor.

We don't know India until we sit on the floor with them.

-Yeah.

-That's what I'm trying to say.

-That's a really good point.

-RADIO PRESENTER.

-Good morning, Jaipur. It's me, Guinee.

It's another scorching-hot summer day out there,

so I'm going to put up some hot numbers only for you.

Oof!

Pouring with sweat.

It's early in the morning. Must be at least...

35 degrees out there.

I've got bags under my eyes.

I'm not sleeping, having diarrhoea.

Well, I better put some bottoms on.

I thought this would be quite fetching.

The group have three weeks to consider if India is a place where

they could set down roots and retire,

and that means embracing the way Indians live.

Trying to make a life there.

I can't wait to find out whether it will win me over.

-Namaste.

-Namaste. Very good morning to everyone.

ALL: Good morning.

What I would like us do to, have yoga together.

Like many of the other residents of Jaipur,

the group are starting the day with a yoga class.

-Your shoulders are very stiff.

-Yes, I know.

But you will feel the difference now.

Local yoga teacher Atul

has specially designed some exercises for first-timers.

And then we will shift our gaze. All right. Look in the distance.

I haven't done exercise for nearly a year now.

But if I don't do it now it will never happen,

cos at this age your muscles start to dissolve,

so I've got to get them back in gear, I know that,

I've been told that by a specialist.

Again. One, two.

If you do it daily you will be cured of your short-sightedness

and long-sightedness. You won't need glasses. Breathe in.

Relax.

Absolutely gobsmacked at this Indian form of yoga.

It has made me feel better.

I am standing taller and I'd like to do this every day.

That's the vegetable thing? It's a little bit spicy.

Different in the morning to have spicy stuff for your breakfast.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do, they say.

If the group are going to test out retiring here,

they need to work out how to live like locals.

A haveli of this size would normally have around eight staff

to do all the chores.

But today they're going to try running it without help.

What I think is really tricky here is

if everybody starts doing their own stuff... That kitchen is tiny.

I think we should actually have somebody cooking,

and I'm happy to cook today.

Chef Rosemary at 65 is one of the youngest of the group

and still runs her own cookery school.

I'd love to be useful. I think I need to be busy.

I need to find something to do.

And I think it's important that I need to stick with what I know best.

I think we need to go and source food.

-Fish. Meat.

-Fish I adore,

but I will not eat fish away from the coast.

Well, I'll tell you what I don't eat.

I don't eat lamb. I don't eat mutton.

There is no beef, so it leaves it to chicken.

Do you know what to get and how many...?

-Well, who wants to join me?

-Me.

-Anybody else? OK.

And are you four going to organise towels and things like that?

-A lavatory brush.

-Can we write a list?

Yeah.

I don't need to take control.

I am very happy to stand back, but I do find it quite difficult.

I am being so contrary.

I do find it really difficult not to be the boss,

cos that's my natural instinct.

-This is our first venture out.

-Yes, it's so exciting.

It's exciting.

The food market is just five minutes' walk from the haveli,

but it's a walk that can take some getting used to.

OK, well. Hang on. Whoa!

Hang on. Look. No, no, no! Not that way.

-Let's walk down there.

-Walk down there?

-Yes.

-Is this the way to the market?

-I don't know.

Hello. Can I go past? OK.

Hello.

Would you look where you're going, dear?

Cor blimey! Oh, mind the cow!

-Mind the cow.

-Hello.

-Hello, cow.

God, it's fabulous. Fast bikes, noise, dirt, heat.

Where are the other two? Come on.

Well, they're just lagging right behind.

Hurry up, boys.

# Mad dogs and Englishmen... # Oh! Hello! Hello.

Chandpole Bazar is the biggest food market in Jaipur.

-Hello!

-Morning. It's cooler here.

-This is better.

Look, now we can start shopping.

Within metres you can buy everything you need -

spices, vegetables and meat - at a fraction of the cost in the UK.

Hello.

Namaste.

Namaste.

But to get the best prices you have to haggle.

-How much?

-15 rupees.

Ten? Ten.

I need lemons.

We'll go and look for lemons and sweet potatoes for you.

-And ginger.

-Yeah.

-Pepper.

They'll come in useful for our gin and tonics as well.

Two. One.

Any change? No change?

-40 rupees.

-Oh.

I'm a little worried I'm being done because I was told I must barter,

but I think it's so ridiculously cheap anyway that who can complain?

Despite paying over the odds,

Rosemary will be able to feed everyone for less than £10,

including the meat.

-One chicken.

-Are we having a live one?

-Yeah, we'll have a live one.

-Are we?

Yeah, you carry it under your arm.

-What, we're taking it home alive?

-They'll do it for us.

-Who's carrying it?

-You!

-They'll kill it.

-No, I'm not!

-Oh, you're a chicken.

Which chicken would you like?

Which one do you think would be the nicest-tasting?

Let's say that one.

-Here's one going.

-Don't look.

-I told you not to look.

-I have to look.

-THEY GASP

-Oh, my giddy aunt!

He slit its throat and it's walking around!

Meat is not something I'm scared of,

but it was the way they did that.

If they'd sliced it, just done it, killed it straight off,

then I'm OK with it.

But because they half-killed it I'm not into that. That's not my scene.

-Honey?

-Ayurvedic.

-Ayurvedic?

-Yeah.

Patti and Jan and Miriam and Bobby...

Oh, that's better, isn't it?

..are out trying to buy the basics.

They're not quite right, are they?

They'll let everything through.

Shopping for essential items means going off the tourist trail,

where English is much less widely spoken.

Do you have a full-length mirror?

Yes.

No, that's a small one. Full-length.

I want a wee-wee. I'd be better off if I can wee-wee.

Is there a toilet around here?

Does anybody speak English?

Any of you guys speak English?

-Speak English? Yeah.

-Toilet.

-Up there?

-TRAFFIC NOISE DROWNS SPEECH

That's right.

-That's right. It's on your left.

-No. Left. Left.

Come on, boys. Come on, we're walking.

Have you ever seen anything as bad as this?

-Look at it.

-This is a kind of nightmare.

HORNS BEEPING

-It's like a war zone, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

But imagine what the loo's going to be like.

Come here. It's just up here.

-Ladies' toilet?

-Yeah.

-Right. Away you go.

-That's it. Thank you.

-Oops.

-Now.

-Right. That was an experience.

-Is it clean?

-No.

I could have hung out in the streets all day.

-Yeah.

-I loved it.

I just found it absolutely fascinating.

-Hello.

-Hello. Did you get your mirror?

I didn't want the mirror. It was Patti.

I know, but you were on the mirror run.

-Hello, guys.

-Hello, welcome.

Did you have a nice time?

-It was hot.

-Yeah, it was very hot.

-I was suffering from the heat.

-Right.

And then I needed to go to the loo.

But I went to the loo. We found a public toilet.

-What was that like?

-Vivid.

We're going to have beans with black pepper. We're going to have lentils.

What I'd like you to do is slice the onions, please.

-Very thin?

-Very thinly. And I need to rinse the chicken in a bowl.

Today Rosemary's shouldering the burden of running the kitchen,

but the group still have to decide

if they want to do everything themselves

or whether they want to run the haveli as locals would

and hire staff to do the shopping, cooking and housework.

Can't connect to this network.

I know it's going to be a communal living experience.

There'll probably be a discussion about how we do things.

Who takes out the bins?

Well, it's not going to be me, that's for sure.

Well, this could make a nice retirement, couldn't it?

You have that.

Do you know what? As I walked up here, it's another dimension.

-Yeah.

-And I thought... Do you know what?

There isn't a retirement place like this anywhere in the world.

-No.

-Oh, yeah. This is lovely, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-It's quiet when you look over the city.

And we're not acclimatised, so we would get used to the heat.

There's no heat tonight, is there?

Oil is on this, so it means I don't have too much oil in the dish.

-I'm here, Chef.

-All right. Let me just clean this up.

It's a hot kitchen, especially if I'm in it.

-This is going in here.

-OK.

Shall I do that for you?

-If you did, I'll collapse.

-Yes, I know.

I'm going to do that for her later. She deserves it.

It's not so much the cooking, it's the heat.

Heat is really difficult.

-The heat is bad.

-The heat is bad.

The heat is bad, plus you have been out the whole day.

-We've been on the go all day.

-Exhausted.

-And I've got jet lag.

And here I am devising a meal, trying to get it together.

-Yes.

-I've done it, though.

-Yeah, you've done it.

-Oh!

CHEERING

Let's hear it for the chef.

Thank you.

With an average age in the group of 70,

the heat and hard work is taking its toll.

We have actually, all of us, been on the go all day.

And you can't sustain that. I don't think that's sustainable.

I think one needs to find some sort of way of dealing with it.

-I don't know.

-In hot countries they get up early.

When it comes to the afternoon they go inside.

That's how they sustain it.

-And you have help.

-Staff.

-We definitely need to get staff.

-Yes.

I think it's difficult. I honestly do.

I want to have a comfortable old age,

and that means being looked after.

And now I need the help.

I've developed arthritis, which is something I wasn't expecting.

And I can't sew, I can't cook.

Somebody else can do that as long as I pay them.

I've made enough money to pay people to do things.

It's not much. I mean, we're talking about hardly any money at all.

Because they can share the expense among the group,

it will cost them less than £20 each a week to have the cooking,

shopping, cleaning and housework done for them.

Let's just take them all on and give us some breathing space.

Hear, hear!

I was worried who I was going to live with for this time,

because it's not easy.

And actually, I'm so happy with the crowd of people, I cannot tell you.

I'm so happy.

Everybody's so different.

Everybody has something different to give.

Goodnight, y'all. Sleep well.

I'd better just make an appearance in the kitchen

to give the complete fiction that I was prepared to help,

which I wasn't.

But I think you have to pretend, otherwise people take a dim view.

Let's see. I don't think there's any more things to wash up here.

I never do housework.

It's a sort of rule of mine.

I really don't like it.

The group are three days into their stay in India

and they still have a lot to learn about what makes the country tick.

I think India's the perfect place to be able to reflect,

explore the spiritualism inside me more,

and it's obviously going to be all around me there.

Religion in India is an essential part of daily life.

Every morning Hindus across the country

carry out their morning prayers.

I was very religious when I was a child, but then when I went to the

Royal Ballet School, all that soon trickled away.

Every Hindu home has its own family shrine,

and Wayne and Patti have decided

to join this morning's prayers at the haveli.

I've always pushed my spiritual side away,

so I wanted to come to India partly to search the spiritual world.

The shrine is the heart of the Hindu household,

a sacred space set apart for honouring and worshipping the gods.

We have made an offering to the goddess to accept that.

It has to be in private.

And then after a while she'll open the curtain

and she'll bring the prasad and give it to you.

Fantastic.

What I want to find is what they find - their spiritual side.

And I've always thought that I might have that and always denied it.

My own experience of religion has been almost like a hobby

that's done once a week, if that.

Thank you so much.

Going into a temple and seeing their complete dedication,

it makes you humbled.

What is your name?

-Virinder.

-SHE MISPRONOUNCES:

-Brinder.

-Oh, Virinder.

-Hello. My name is Miriam.

He does the waiter's job.

As the group have all agreed they need staff,

the owners of the haveli have organised for a team to start today.

Mukesh does the cleaning of the rooms.

-Prakash.

-Hello, Prakash.

-SHE MISPRONOUNCES:

-Prakash.

-No, look. Pra-kash.

-Oh, Prakash.

-Yeah.

He changes the sheets and towels and...

Fantastic.

-That is Ram Singh.

-Oh!

The staff earn around £100 a month.

Half of them have travelled hundreds of miles,

leaving their families behind to find work,

so the haveli also provides them with bed and board.

With the staff on board, the group now have more free time to fill.

And one of the best things about living in Jaipur is being able to

take advantage of thousands of years of history right on your doorstep.

I don't like New York cos it's all tall buildings.

That's not my cup of tea.

I want to go and see the old buildings when I go somewhere.

I like to see different history things, the wildlife,

all that sort of thing.

An elephant having lunch - a small tree.

Oh, fantastic!

I'm going to ride on one of those.

Bobby, Patti, Jan, Sylvester and Roy

have decided to visit the most famous local attraction.

That must be the fort.

Whoa!

Oh, my goodness! Look at the size of that.

That is impressive.

The closer you get the more awesome it is.

-Have you ever seen anything like that?

-No.

The Amer Fort, built almost 500 years ago,

was once used as a royal palace by the local rulers.

Astonishing.

I love history.

I love to get to know the whole background of the country.

India just...

There wouldn't be enough years of retirement to take it all in,

I don't think.

After the language problems of the previous day,

the group have decided to hire an English-speaking tour guide.

If you're getting people in to help you out, various local people,

that will help quicker than if you were just a plain old tourist.

You could get deeper into the society.

Look at the wall.

Actually, this is the Indian China wall.

-This is the Indian China wall.

-10km all around the town.

-Oh, really?

-With seven watchtowers.

27-year-old Raju taught himself French and English from scratch

five years ago in order to get his dream job as a tour guide.

It looks like a garden is floating on the water.

Yes, it's a floating garden.

-So the king lived here?

-King lived here.

How many wives did he have?

If we talk about the first king, he had 21 official wives.

-Official?

-Official.

-And unofficial wives?

-300 concubines at the same time.

-You're kidding?

-You're not married?

-I'm not married.

Will they make a match for you or will you choose your own?

Actually, I will choose for myself,

because I've seen some situations when the arranged marriage

was not successful.

Even with my sister. So I will like to get married my own choice.

He's an independent man with his independent life,

and he's going to choose his own lady.

Even when you choose your own wife, it doesn't always work out either.

Yeah, even when you choose your own.

THEY LAUGH AND TALK OVER EACH OTHER

-It's a lottery.

-It is.

He's very personable.

You couldn't have asked for a lovelier guide.

I mean, he's obviously a qualified young man.

This must be a prestigious job. It must be quite well paid.

How was the tour?

Oh, wonderful. What an experience.

My idea of going and living somewhere totally foreign is

to absorb that country, meeting new people,

finding out what makes them tick.

Here we are.

Raju's invited them to meet his family at his home at the foot of

the fort in the town of Amer.

He lives here with his mother, sister, niece and two nephews.

Two weeks.

We have buffaloes, also.

-Look.

-Yeah.

-She is buffalo.

-Do you keep them for milk?

-For milk. We sell milk.

I've never tasted buffalo milk.

-Would you like to try?

-Yes.

You can even try fresh milk.

Don't ask me to do it. It will probably kick me.

Please, come.

That's our kitchen.

Oh, what lovely smells.

-That's our little temple.

-OK.

-Your parents?

-Grandparents. We remember them.

-OK.

I thought that was really interesting.

When you've got animals in a small place like this,

this is the proper house, isn't it? This is normal.

In the past, India was run on a tight caste system.

Raju is part of the Meena caste, who were designated a criminal tribe

during the British colonial rule.

Do you say a little prayer before your meal?

We just say, "Happy eating."

Since independence,

the Indian government have tried to correct the injustices of the system,

but many still suffer from prejudice.

-You're the only breadwinner, are you?

-Yeah, yeah.

How much do you earn a week?

2,000 rupees, let's say.

-£20.

-£20 a week.

Is that a pretty good wage, over here? £20?

-Can you get a lot for your money?

-No.

-No?

-No. But I can get a good salary

-if I start working with the good travel agencies...

-Yes.

..because the guides, they're on very much...very good money,

-but you should have good contacts with the companies.

-Yeah.

-Oh, really?

-Travel companies.

-So does your caste make it difficult

to get work as a tour guide?

Yes, because I am the...

-in the very few peoples...

-Yes.

-..who is working as a tour guide.

-From my caste...

-Yep.

..normally, you will not find any guys working as a tour guide.

Which caste system are you in? Where are you in the hierarchy?

No. Still people consider us

-criminal tribes, the backward caste...

-Mm-hm.

..don't know anything, how to behave with people.

So they don't like us to see in, erm...

Let's say in tourism.

If I go in any tourism companies, I have some interviews

and then they see my name. "OK." And then they say,

-"Go and get some experience."

-So even your name...?

-The name and then my caste. That is my caste.

-Seriously?

If they are to live out here,

the group will have to get used to living in a society

where the caste system still exists

and where wealth is in the hands of the few.

Yeah, you... You are welcome to stay.

All right, there? How are you, darling?

'Annoys me, that, really.

'If you've got a talent and you can do something good,'

why should you be on the bottom rail?

I think that's wrong, personally.

-Mummy, thank you.

-Thank you.

SHE LAUGHS

The group are starting to make local friends in Jaipur,

but they are keen to meet people from both lower and higher caste,

so they have accepted an invitation to meet the royal family of Jaipur.

It's the afternoon.

We're having some tea with some maharajah.

So, it's sublime to ridiculous.

The maja...

I don't even know. I can't even say it.

Majarajah.

Majarajahs. Something like that.

I haven't got much time for maharajas.

I think I might have to...

control my natural...

..feelings of democracy and...

..scorn for the upper classes.

Maharajah.

I've got a bit of lipstick.

I think it shows that you've tried, if you put on a bit of lipstick.

I mean, I never... I never use it normally.

It just shows willing, you know?

Put on a bit. I only put a bit on, cos I look...

I look a bit like a tart.

'That's the extent of what I do'

to get ready. If they don't like it,

they can bloody well lump it.

CHEEPING

PEACOCK HOOTS

Rambagh Palace was the main residence for the royalty of Jaipur

until they lost power when India became independent.

I was saying to the others,

I bought this about 12 years ago and I've really worked on it.

-I don't know. What do you think?

-Yes, it's very nice.

-It's nice.

In the 1950s, they converted it into a luxury hotel,

now considered to be one of the best in the world.

Follow me, boys and girls, when you're ready.

We can always go for a walk on the lawns later.

-See...

-Love that.

-Not at all. Not at all.

-Miriam Maharani.

-Miriam Maharani.

-Miriam,

-Your Majesty. Yes.

So there's about 200 staff here.

You know, it's quite heavy on the payroll, frankly.

Everybody ready for tea?

Yes, thank you, your royalty.

Maharajah Jai Singh and Rani Vidya are waiting to meet the group

with some of their high-society friends.

-Good afternoon.

-Good afternoon.

-Good, thanks.

-Namaste.

I've never met a maharajah before.

I've met the Queen and some members of the royal family.

I've been presented to the Queen or the Queen Mother.

I think I've met her about 15 times.

-We know nothing about your lives.

-Yes.

Well, it's very much normal, like anybody else lives.

But I think, in the city of Jaipur,

although the monarchy is no more in India,

-I think they still consider them...

-Yes.

-..the ruling family.

-Oh, they do?

I think the family still hold that kind of respect.

The royal family still live in the grounds of this magnificent palace,

a stone's throw from the largest slum in the city.

Nothing, thank you.

But what is so amazing about India, I find,

is the extreme from both ends.

-Yes.

-From this opulence to the incredibly poor.

-And I'm trying to get to terms with it...

-Yes.

-..because, in Britain,

-we don't have it in the same way, do we?

-Yes, it's not...

-Religion is a philosophy, Hinduism.

-Yes.

-And it's all about karma.

-Yes.

-So if you see even the very poor...

-Yes.

..I mean, yes, they are going through difficulties,

but you don't find them unhappy, because they feel that this is...

this is a cycle they have to go through

-and, in the next life...

-I agree with you.

..they'll do better.

'I didn't really want to come.'

Having met several members of the family,

they couldn't be nicer,

they welcomed us with courtesy and friendliness and warmth.

So, in the end, you have to say they're just like anyone else.

-The caste system...

-Yes.

..in India and how it is viewed, still,

whether or not it is being diluted now, or just as strong?

-It's getting less, yes.

-Yes.

And it started, actually, the caste system, with professions.

You know, the chap who cleans was that caste.

-The agriculturist was another...

-Was another caste?

-And the fighters were, the soldiers were...

-The soldiers, another caste?

Yes. It was professional.

And then later it became discriminatory.

How do the high society...? What do they do for hobbies?

What would you do?

-Football?

-Polo.

-Polo?

-Polo.

-Oh, do you?

-Yeah.

Er, do you play darts?

LAUGHTER

You can't throw like that. You have to put your arm out, dead straight.

You know what I mean? Eh?

So your arm goes straight. So that's what you do when you throw a dart.

I hate the disparity of wealth.

I hate the gap between rich and poor.

And it is shocking in India.

I hope they are generous.

I believe they are.

That's it. Arm out, yeah.

Same pressure. Don't think, just throw.

Good darts. Well done, son.

ALL TALK

Listen, Patti, would you please dress up one night?

-LAUGHTER

-I will do. I will do my best.

Today, it was fascinating that our guide...

..took us back to his house and we asked him lots of questions.

And we got onto the question of the caste system.

-And it's a...

-But you can't tell

whether someone is one caste or another just from looking at them.

-But they can.

-You can by their name.

-They can.

-Do you think they can?

-ALL:

-They can.

-And how dark they are.

-And, actually, the way they look

-and how dark they are.

-Yeah.

-Cos I've noticed the untouchables

-are a lot darker.

-Yes.

-It is the same in Britain and it's the same.

It's just we met one person today who we happen to like.

A really lovely young man.

Those are the sorts of people that bring these things...

that highlight problems like that.

-My understanding...

-ALL TALK

My understanding, Patti, and I may be wrong,

is that the caste system in India

-is much tougher...

-Yes.

-..and much more formalised and much harder to break...

-Yes, I agree.

-I agree, yes.

-..than the one that we certainly have.

'Meeting Raju and his family,'

I met more people in one afternoon

who want to embrace me and take me into their family circle

than I have met in where I live in...

ten years. But that's their sense of family.

I want to know more about them and their way of life.

HORNS BEEP

-RADIO:

-'Good morning, Jaipur. It's very hot in the city.

'By this afternoon, we're expecting to see temperatures

'almost hitting 40 degrees, so please drink lots of water.'

I've got a little tube of Vegemite.

I'm taking it up to breakfast.

I'm not going to share it.

Actually, I find sharing food very difficult.

Erm...

..so I bought a bottle of whisky for everybody,

so that they don't think I'm a mean old cow, but...

Vegemite I might have to keep to myself.

With the first week drawing to an end,

the group are starting to settle into living together.

'I live alone most of the time.'

So suddenly being squashed in

with a lot of unknown people...

is disconcerting...

..but it's also quite fun.

And I really love having breakfast in the mornings with everybody.

-Good morning.

-LAUGHTER

It's India itself that's having a big impact on Wayne.

'India is just the place for me at the moment,'

because I am slowing down and I'm being more reflective

and I've always felt this spiritual feeling inside of me.

This morning, Wayne is travelling further afield

in his quest for spiritual knowledge.

He's taking Jan and Patti just outside the city limits

to visit one of the holiest sites in the area.

How much?

Ten?

Galtaji has been a holy pilgrimage site since the early 16th century.

The temple complex is home to a community of Hindu priests

and a tribe of monkeys.

Mind your wallets and mind your sunglasses.

Apparently, they just like to play with it

and wave it in the air at you and run away.

Then you have to run at them...

-They're like naughty children, aren't they?

-Yeah.

Agh! Sorry...

-He's taken the lot!

-He's taken it already.

-They've taken the lot!

-He just stole it.

-Oh!

-LAUGHTER

Here am I telling you to be careful...

LAUGHTER

-Hello.

-Hello.

They've arranged to meet up with Raju again,

so he can explain the spiritual significance of the place.

-We are going to visit a temple.

-Yes.

-Uh-huh.

And, also, we are going... We are meeting some monkeys.

-They will grab your stuff, what you have.

-As they already have done.

-It's that one there, he's got three packs.

-Yeah.

-Did you give?

-No! He stole it from me!

LAUGHTER

Already?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's good for karma to feed monkeys, or animals.

Oh, come on. I'll stay here and just feed them. I need it.

Come on.

PEOPLE TALK

-It's a natural spring.

-Mm-hm.

And this is the holy water.

People come to Galtaji to be purified of their sins by the waters,

which are also said to bring you a better future.

-WAYNE:

-'I think everybody needs healing in their life.'

'I did have a bit of a scare earlier in the year

'and I had to have some treatment'

and I said to myself that if I'm going to get in touch with anything,

"You'd better find out quick, mate,

"cos you're getting older."

PEOPLE TALK

'My life just before I came to India was very disturbing,

'because I had to have an operation for prostate cancer,

'which I didn't tell anybody, when I arrived,

'cos I didn't want sympathy or anything,

'so I kept it to myself for a while.'

And I was on medication as well, which made me very low.

PEOPLE TALK

Namaste. Namaste.

Fantastic.

-ALL:

-Ooh!

A fire which has been lighting since 500 years

and, still, they are lighting it.

-ALL:

-Really?

-Eternal? Eternal fire?

-Yeah.

-WAYNE:

-'All the people have this sort of inner calmness

'that radiates when you are with them.'

Namaste.

And he's blessing us. Thank you.

He looks wonderful, doesn't he?

He looks so peaceful.

'I've always been...

'quite feisty. I don't take prisoners.'

I've always wanted to be the best.

I've always wanted to win the race of life.

And now I feel quite calm about it.

I think I've found a slight serenity in myself.

BELL RINGS

To say thank you to the owners for their warm welcome,

and to meet their new neighbours,

the group have decided they should hold a party tonight.

Janu? How are you?

-Fine. I need you to take me to Shopper's Paradise.

-Of course.

-Will that be all right?

-No problem.

-Will you come in and help me?

-Yes.

-Because I need some help.

-For what?

-Janu, about the shopping.

-What I am looking for.

-All right. No bother.

So that would be so wonderful, Janu, honestly.

That would be brilliant, cos I haven't got a clue.

I'm actually slightly...

I'm not stressed, but I'm actually anxious.

OK, so what do you want to buy?

-Right, just eggs, flour, big lemons, big oranges.

-Lemons. OK.

All those sort of things.

-So let's go and I'll show you when we get there.

-OK.

-We haven't got time to sit around and me to discuss it.

-No problem.

HORNS BEEP

'Would you ask?'

-I would like someone to help us.

-Yes, yes.

Show us where everything is.

'I thrive on pressure a little bit.'

I need a bit of pressure.

I can't have no pressure, because that would do my head in.

-JANU TALKS

-Oh!

Oh, we did, Janu. We've got loads, haven't we?

I'm going to start, cos I have such a lot to do. OK.

I need you to do something.

-You're my friend, I need you to do something.

-What's going on?

You're going to be the hostess.

-I'm just going to make sure that I'm doing my job.

-Of course, of course.

-I'm not going to be the hostess.

-You don't need to project to me.

-No. No, no. So, you don't...

-I mean, just...calm.

-Yep.

-Just don't use so much of your energy.

-You are lovely.

-That's my problem.

-I know, just...calm.

-That's what I need to learn to do.

-Calm.

Despite being 65, Rosemary has just launched two businesses.

'I can never see me giving up work completely.

'Some people, at my age, would be winding down.'

I've wound up.

-Right, if we could have the rest of the stuff...

-I'll bring it.

'I do know - I'm not silly - I have to slow up a little bit.

'But money plays a very important part in your retirement, I think.

'But I'm not ready to retire yet.'

Still got to earn some more money.

-Janu, thank you so much for your help.

-No problem.

You are a star.

-Be careful, son.

-Here we go.

-Where you going?

The boys have been to the markets to buy decorations for the party.

-All right, my son?

-Go on, get up there, my son.

-Eh?

I tell you what, it doesn't look very British garden party.

It looks more like Waikiki.

# A woman's touch.

# A woman's touch. #

SHE HUMS

LAUGHTER

BELL RINGS

Before the preparations for the party get under way,

Rosemary decides to follow up on a tip from the haveli owners

of a local guru to try out a meditation session.

'I'm a very controlling person, in one sense.

'And so I need to let go.

'I think I'm going to find it quite difficult to sit still.

'To keep me still would be a miracle, but it might just make me

-'contemplate a little bit.'

-BELL RINGS

Om Ashram is 20 minutes away from the haveli.

It's a retreat open to anyone looking to improve

their mental and spiritual wellbeing.

BELL RINGS

'Maybe that's what I need -

'to feed myself with that sort of, you know, calmness and that way.

'It needs to be injected inside me somehow.'

She's meeting guru Gyaneshwar Puri,

who left Europe 18 years ago,

turning his back on Western ways

and dedicating himself to helping people find inner peace.

-So you're actually retired or you're still working?

-No, I'm not.

I've started...

The problem, what I've done is,

I've started a business quite late in life.

It's very stressful. It's-it's very difficult, cos I could lo...

I mean, you know, if things don't work, I could lose everything.

I've failed so much, I've failed so much in my life.

Not in my work life, but in my...

as a person, in a sense, who I am.

-And I just feel I've almost failed before I've started.

-Mm.

If that makes any sense.

So, obviously, you have to change something.

So you start letting go with the small things.

Things, you know, even if they go wrong, nothing will happen.

We can go through the simplest

-of the techniques...

-Go through the simplest.

-..of meditation.

You have to stop and let it flow out.

-Let it empty.

-Right.

You have to empty yourself.

When the mind stops, then basically meditation starts.

AMBIENT MUSIC

Relax your whole body.

Relax your arms.

Relax your whole back.

Our whole body is completely relaxed.

'I hope I can let go a little bit.

'Maybe, if I can let go, that would make me become...

-THEY CHANT

-'..slightly more confident that life

'won't fall apart if I drop down, you know?

'Or that life can still go on.'

There is nothing more to do.

Rub your palms together.

Put your palms on your eyes and eye muscles.

And open your eyes.

I have to tell you, that's the stillest I've been

in an awful long time.

That is an incredible thing.

-Yes, but now you should know that this peace that you felt...

-I did.

-..came from you.

-Total, yes.

-Not from me, from you.

'I am a bit of a...panicker, I suppose.'

I get worried. It's not panic, actually.

I get worried. And I get myself in a tizzy, because, you know,

this is what... And, actually, it's finding that way,

when I get into a tizzy,

it's finding a way through that tizzy, for me.

And I think India is doing that for me.

In fact, I know it's doing it for me.

HORNS BEEP

Oh, wow! Look at you!

-ALL TALK, LAUGHTER

-Hello.

-Hello.

Guests have started to arrive for this evening's party.

Nice to meet you. Enjoy yourself.

Welcome, welcome.

Their tour guide, Raju, has come with his family.

Yes!

And they've also invited the owner's relatives,

who live within the haveli complex.

Come, we'll have a look at the food. We'll take Mummy with us, yes?

Brandy snaps and tarts.

Chicken vol-au-vents. Cucumber sandwiches.

And I've got some more vol-au-vents coming. There's more in the kitchen.

-OK, thank you.

-Yeah.

-MIRIAM:

-'It's always difficult, when you first come to a place,

'and you don't know people there,'

you want to reach them. You want to be able to talk to them

and perhaps get to know them a little.

'And that can only be done gradually.'

-My name is Miriam Margolyes. I'm an actress.

-Oh.

-What is this Doctor Who? What's this?

-It's a TV series.

-Series?

-Running for 50 years.

-Running for 50 years?

-Yeah.

-Have you got me on there?

I'm in Harry Potter. I'm Professor Sprout.

That's the name of my character. Professor Sprout.

-We have some Harry Potter fans here.

-Oh, good. Well, I'll speak to them.

-He is Wayne.

-Wayne.

-And he's a belly dancer.

-Ballet.

-OK.

-Ballet.

-Not belly.

-Not belly!

-LAUGHTER

-No, no. I...

If you want to see something most particularly English, please come.

We have arranged some entertainment. Please have a seat.

Somebody sit at the front, there's a cushion at the front.

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Wayne Sleep!

SHOES TAP

-WAYNE:

-'I'm just hoping I will have more time

'to meditate and try to improve myself

'and it's something I'm really looking forward to.'

# I belong to Glasgow... #

CHEERING

HE SINGS

-ROSEMARY:

-'Because I don't understand the culture yet,

'it's a very hard place to live, and that I find very, very tricky.

'But I want to try and get to grips with this culture.'

It's early days. But, you know, there's a lot of food for thought.

# Everybody's searching for a hero. #

'I love the ready smile.

'I love the way the women carry themselves.

'I love the colour.'

Not so much the smell sometimes.

APPLAUSE

'It just opened my eyes to see how other people live

'and how they get a living.'

That's the thing that got me.

Some of them have got nothing.

Literally nothing. But they're all polite and happy.

So we could take that back.

If everyone was like that, it would be lovely, wouldn't it?

This piece of elastic is 12 feet long. Stretch it to 24 feet.

LAUGHTER

'There is dirt and there is poverty,'

but, beside that, there is so much life and vitality...

CHEERING

Bravo!

'..and generosity and warmth.

'You can't avoid loving this place.

'I really do, I love this country.'

Whether I want to retire here...

..that is harder to answer.

THEY TALK

'Now, I feel the adventure is beginning.'

I can't wait for tomorrow and what it brings.

CHEERING

Next time, our eight OAPs settle into real life in India.

Wow. Look at this place.

It's harder for us to stay young-looking when we're this age.

Not for me.

I'm bloody sure it's platform one!

And the whole group go on a magical mystery tour...

THEY SING

..to one of the wonders of the world.

ROSEMARY GASPS

I don't have words for that.