30/12/2017 The Travel Show - Short Edition

joining us for the papers. Coming up

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In the. -- India.

In the. -- India.

In the. -- India. A vast country and

to over at 1 billion people,

birthplace of the luscious

civilisations and today, a fast

emerging global power. That

illustrious. And 70 years after

independence, India is still a

diverse, every evolving assortment

of cultures, creeds and languages.

-- ever evolving. Heading off the

well worn tourist path, we are on a

journey that spans this vast

subcontinent from east to west. I am

on a quest to find out how history,

religion and politics have shaped

India. Is going to be an amazing

journey. -- it is.

For thousands of years,

India found its riches and influence

through international trade.

And at the heart of this

enterprise was the sea.

And the state of Gujarat,

with 1,000 miles of coastline,

served as a shipping gateway

to Africa, Arabia and beyond.

This is as far west as you can get

in India, and it's the mingling

of all the influences from overseas

that have helped make

Gujarat what it is today.

The region is known

as Kutch, and its beaches,

like here in Mandvi,

are a popular domestic

tourist attraction.

But this ancient port town's economy

is still anchored in a much

older maritime tradition.

This is genuinely incredible.

I'm in heaven.

A huge shipyard with boats

and ships at various

stages of construction,

all made from wood.

In an industry dominated by bulky

and expensive container ships,

these smaller, more agile vessels

are still in huge demand.

So here are, really close up

to these incredible hulks.

This one is in mid-construction.

We can actually go inside.

I'm going to see how

they make these things.

Apparently, each of these dhows

takes two and a half years to make.

For many of the workers,

shipbuilding is a family tradition.

And this ancient craft is now

attracting unexpected new admirers.

The region of Kutch was home

to one of the world's

earliest civilisations,

and can be traced back

to prehistoric times.

Its old royal capital

is the city of Bhuj.

Its glory days are kind of over.

It was badly hit by

the 2001 earthquake.

There's a kind of melancholy

about this area, because obviously,

this was once the real,

opulent centre of a rich empire,

trading empire anyway,

and the hub was here.

But what is still flourishing

is Bhuj's 450-year-old market

just a few minutes away,

where the trading

tradition continues.

What do they sell here?

They sell everything.

Fruit, vegetables,

fabric, groceries.

All cultural backgrounds can be

seen in the marketplace.

Here, as you can see,

all different communities

and ethnic groups come here.

But Kutch's natural

harmony was disrupted 70

years ago, when the British left.

The country was divided

on religious grounds,

with Muslims partitioned

to the north in Pakistan,

and Hindus to the south in India.

We drove out of the city

towards the border with Pakistan,

along the way encountering

some Kutch herdsmen.

They've been living here

for 400 or 500 years.

Since, they migrated down south

into Kutch from Sindh,

which is now part of Pakistan.

Ever since the split,

there's been tension

between the two governments,

but to these herdsmen, national

borders and religious

differences mean little.

For the people of Kutch,

India and Pakistan or Hindu/Muslim

is not that important.

People are religious, of course,

but they're living in harmony

and the relationship between these

two different groups is brotherly.

When two countries were created

from one, indelible scars were left

on the psyche of the subcontinent.

ARCHIVE: Independence has not

yet brought them peace.

Rejoicing turned quickly

into horror and mourning.

In dramatic scenes, more

than a million people died

in religious rioting,

and many millions

more were displaced.

This all used to be one,

but now it's divided in two.

And now the border itself has become

a tourist attraction.

That way is Pakistan?

That way is Pakistan,

about 70 kilometres up north.

That is where the India-Pakistan

border is, which lies along

the middle of Kutch,

which is a geographical valley.

At nearly 500 metres above sea

level, the highest point,

Kalo Dungar hill, allows us

a dramatic view of this

geological phenomenon,

the Rann, or desert of Kutch,

which continues into Pakistan.

I wanted to get up closer

to this natural wonder.

It's quite incredible, the sand.

I mean, it's just hard

crystals, white salt.

You can probably taste it.

Really unusual to see

something like this.

The further out I walked,

the less lovely it became.

It's actually quite incredible.

It's more like snow or sludge

than white sand or white crystals

when it gets wet around here.

I'm getting really deep into it.

Whoa!

Today, this shimmering

wilderness is a healthy source

of income for the region,

thanks mainly to a three-month long

festival throughout the winter.

It is amazing.

What was a vast, barren landscape

has been transformed

into this colourful complex,

whereby at night, there's live music

and other performances and by day,

there's plenty of other activities.

Just here is what you might call

the glamping quarters.

50,000 people have come here

in the last couple of months alone.

I guess this is a cross

between a weekend festival

and a holiday resort.

It's basically a honeypot

for the booming middle classes

of India in what has been one

of the fastest-growing

economies in the world.

The revival of interest in Kutch

culture, boosted by the festival,

has been a lifeline for one group

of locals in particular,

folk musicians.

Music in particular

is very rich over here.

Previously, they used to perform

with their cattles, the shepherds.

Then afterwards, when they came

home, they'd get together

and their speech and songs

are being performed.

It's a day-to-day practice.

One person plays two

flutes of the same time?

Yes.

Now, for example, 500 cattles

are there and only one

shepherd is there.

So he'll sit and start playing this

and whatever musical reach this has,

the cattles will not

go out of that range.

Wow.

And they enjoy the music,

so the digestive system,

the milk output increases.

So this is the beauty of it.

So it's almost like meditation.

Yeah.

Things are changing, definitely.

As you say, tourism,

so many music festivals are there,

so they are invited in various parts

of India and abroad.

And of course, they

are very well paid.

And not only do I get

a demonstration, but also

the privilege of playing along...

as lead tinkler.

And yet again, I'm made aware that

Kutch culture is all about a sense

of community and certainly not

about religious segregation.

From the bottom of my heart,

I am telling you till today,

in spiritual and music forms,

Hindus and Muslims sit together

and perform till today.