0:00:03 > 0:00:06I'm going on a series of astonishing adventures.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11Whoa! Absolutely stunning!
0:00:11 > 0:00:14Travelling along three of the mightiest rivers on the planet.
0:00:21 > 0:00:22These rivers have given rise
0:00:22 > 0:00:25to some of the world's greatest civilisations.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31For centuries, we've worshipped their life-giving waters...
0:00:33 > 0:00:36..and feared their awesome destructive powers.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38The current is a killer!
0:00:41 > 0:00:45On these epic journeys, I'll meet some extraordinary characters.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47BOTH SPEAK HINDI
0:00:47 > 0:00:49PERCUSSIVE MUSIC
0:00:51 > 0:00:54And experience the very different cultures,
0:00:54 > 0:00:58religions and countries that have emerged along our sacred rivers.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04In this episode, I'll be travelling more than 1,000 miles
0:01:04 > 0:01:07along the Ganges, the great artery of India,
0:01:07 > 0:01:11from the foothills of the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean.
0:01:11 > 0:01:12We're on the beach!
0:01:14 > 0:01:16For centuries, Indians have worshipped the river
0:01:16 > 0:01:19and believed it has sacred powers.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26- CAR HORN - But in the last few decades, India's economy has boomed,
0:01:26 > 0:01:30its population has doubled and the river has paid a heavy price.
0:01:32 > 0:01:37Hindus...they take mouthful...of Ganges water.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41- Urgh!- Can you imagining taking this water?
0:01:44 > 0:01:49Can India's great river and a culture more than 3,500 years old
0:01:49 > 0:01:52survive the pressures of the 21st century?
0:02:03 > 0:02:06And there it is!
0:02:06 > 0:02:08The holy Ganges!
0:02:08 > 0:02:12It's a river that is revered as a goddess!
0:02:16 > 0:02:20The reason I'm starting my journey here is because above this point
0:02:20 > 0:02:23these two rivers are known by their local names.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26It's at the town of Devprayag where they converge
0:02:26 > 0:02:32that this officially becomes the mighty, sacred Ganges.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Central to my desire to make this journey,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47in fact to make this series of journeys along sacred rivers,
0:02:47 > 0:02:53is a realisation that if I want to really understand a country,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57then I have to understand the faith and the beliefs
0:02:57 > 0:02:59of the people who live there.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02India is an emerging economic superpower,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05it's going to be the most populous country in the world,
0:03:05 > 0:03:08and what do its people really think and believe?
0:03:15 > 0:03:18The Ganges is not the longest river on the planet,
0:03:18 > 0:03:22but from this spot in Devprayag it flows down onto the plains of India,
0:03:22 > 0:03:26watering the lands of around half a billion people.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32The Ganges river basin covers nearly a third of India
0:03:32 > 0:03:36and has one of the largest populations of any river basin on earth.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40No other river is so important to India and none are as holy.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46A billion Hindus worship the Ganges.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49It's also known as Ganga as a Goddess.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56At the point where the river begins, I'm meeting a Baba, a holy man,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59who provides blessings for pilgrims.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04This is astonishing!
0:04:08 > 0:04:11BOTH SPEAK HINDI
0:04:13 > 0:04:15- Baba Gee.- Baba Gee?
0:04:15 > 0:04:17- Yes.- Baba Gee. - THEY SPEAK IN HINDI
0:04:17 > 0:04:20- Namaste.- Namaste. Welcome.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Ganesh Maharaj says he has renounced worldly goods
0:04:25 > 0:04:28to live a simple life of contemplation close to the river.
0:04:31 > 0:04:32Oh!
0:04:32 > 0:04:35Ganesh meditates next to the river for hours every day
0:04:35 > 0:04:38and says he draws power from the water.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42- Very powerful.- Very powerful. This is my guru.- I feel the power.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45'My guru is the River Ganges.'
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Baba Gee became a holy man soon after leaving school,
0:04:50 > 0:04:54eventually his devotion to the river brought him here to this cave.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00So, Baba Gee, do you actually sleep in here, then? Do you stay here?
0:05:00 > 0:05:02TRANSLATION: Yes, for 12 years.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05You've been here in the cave for 12 years?
0:05:05 > 0:05:09TRANSLATION: Yes. We are holy men, we just have the clothes on our back.
0:05:11 > 0:05:12All year round?
0:05:12 > 0:05:17'For the rest of our lives, we are holy men.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21'We never again do any job, any work.'
0:05:23 > 0:05:28'We just have a simple fire, good food, good sleep, good smoke.'
0:05:28 > 0:05:31'This is our life.'
0:05:31 > 0:05:34It sounds...it sounds very appealing.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36TRANSLATION: 'OK.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38'So you like it?'
0:05:39 > 0:05:42Baba Gee's one of many who choose this life.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44In their final years, millions of Hindus
0:05:44 > 0:05:48give up their homes to wander India with few possessions.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51I think I'm about to get a blessing for my journey.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53Whoa!
0:05:56 > 0:06:00TRANSLATION: Stop hiding behind that camera!
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Thank you, Baba Gee.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07BIRDSONG
0:06:18 > 0:06:20From Devprayag, I travelled south west along the river
0:06:20 > 0:06:22towards the city of Rishikesh.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28From their origins at a melting glacier in the high Himalayas,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31the waters of the Ganges descend more than 12,000 feet,
0:06:31 > 0:06:34carving their way through precipitous gorges.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37A good half a mile drop.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46Although the Ganges is steeped in history and religious tradition,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49in modern India it's not just seen as something to be worshipped.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56- Simon?- Diplan?- Diplan.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58Very nice to meet you.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Look at you with your trendy shades.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03- Welcome to...INDISTINCT. - Thank you very much.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06- The Land of the Lords.- Thank you. - SIMON LAUGHS
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Diplan is a Ganges river guide.
0:07:14 > 0:07:1740 years ago, few Indians could afford to go on holiday,
0:07:17 > 0:07:22now there are around 250 million middle-class Indians.
0:07:22 > 0:07:23On their holidays, they're finding new ways
0:07:23 > 0:07:26of celebrating and enjoying the river.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29We're going in the water. Rafting on the Ganges!
0:07:31 > 0:07:33Looks fairly calm here.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35I suspect it isn't all like that.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38MAN SPEAKS HINDI
0:07:41 > 0:07:43MAN CHANTS IN HINDI ALL CHEER
0:07:45 > 0:07:47ALL CHEER
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Paddle a little harder. Harder!
0:07:56 > 0:07:59Harder! Come on! Fast!
0:07:59 > 0:08:01Fast! Ah!
0:08:01 > 0:08:05The first rapid on this stretch of the river was relatively gentle.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08Good morning! Good morning!
0:08:08 > 0:08:10It's nicknamed "good morning."
0:08:12 > 0:08:14Whoo!
0:08:14 > 0:08:16SCREAMING LAUGHTER
0:08:16 > 0:08:20Go! Hard! Hard!
0:08:20 > 0:08:22Good!
0:08:22 > 0:08:26But downriver the rapids are a bit more energetic.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31Wow!
0:08:39 > 0:08:40Whoa!
0:08:51 > 0:08:55White-water rafting is fairly new to India,
0:08:55 > 0:08:57but the tourist industry is growing rapidly
0:08:57 > 0:09:00along this beautiful section of the Ganges.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04- That was fantastic!- Yeah, really. - Thank you.- Really.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06DIPLAN LAUGHS
0:09:06 > 0:09:08You...you did it really well.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11- And if you're happy, we're happy. - Ah, that's a lovely thing to say.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13Mother Ganga is full happy.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15Tell us about the camps that we can see
0:09:15 > 0:09:16along the bank of the river here.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19We've seen them the whole way down, there's dozens of them.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Who's staying in these tented encampments?
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Adventurers. Indians. They're really freaking out.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28These days they are...they are, like, 90%.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Is this quite an important change, then?
0:09:30 > 0:09:35This is Indians enjoying the river not just worshipping it?
0:09:35 > 0:09:38This is still Mother Ganga, the holy Ganga,
0:09:38 > 0:09:42but nowadays it is more adventurous like.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44They are freaking out in adventures.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51Just down river is a community
0:09:51 > 0:09:54that's long been a beacon for western visitors
0:09:54 > 0:09:57wanting meaning, eastern wisdom and a bit of enlightenment,
0:09:57 > 0:09:59the town of Rishikesh.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07In 1968, the Beatles visited a religious retreat here
0:10:07 > 0:10:10known as an "ashram" for some soul searching and chanting.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20Like them and hundreds of thousands of travellers who've since followed in their footsteps,
0:10:20 > 0:10:22I was going to be staying at an ashram.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26Goodness me! Look where we're going now.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30There's been a few illustrious visitors before.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34- Thank you.- OK.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45- Sadfi?- Yes, welcome.- Namaste. - How are you?- Very well thank you.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47- Simon.- So nice to meet you.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51- Lovely to meet you. Sorry to keep you waiting.- No problem at all. Welcome home.- Welcome home?
0:10:51 > 0:10:53- Of course.- Goodness me!
0:10:53 > 0:10:55Sadfi, a Californian who came here ten years ago
0:10:55 > 0:10:58is now a leader of the Parmarth Niketan Ashram.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01It's the largest ashram in all of Rishikesh.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03It's actually one of the largest
0:11:03 > 0:11:07spiritual institutions in all of India.
0:11:07 > 0:11:08TRADITIONAL INDIAN MUSIC
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Each evening the residents of the ashram and visitors
0:11:13 > 0:11:16gather on the banks of the Ganges to chant and pray.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23The president and spiritual leader of the ashram
0:11:23 > 0:11:28is His Holiness Swami Chidanand Saraswati Maharajah.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Swami Gee also heads a foundation sponsoring free schools,
0:11:35 > 0:11:39a clinic, orphanages, and he's trying to organise
0:11:39 > 0:11:40a clean up of the River Ganges.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43- How are you?- I'm very well, thank you. Sorry to keep you waiting.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45- Simon.- Welcome home.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47Thank you very much indeed.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56- You can take.- The whole thing? Everything?- Yes.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05There are often hundreds of foreign visitors staying at the ashram,
0:12:05 > 0:12:07paying just a few pounds for a simple room
0:12:07 > 0:12:11and a chance to experience a completely different way of life.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21The ashram is also home to 200 local boys from disadvantaged backgrounds
0:12:21 > 0:12:24who receive academic and spiritual education
0:12:24 > 0:12:26as well as food and shelter.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28ALL SING IN HINDI
0:12:35 > 0:12:39I'd been presented with a tree, watered by the Ganges.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42I was told it symbolised the life-giving power of the water
0:12:42 > 0:12:44and the need to protect the river.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46This is an audience with the Swami Gee now.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53I'm going to put my sacred tree here. Nobody take this.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03We're travelling along the Ganges, travelling down the Ganges,
0:13:03 > 0:13:06and I just wondered if you could perhaps help us to understand,
0:13:06 > 0:13:10why is the Ganges so sacred to Indians?
0:13:13 > 0:13:19Ganga...and me has a very special relation.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22When I was on the banks of Ganga, I could feel the power.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24Eyes are closed...
0:13:25 > 0:13:29..and in those moments
0:13:29 > 0:13:33that charging which I needed every day.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35Our mobile today needs charging.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39Cellphones need charging.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43That charging was also available immediately
0:13:43 > 0:13:46- whenever I need it for that reason. - From the river?
0:13:46 > 0:13:50From the river. And I can tell you, not only me,
0:13:50 > 0:13:54this is experience of many who left their families,
0:13:54 > 0:13:56came to the Himalayas, were there,
0:13:56 > 0:14:02they were not all just came just for they had nothing and they came to find peace.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05They were judges, they were doctors,
0:14:05 > 0:14:07they were engineers, they were professionals.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09This place specially...
0:14:11 > 0:14:15..has...has become a powerhouse.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17BIRDSONG
0:14:18 > 0:14:21Hinduism is a set of ancient beliefs
0:14:21 > 0:14:23allowing followers to create their own relationship
0:14:23 > 0:14:25with a multiplicity of gods.
0:14:25 > 0:14:30There's no central authority in Hinduism, no single founding text.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34Most foreign visitors to ashrams don't come looking to convert,
0:14:34 > 0:14:37but instead to find time to think and unwind
0:14:37 > 0:14:40with the help of practices like yoga.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42"Yoga and meditation." Oh, that's where were going.
0:14:46 > 0:14:47It was a chilly morning
0:14:47 > 0:14:50and I'd been asked to wear what felt like a giant nappy.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02WOMAN CHANTS IN HINDI
0:15:19 > 0:15:22The emphasis in this class was on meditation and prayer
0:15:22 > 0:15:24as well as the correct physical posture.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28I was a natural.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34ALL HUM
0:15:52 > 0:15:56- How was that for you?- Huh? - How was that for you?- Good.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59- Why are you here?- Oh, I'm here for the yoga.
0:15:59 > 0:16:04Right. But why have you come...? You could do yoga in America, surely?
0:16:04 > 0:16:09- Well, it was...it was much better to get away. - SHE LAUGHS
0:16:09 > 0:16:15- It took me five months to close my law practice, to sell and give away everything I owned.- Wow!
0:16:15 > 0:16:18To say goodbye to my children and my parents.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22- And I've been here for a year and a half.- My goodness!
0:16:22 > 0:16:24That's not just coming for a little trip, is it?
0:16:24 > 0:16:27- SHE LAUGHS - You're here now.- I'm here.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Why...why here, though?
0:16:30 > 0:16:34Do you feel there's something special about this place?
0:16:34 > 0:16:37- About the country even? - Yes, absolutely.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39This place is very special.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41It's like a big energy vortex.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44As well as attending yoga classes,
0:16:44 > 0:16:47some residents here volunteer to take part in service,
0:16:47 > 0:16:50including helping out with cleaning and cooking.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52Hello, ladies.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56- Hello.- What brought you here? Are you resident or are you...?
0:16:56 > 0:16:58- Guest.- I'm a resident here.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01- How long have you been here? - I've been here for three years.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04Three years? And you live here as well?
0:17:04 > 0:17:07- No, I've just come for five weeks. - And you've been here for?
0:17:07 > 0:17:09I'm here from six months.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12Six months? And what drew you all here?
0:17:13 > 0:17:16- We all are doing sava. - Doing...performing service?
0:17:16 > 0:17:19- Selfless service.- Are you from Rishikesh?
0:17:19 > 0:17:22I'm not from Rishikesh, I'm from Gujarat.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25- From Gujarat? OK. And you're from? - London.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29- I was thinking that sounded like a remarkably clear accent there. - LAUGHTER
0:17:29 > 0:17:32And whereabouts in London are your from?
0:17:32 > 0:17:36- Harrow.- From Harrow?- Yes.- OK. And why have you come here?!
0:17:36 > 0:17:40I've met Swami Gee a few times and he's come to London as well.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42And I've been here with family
0:17:42 > 0:17:45- and I just want to keep coming back. - SHE LAUGHS
0:17:45 > 0:17:50I think to your question of what drew you here, it's...
0:17:50 > 0:17:54I don't think it was a decision that we took, you know?
0:17:54 > 0:17:58I was born and raised in America, in California,
0:17:58 > 0:18:00I didn't know about the Ganga.
0:18:00 > 0:18:06I mean, yes, my family is of Indian origin, I must have heard Ganga in a movie or something,
0:18:06 > 0:18:10but it's not like American textbooks teach you about a river called Ganga.
0:18:10 > 0:18:16And something brought me to Rishikesh and I never left.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20How does your...how does your old American self, as it were,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23differ from your new self?
0:18:23 > 0:18:27You know, in America it's always like you're working and you're going to school
0:18:27 > 0:18:31and there's stress and there's energy being expended...
0:18:31 > 0:18:34- You're just being and existing in the day?- It's the next thing.
0:18:34 > 0:18:35It's always the next thing.
0:18:35 > 0:18:41- And here it's just you are and you just...be.- Hmm.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49Alternative spiritual practices obviously have an immense appeal
0:18:49 > 0:18:52to the many western visitors who come here,
0:18:52 > 0:18:55as was clearly evident in downtown Rishikesh.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57It felt a bit like Glastonbury.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09Lots of lovely New Age stuff going on here.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13Look, the Ganga Astrology and Palmistry Centre.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15Yoga teacher training here.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Look, the Himalayan Yoga Retreat: Breath of Bliss.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24"Emotional blockage treatment."
0:19:24 > 0:19:27Goodness me! This is the self bodyworks.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31This is a real spiritual supermarket.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34Something for everyone.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38Then when you've done your yoga, you can come to the German bakery here,
0:19:38 > 0:19:42step in for continental, Russian, Indian, Chinese, Mexican foods.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45You can get an English breakfast...or a Greek salad.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50I've had a difficult relationship with India on my travels.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53Oh, mind the thieving little monkeys.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55Don't chuck that plastic in the river.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58A third of the world's poorest people live here
0:19:58 > 0:20:01and I've always found the poverty desperately upsetting.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03Look at this!
0:20:03 > 0:20:06This is the India that I have been wanting to see
0:20:06 > 0:20:09that...I have been waiting to see.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14It does feel...quite spiritual.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17I think that's partly because we're so connected with nature here,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20it's all around us.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27CAR HORN
0:20:29 > 0:20:33While Rishikesh is a particular magnet for visitors from the west,
0:20:33 > 0:20:36where I headed next is a major draw for Indian tourists.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50The beautiful Ganges. Look how low it is here!
0:20:54 > 0:20:57I'm meeting a friend who's guided me around India before.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01He's suggested we meet at a statue of the god Shiva.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03He says, "You won't miss it."
0:21:10 > 0:21:13- OK...he was right! - SIMON LAUGHS
0:21:13 > 0:21:18I've travelled in other parts of India on a couple of previous trips with Abhra Bhattacharya.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23- Abhra!- Hello, Simon!
0:21:23 > 0:21:25- Hello, mate! Come on.- Hi.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31- And you said we wouldn't miss Shiva! - Yeah.- Look at the size of him!
0:21:31 > 0:21:35- Colossal! He's one of the central gods of Hinduism.- Yeah.
0:21:35 > 0:21:40Shiva is most revered and most feared,
0:21:40 > 0:21:45because he's the Lord of Destruction and he's also the Creator,
0:21:45 > 0:21:50because we believe every creation begins from destruction,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53so he destroys before he creates.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55- It's a powerful role.- Yeah.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01Abhra is there any connection between Shiva and the Ganges?
0:22:01 > 0:22:05Well, you see the huge dreadlock that Shiva has?
0:22:05 > 0:22:13In that he is supposed to have tamed the untameable Ganges.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15- In his...in his dreadlocks?- Yeah.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18So the Ganges flows through his dreadlocks
0:22:18 > 0:22:23like the hills you must have not missed on your way, you know?
0:22:23 > 0:22:27So it tames the Ganges and its force.
0:22:27 > 0:22:33So the river has flowed through his dreadlocks and out across India?
0:22:33 > 0:22:35- Yeah.- Wow!
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Shiva has hundreds of millions of followers.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44He's one of the most popular gods,
0:22:44 > 0:22:48but all Indians can revere the Ganges for what it gifts the country.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54Haridwar is where the river enters the plains of northern India
0:22:54 > 0:22:57and brings life to almost half the country's population.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05Every 12 years, the city plays host
0:23:05 > 0:23:07to the religious festival of the Kumbh Mela,
0:23:07 > 0:23:10the biggest human gathering on earth.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17But every evening, travellers come from all across India
0:23:17 > 0:23:20to pay homage to the great goddess Ganga.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26And this evening Abhra and I were joining them.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30You must offer flower and fire to Ganga.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33- Flowers and fire?- Yeah.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36- Flowers?- Yes. Those are meant for that.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41- So do we get one of these?- Yes. - There are a bit ornate, aren't they?
0:23:44 > 0:23:46- And there's the fire.- Yeah.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50- OK. 100 rupees, less than a pound. - Yeah.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52- It's a bargain.- Yeah.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56He's checking carefully. Happy with that, sir?
0:23:56 > 0:23:58- Thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06So today is going to be your first service to the Ganges?
0:24:06 > 0:24:09- It is, you're right!- Yeah.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12- And it feels appropriate to be doing this with you, Abhra. - ABHRA LAUGHS
0:24:12 > 0:24:14For Hindus this religious service
0:24:14 > 0:24:18is an opportunity to express their gratitude to the life-giving river.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23Come, Simon.
0:24:23 > 0:24:28And to celebrate their belief that as humans we're small parts of a greater whole.
0:24:30 > 0:24:31Namaste!
0:24:32 > 0:24:34MAN CHANTS
0:24:34 > 0:24:35BELL RINGS
0:24:35 > 0:24:37There's not a lot of western faces here.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41This is a very real place of pilgrimage for Indians.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Tens of thousands of them come here every week.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58The priests begin by making offerings of milk to the river.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06What were they saying?
0:25:06 > 0:25:11He's translating the entire chant which were in Sanskrit into Hindi.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14- A very ancient language?- Yeah. Yeah.
0:25:14 > 0:25:19And he's saying that whatever we were saying the prayers,
0:25:19 > 0:25:23say that Mother Ganges is the main source of life.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25ALL CHANT
0:25:34 > 0:25:38As night falls the priests worship the river with light.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40BELLS RING
0:25:51 > 0:25:56Personal offerings are also made of flowers and candles.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21Finally, it was our turn to make an offering to the river.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23We had a bit of help from a local priest.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26ALL CHANT IN HINDI
0:26:35 > 0:26:38Now you are easy to go?
0:26:38 > 0:26:39- We go together my friend.- Yeah.
0:26:39 > 0:26:44- We have to leave it.- Put it in?- Yeah. - OK.
0:26:54 > 0:26:59But the most important thing a visitor can do here is to bathe in the sacred waters of the river.
0:27:05 > 0:27:06It's a little bit chilly.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12It's certainly refreshing.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16- Further?- Further, otherwise.... - What are we treading down on to?
0:27:16 > 0:27:18Goodness knows!
0:27:18 > 0:27:19That's better.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22You don't want to be swept away here.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25One. Two.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28- And...- Three!
0:27:32 > 0:27:35- I think I need to go a bit further. - INDISTINCT
0:27:38 > 0:27:39Three times.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41I'm running out of chain.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46Yeah. There you go.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51What does that mean? What does it signify what we've done?
0:27:51 > 0:27:55This signifies that, you know, our soul has been cleansed.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58All our past sins have been cleansed.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02- From our previous lives even? - Even from previous lives.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07- Wow!- Now it's the beginning of a new life and a new journey for you.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Thank you. For us both!
0:28:10 > 0:28:11Come on!
0:28:21 > 0:28:24From Haridwar, I followed the Ganges more than 300 miles south-east
0:28:24 > 0:28:27to a major industrial city.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36India's population has more than doubled in the last 40 years.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39There's now more than 1.2 billion people in the country.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42The impact on the river has been appalling.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44We're coming into a place called Kanpur now,
0:28:44 > 0:28:47which is one of the most polluted cities in India.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56The banks of the river were knee deep with rotting rubbish.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59It was all in stark contrast to the pure water
0:28:59 > 0:29:03I'd seen flowing from the Himalayas at the start of my journey.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07But in spite of the evident filth leeching into the river,
0:29:07 > 0:29:11it was a religious holiday and people were still taking a holy dip.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36They're feeding those cows!
0:29:36 > 0:29:39- Yeah.- In a ceremonial way?
0:29:39 > 0:29:40Today is a very auspicious day,
0:29:40 > 0:29:46so they are feeding the cows to gain more, you know, blessings of God.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49- More karma?- Yeah.- Better karma? - Better karma.
0:29:52 > 0:29:56Cows are revered in India because they give milk freely.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59It's taboo to kill or even injure them.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01So I was surprised to discover
0:30:01 > 0:30:03India's now among the biggest exporters
0:30:03 > 0:30:06of beef and leather in the world.
0:30:10 > 0:30:16Kanpur is the centre of the trade, which is worth around three billion pounds a year.
0:30:16 > 0:30:17As we drove into the city
0:30:17 > 0:30:20there were treated animal hides everywhere I looked.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26Tanneries here claim all the hides come from water buffalo,
0:30:26 > 0:30:30which aren't revered by most Hindus.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32But religious activists and animal rights campaigners
0:30:32 > 0:30:36say that most of the them actually come from an illicit trade
0:30:36 > 0:30:38in slaughtered sacred cows.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45Abhra and I went to visit a sanctuary known as a cow shelter.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48We were meeting Porva Joshipura
0:30:48 > 0:30:52from the International Animal Rights Group PETA.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58- Hi, Porva!- Hi.- Namaste. Simon. Lovely to meet you.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00Good to meet you, too.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02What is this place?
0:31:02 > 0:31:08This is a rescue centre for cows who are saved from slaughter.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11This is an area where cows are killed,
0:31:11 > 0:31:17they're transported illegally under the cover of darkness,
0:31:17 > 0:31:21you know, crammed into trucks on top of one another
0:31:21 > 0:31:24and they're taken illegally to slaughter houses.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26- Slaughter houses?!- Yes.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28I... I thought this was not something
0:31:28 > 0:31:33that was legally permissible, let alone religiously, in India.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37It's not, it's not. There's up to a seven-year imprisonment fine
0:31:37 > 0:31:42if you get caught slaughtering cows, but it happens nonetheless.
0:31:42 > 0:31:47And so when the police get a tip-off, from a caring citizen,
0:31:47 > 0:31:51that cows are being transported to slaughter,
0:31:51 > 0:31:54they catch them and they bring them here to this safe place.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58I mean, this is a land
0:31:58 > 0:32:03where compassion for animals is considered...a major value.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05I mean, it's a very basic value.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09- It's a religious code as well, isn't it?- It's a religious code as well.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12- And yet...?- And because of the religion
0:32:12 > 0:32:14it's become important just culturally.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18And yet cows are being killed in this country
0:32:18 > 0:32:22to supply people who are buying leather elsewhere.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26Who's buying the leather that India's exporting, then?
0:32:26 > 0:32:32Um...people in the UK, people in the European Union.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36the EU buys 60% of the leather that gets sold out of India.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40There's a few people who are fattening their wallets
0:32:40 > 0:32:42from the leather industry.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46Things are happening here which are not allowed to happen
0:32:46 > 0:32:50in the UK or in the EU or in some other western country.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53You know, the way that animals are treated here
0:32:53 > 0:32:55is not allowed to happen there.
0:32:58 > 0:33:00Some British and American companies
0:33:00 > 0:33:03have banned Indian leather because of production concerns,
0:33:03 > 0:33:08but it remains a huge business that has a direct impact on the Ganges.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13Many tanneries here use a toxic cocktail to treat hides
0:33:13 > 0:33:17that includes sulphuric acid and cancer-causing chemicals.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20Environmental groups say the waste water from the tanneries
0:33:20 > 0:33:23is then channelled into the river.
0:33:25 > 0:33:27SIMON GROANS
0:33:30 > 0:33:33We stopped at a waste-water pumping station by the side of the road.
0:33:36 > 0:33:42So this...this is some so-called treated water.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46A study by the Indian Institute of Technology
0:33:46 > 0:33:49found that even after supposedly being treated
0:33:49 > 0:33:54the waste water from the tanneries still contains dangerously high levels of poisonous chemicals
0:33:54 > 0:33:57such as arsenic and mercury.
0:33:59 > 0:34:03Apparently, the water here comes out of the pipe over there
0:34:03 > 0:34:09and it flows into these channels and then it's used for irrigation,
0:34:09 > 0:34:13for providing water for crops in the dry season.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15But in the wet season,
0:34:15 > 0:34:18it just flows from here straight into the River Ganges.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36On the river bank on the outskirts of the city,
0:34:36 > 0:34:39I met environmental campaigner, Rakesh Jaiswal.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45Rakesh, thanks for meeting up with us.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48Can you tell us what is the state, the health
0:34:48 > 0:34:52of the River Ganges at this point?
0:34:52 > 0:34:56- TRANSLATION:- In Kanpur the river is effectively dead.
0:34:56 > 0:35:00No-one ever thought this would happen.
0:35:01 > 0:35:06All the rubbish and sewage from the city
0:35:06 > 0:35:09goes into the River Ganges.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12Kanpur has four hundred tanneries,
0:35:12 > 0:35:16they also drain their poisonous water into the Ganges.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22Rakesh showed me a channel he said
0:35:22 > 0:35:26was carrying tannery effluent directly into the river.
0:35:26 > 0:35:28Oh, my God!
0:35:32 > 0:35:36So this channel here is just taking filthy water
0:35:36 > 0:35:40straight into...straight into the Ganges?
0:35:40 > 0:35:42Yes.
0:35:42 > 0:35:48This contains heavy metals, acids, dyes and other chemicals
0:35:48 > 0:35:52used by tanneries.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55- It's all in there? - It's all in there?
0:35:56 > 0:35:58It's a poison?
0:35:58 > 0:36:04Hindus...they take mouthful of Ganges water.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08- Urgh!- Can you imagining taking this water?
0:36:10 > 0:36:15Can someone dare drink directly from Ganga at this place?
0:36:17 > 0:36:20I don't...I don't really understand.
0:36:20 > 0:36:25Hindus, the faith, teaches a respect and love for nature.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27This is the sacred Ganges.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31Why are Indians doing this to the Ganges?
0:36:31 > 0:36:34Even I can't understand this.
0:36:35 > 0:36:40This is a river we worship and revere,
0:36:40 > 0:36:46and whose waters we consider holy...
0:36:46 > 0:36:51yet we remain silent about its desecration.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53BIRDSONG
0:36:53 > 0:36:55Tanneries claim the pollution is caused
0:36:55 > 0:36:58by other towns and cities on the Ganges and not by them.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04Water and sanitation remains a colossal issue in India,
0:37:04 > 0:37:08up to 600 million people here don't have access to a toilet.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12One study discovered the bacteria from sewage in the Ganges
0:37:12 > 0:37:16was 12,000 times permissible levels for bathing.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19The Ganges and other Indian rivers are horrifically polluted
0:37:19 > 0:37:23and successive Indian governments have failed to clean them up.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31I travelled another 200 miles to Varanasi,
0:37:31 > 0:37:34one of the most sacred Hindu holy cities.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53And we're just coming into the city of Varanasi.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57It's one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00It's a place that's said to be as old as Babylon.
0:38:14 > 0:38:18The same religious rituals have been practised in the temples here
0:38:18 > 0:38:22for more than 1,00 years and remain virtually unchanged.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29At dawn each morning people come to worship the river
0:38:29 > 0:38:32and bathe in its sacred waters.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38The American writer, Mark Twain,
0:38:38 > 0:38:43who came here in the 1890s wrote that the city is older than history,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46older than tradition, older even than legend.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50Varanasi has been a place of faith for 30 centuries.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53This is absolutely stunning!
0:38:53 > 0:38:56This is one of the most amazing places I've ever been to.
0:39:01 > 0:39:03Along the banks of the river
0:39:03 > 0:39:07are dozens of gats or flights of stone steps leading up to temples,
0:39:07 > 0:39:08palaces and guest houses.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32Hindus believe that to die within the confines of this city
0:39:32 > 0:39:35or to have one's ashes scattered in the river here
0:39:35 > 0:39:38is to escape the laborious cycle of reincarnation
0:39:38 > 0:39:42and achieve Moksha or eternal liberation.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45Abhra, where are we going?
0:39:45 > 0:39:51So we are going to a very special place...a very special hotel rather.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54- OK.- It's just round the corner.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06The hotel is a rather unique retirement home
0:40:06 > 0:40:10for the elderly or sick who want to die in holy Varanasi.
0:40:10 > 0:40:12It's sometimes known as a "death hotel".
0:40:21 > 0:40:24Abhra took me to meet Manvuri Gapathi and his wife,
0:40:24 > 0:40:28who've retired from a life of farming to live out their days here.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33Namaste.
0:40:39 > 0:40:43So what is this place and why are you here?
0:40:43 > 0:40:46- TRANSLATION:- This is the Kashi Liberation Home.
0:40:46 > 0:40:50According to the holy scriptures you can attain liberation here.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53Otherwise people like us our souls will not be liberated
0:40:53 > 0:40:56from the cycle of reincarnations, they will be restless.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00It's this desire for liberation that brings me here.
0:41:00 > 0:41:04Is everybody here...to die? Is that why people come here?
0:41:04 > 0:41:07We have come there for that,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10but we can only die here if it is written in our destiny.
0:41:11 > 0:41:15When did you come here? How long have you been here?
0:41:15 > 0:41:19It has been 18 years now.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23You've both been here for 18 years?!
0:41:24 > 0:41:28She sometimes goes back home, I don't.
0:41:28 > 0:41:34And you will never leave because you don't want to risk not dying here, is that right?
0:41:34 > 0:41:37No, I could leave but I would only go
0:41:37 > 0:41:40to other holy places like Prayag or Haridwar.
0:41:42 > 0:41:47Even if my soul leaves my body at another holy place, it would still be liberated.
0:41:50 > 0:41:56I am...I am completely terrified of death.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59I wake in the night sometimes in a cold sweat,
0:41:59 > 0:42:04but it sounds to me like you embrace it.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08No, no, you should never be scared.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12From the moment you are born death is part of life.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15They go together.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17I am not afraid.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20I can't understand it because my...
0:42:20 > 0:42:26Everything in my culture is fearful of dying
0:42:26 > 0:42:30and everything in your culture accepts it
0:42:30 > 0:42:33and to a certain extent embraces it.
0:42:33 > 0:42:38It seems...it seems an absolutely fundamental difference.
0:42:40 > 0:42:44With so many people coming to the city of Varanasi to die close to the Ganges,
0:42:44 > 0:42:47funerals are big business here.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58Families go to great lengths to ensure their loved ones
0:42:58 > 0:43:02are cremated on the river bank thus securing their eternal salvation.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09At the main cremation area next to the river,
0:43:09 > 0:43:12Abhra and I had arranged to meet the Dom Raja,
0:43:12 > 0:43:15a man who's said to have made a fortune controlling funerals here.
0:43:18 > 0:43:19Very nice to meet you, sir.
0:43:19 > 0:43:21May I sit here?
0:43:21 > 0:43:24- Is that going to be all right? - Yeah, yeah, sure.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29What an extraordinary place.
0:43:29 > 0:43:34Can you...can you tell us what is the job of the Dom Raja?
0:43:34 > 0:43:39- TRANSLATION:- Our job is to provide the flame for the funeral pyre.
0:43:39 > 0:43:45Our men assist in the burning of the bodies.
0:43:48 > 0:43:50How many bodies are burned here?
0:43:50 > 0:43:53We don't keep count.
0:43:53 > 0:44:00It can range from 20 to 100 bodies a day.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03How do you decide how much to charge people
0:44:03 > 0:44:06for having their relative burnt here?
0:44:06 > 0:44:09There is no fixed price.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15People give whatever they can afford.
0:44:18 > 0:44:22This sounds like a...very difficult and upsetting job.
0:44:22 > 0:44:27Is it a job and a role that you find difficult,
0:44:27 > 0:44:29or do you enjoy it?
0:44:29 > 0:44:35It is a family tradition and I see it as a duty.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38It's like a family business.
0:44:42 > 0:44:45It doesn't upset me.
0:44:45 > 0:44:49It's my way of practising my faith as a Hindu.
0:44:53 > 0:44:58Why does religion dictate that you and your family do this job?
0:44:58 > 0:45:01A very long time ago, we were upper-caste priests,
0:45:01 > 0:45:04but we were cursed by the gods.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06Now we do this job.
0:45:06 > 0:45:08So the legend is that your family
0:45:08 > 0:45:14were cursed and that's why you have to do this job?
0:45:14 > 0:45:17Exactly.
0:45:17 > 0:45:19In India's caste system,
0:45:19 > 0:45:22in which job or role is often determined from birth,
0:45:22 > 0:45:25the Dom Raja's family belonged to the lowest caste,
0:45:25 > 0:45:27the so-called Untouchables.
0:45:27 > 0:45:31Is the caste system still alive in India?
0:45:31 > 0:45:34Well, we are developing,
0:45:34 > 0:45:39we are growing up in the sense of more and more education,
0:45:39 > 0:45:43but the shadow is always there, you see.
0:45:43 > 0:45:45There are still people who would,
0:45:45 > 0:45:51if they even step in the shadow of an Untouchable, would go to the Ganges
0:45:51 > 0:45:56and have a bath before they get back to their home.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59If they step into their shadow?
0:45:59 > 0:46:01Yeah, it's that bad.
0:46:01 > 0:46:05It's 2014! India's got a space programme!
0:46:05 > 0:46:07Yeah.
0:46:07 > 0:46:09That's incredible.
0:46:09 > 0:46:13That's why we call it Incredible India.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16Cremations here are public but ritual events.
0:46:18 > 0:46:22The eldest son of a deceased family leads the funeral rites.
0:46:24 > 0:46:28First, the body's prepared by immersing it in the Ganges.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34Then the son circles the funeral pyre.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37This is an utterly overwhelming place.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42You can't really hope to understand this,
0:46:42 > 0:46:47but...you can't help but absorb what's going on here.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50Finally, having obtained a flame
0:46:50 > 0:46:54from a member of the Dom Raja's family, he lights the fire.
0:46:57 > 0:47:00Like millions of cremated and partially-cremated bodies each year
0:47:00 > 0:47:03the remains will be put into the Ganges.
0:47:14 > 0:47:17You lived here, didn't you? You lived in Varanasi?
0:47:17 > 0:47:20I lived in Varanasi for more than eight years.
0:47:20 > 0:47:24And, presumably, the burning of the bodies here
0:47:24 > 0:47:27is just very much part of life?
0:47:27 > 0:47:30It's part of life, but in the Ganges you can say it's special
0:47:30 > 0:47:34that I have seen what I haven't seen anywhere,
0:47:34 > 0:47:38so many bodies being burned in one place, you know.
0:47:38 > 0:47:42You can see ten bodies burning here if you count, you know.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44At any moment.
0:47:49 > 0:47:53Varanasi was the most sacred place I'd visited on the Ganges.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56There was no mistaking the power and the pull of its waters.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59It was a profoundly moving experience.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11The next morning, we followed the Ganges
0:48:11 > 0:48:14towards Patna the state capital of Bihar.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31It's raining, we're on the road
0:48:31 > 0:48:34and we've just crossed into Bihar,
0:48:34 > 0:48:37which is the poorest state in the country.
0:48:37 > 0:48:42There's room in India for modern as well an ancient figures of worship,
0:48:42 > 0:48:46and that even includes today's movie stars or sporting heroes.
0:48:54 > 0:48:56Nowhere is this devotion more apparent
0:48:56 > 0:48:58than in India's impoverished villages,
0:48:58 > 0:49:03where movies and sport provide welcome escape from the desperate hardship of everyday life.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14Oh, my goodness!
0:49:14 > 0:49:16- This is what we're here for?- Yeah.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20That's Sachin Tendulkar.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23- It does look like him, that's true. - The famous cricketer.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26Sachin Tendulkar! Yes, of course.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29And that's the World Cup in his hand.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31- The cricket World Cup?- Yeah.
0:49:31 > 0:49:34He's a world-famous cricketer,
0:49:34 > 0:49:38but here it looks as though he's being revered
0:49:38 > 0:49:40as something even more than that.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43He's not just revered, here he's worshipped.
0:49:43 > 0:49:47- This is a temple they are making. - They're building a temple to him?
0:49:47 > 0:49:52- Yes.- To him?- And they worship him every morning and evening like Lord Shiva.
0:49:52 > 0:49:55My goodness!
0:49:55 > 0:49:58So he's being turned into what, a living god?
0:49:58 > 0:50:02- Yeah.- Is that...acceptable in Hinduism?
0:50:02 > 0:50:06Here we do worship humans like religious gurus.
0:50:06 > 0:50:11And he is a cricket guru, so we can worship him. HE LAUGHS
0:50:14 > 0:50:17Everybody's gathered here. My goodness!
0:50:17 > 0:50:20When's the temple going to be built?
0:50:20 > 0:50:22And how big will the temple be?
0:50:22 > 0:50:25How many people do you expect will be able to worship in there?
0:50:32 > 0:50:34INDISTINCT CHATTER
0:50:36 > 0:50:38He's going to put it in the car?
0:50:38 > 0:50:40Open...open the door.
0:50:40 > 0:50:44The villages have even composed and recorded a devotional song
0:50:44 > 0:50:47to what they say is their new demi-god.
0:50:47 > 0:50:48SINGING IN HINDI
0:50:52 > 0:50:53What's it saying?
0:50:53 > 0:50:57It's saying that, "Sachin, you are like our god.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00"You have taken all of India to a different level."
0:51:05 > 0:51:08That's very catchy!
0:51:08 > 0:51:10The villagers are hoping tourists
0:51:10 > 0:51:14will stop by their new shrine and, no doubt, buy a few souvenirs.
0:51:20 > 0:51:22TRAIN HORN
0:51:40 > 0:51:42I was on the final leg of my journey.
0:51:43 > 0:51:47My route took me past a controversial dam on the Ganges
0:51:47 > 0:51:50that's nearly 7,500ft long.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08And there it is!
0:52:08 > 0:52:10The Farakka Barrage!
0:52:10 > 0:52:14Now, what is the Farakka Barrage?
0:52:14 > 0:52:18In the 1960s, India had a major problem,
0:52:18 > 0:52:22because from this point on the river forks,
0:52:22 > 0:52:25one part goes to Bangladesh, it becomes the River Padma,
0:52:25 > 0:52:29and another part turns right here and heads towards Kolkata
0:52:29 > 0:52:31and it becomes the River Hooghly.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34But the River Hooghly wasn't getting much water in it.
0:52:34 > 0:52:39So what did India do, it built a massive barrage across the river,
0:52:39 > 0:52:42so it could regulate the flow.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45Basically, India has the ability
0:52:45 > 0:52:49to turn off the taps on the River Ganges at this point.
0:52:51 > 0:52:55But India's neighbour has paid a high price.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58Since the barrage was completed in the 1970s,
0:52:58 > 0:53:01the Bangladeshi government says that water flowing into the country
0:53:01 > 0:53:04has been reduced and parts of Bangladesh
0:53:04 > 0:53:07have suffered drought and even famine.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11The waters of the Ganges are a life-and-death issue here.
0:53:11 > 0:53:13What I find particularly astonishing
0:53:13 > 0:53:18is that when this barrage was being built it was talked about
0:53:18 > 0:53:22and is today as part of India's religious duty to the river.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26It was a religious requirement to create this barrage
0:53:26 > 0:53:31and regulate and control the flow of the sacred River Ganges.
0:53:31 > 0:53:35The thought that the rest of the River Ganges that flows on from here
0:53:35 > 0:53:40through India could dry up was just sacrilegious. It was unthinkable!
0:53:40 > 0:53:44The holy River Ganges that flows on from here, through India,
0:53:44 > 0:53:47towards the city of Calcutta had to have enough water.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02From Farakka the river flows about 160 miles
0:54:02 > 0:54:04through the city of Kolkata
0:54:04 > 0:54:08before flowing out into the Bay of Bengal at Sagar Island.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18It was an auspicious time to arrive at the end of the river.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27INDISTINCT CHATTER
0:54:27 > 0:54:28For a period of several weeks,
0:54:28 > 0:54:31thousands of pilgrims were travelling to the point
0:54:31 > 0:54:35where the river empties into the sea, known as Ganga Sagar.
0:54:41 > 0:54:46In a country whose population could ultimately surpass China's as the largest in the world,
0:54:46 > 0:54:49ferries to the island were understandably crowded.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56Oops! Bit of a rush! Bit of a push!
0:54:56 > 0:54:58An old lady is pressing against my bottom.
0:55:00 > 0:55:01Goodness me!
0:55:06 > 0:55:08I was pinched by an elderly lady!
0:55:08 > 0:55:11ABHRA LAUGHS
0:55:11 > 0:55:15Hundreds of millions of Indians accept the idea the Ganges is holy.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17They worship it and they travel to bathe in it.
0:55:22 > 0:55:24Why are you going to Ganga Sagar?
0:55:24 > 0:55:26- TRANSLATION:- I'm going to Ganga Sagar
0:55:26 > 0:55:29to meet God and to bathe in the water.
0:55:29 > 0:55:31Are you on pilgrimage, then?
0:55:31 > 0:55:35You're on a pilgrimage going to the island to see the end of the River Ganges?
0:55:35 > 0:55:37The holy River Ganges?
0:55:37 > 0:55:42Yes, it's a pilgrimage, a pilgrimage to Ganga Sagar.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44What's...what's special about the island?
0:55:44 > 0:55:50It's the soul, the god. Ganga is India's number one god.
0:55:50 > 0:55:55You can do pilgrimages to the other sites many times,
0:55:55 > 0:55:59but you must come here once. OK?
0:56:03 > 0:56:07She didn't really have a why, an explanation about why she's going.
0:56:07 > 0:56:09There isn't a why.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12It's a practice which is going on and on and on.
0:56:12 > 0:56:16It's a practice. You have to go to Ganga Sagar once in your lifetime.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18That's it, that's the why.
0:56:23 > 0:56:26India is changing, but I was struck by the fact
0:56:26 > 0:56:30that ancient religious beliefs still seem to be thriving.
0:56:30 > 0:56:34The country now has more than three million places of worship,
0:56:34 > 0:56:37but a shortage of hospitals and schools.
0:56:39 > 0:56:41BELL SOUNDS
0:56:43 > 0:56:46Ohh! Thank you.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54I'd finally reached the end of the Ganges
0:56:54 > 0:56:56and the end of this part of my journey.
0:57:00 > 0:57:02The river comes down here...
0:57:02 > 0:57:07and merges with the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean.
0:57:09 > 0:57:11We're on the beach!
0:57:15 > 0:57:17DOG BARKS
0:57:20 > 0:57:25The Ganges was absolutely central to the development of civilisation in India.
0:57:25 > 0:57:30I feel the river's now become a litmus test for India in the 21st century.
0:57:33 > 0:57:36If it can't protect its living goddess from pollution,
0:57:36 > 0:57:39then what hope can it have of defeating corruption,
0:57:39 > 0:57:43challenging the caste system or reducing poverty?
0:57:45 > 0:57:47The River Ganges,
0:57:47 > 0:57:50worshiped from source to sea.
0:57:50 > 0:57:54Like everything about India...it's complicated.
0:57:55 > 0:58:00It's a holy river, but it could really do with a clean up.
0:58:00 > 0:58:02I've loved travelling along it
0:58:02 > 0:58:06and I can't wait for my other journeys along sacred rivers.
0:58:08 > 0:58:10On my next journey, I'll be travelling along the Yangtze,
0:58:10 > 0:58:13Asia's longest river.
0:58:13 > 0:58:15Let's take a dip in the Yangtze!
0:58:15 > 0:58:18I'll attempt to swim across it, dodging dangerous freighters.
0:58:18 > 0:58:20SHIP'S HORN
0:58:22 > 0:58:25Look at what we as a species are capable of.
0:58:25 > 0:58:30And visiting an engineering marvel that's one of the largest man-made structures on the planet.
0:58:30 > 0:58:33HE GASPS