All language subtitles for India From Above Series 1 Part 1 Modern and Mystic 1080p

Narrator: India.

Birthplace of a
civilization that is
over 5,000 years old.

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A land where
ancient traditions
live side by side

With a dynamic,
modern society.

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This spectacular aerial
journey captures

This unique nation's
incredible sights
from above,

For the first time.

It shows how ancient
festivals still dictate
the rhythms of life here.

And how indians are
forging new
traditions today.

From the drive to make
democracy work for everyone

In a nation of over
a billion people,

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To ensuring ancient skills
and techniques are preserved
for future generations.

Our bird's eye view
reveals how this
nation is embracing

It's past to forge
its future.

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India.

Home to 1.3
billion people.

A secular nation where
multiple faiths have
thrived over centuries.

(bell sounds)

This is the birthplace
of the world's oldest
surviving religion,

Hinduism.

Scholars believe the
roots of hinduism lie
in ancient texts

Written over
4,000 years ago.

In india, water has
been worshipped since
time immemorial.

And no river is more
sacred to india's nearly

One billion hindus
than the river ganga,

Known outside of india
as the river ganges.

This river has shaped
the religious landscape

Of india for thousands
of years,

And still exerts its
influence over
millions of indians.

One of the most revered
parts of the river is
at prayagraj.

448 miles southwest
of india's capital
city, delhi.

This is the confluence
of three holy rivers,

The ganga, the yamuna and
the mythical saraswati,

The last one an invisible
river existing in
mythology.

Hindus believe the
holy water of these rivers
washes away all mortal sins.

This belief makes
prayagraj one of
the four holy sites

Chosen to host the
world's largest
religious gathering.

The kumbh festival.

Every six years, millions
of pilgrims flock here
in search of salvation.

When they come, a
temporary city, two thirds
the size of manhattan,

Springs up on these
riverbanks.

And, with this many
people packed into an area
of over 12 square miles,

Stampedes are always
a risk.

With previous kumbh
melas reporting a
number of deaths

Due to overcrowding,
the task of ensuring
the safety

Of the pilgrims
falls on the 20,000
police officers

Deployed at prayagraj,
especially for
this festival.

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How is it possible to
monitor the welfare of
the 220 million people

Expected to attend the
50-day long kumbh?

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Deputy inspector
general k.P. Singh

Pioneers a modern
solution to this
ancient problem.

Singh: This time we
have used more than
1,000 plus cameras,

So we try to incorporate
the technology with the
best people.

So it was a new
experiment altogether.

Narrator: In the control
room, singh's team uses
artificial intelligence

To analyze the live
feeds from over 1,000
fixed and drone cameras

Positioned around
the festival.

This allows them to
watch over pilgrims

Across the whole site
around the clock.

The technology uses an
algorithm which measures
the number of pilgrims

In real time, in specific
areas, and analyses crowd
densities.

It raises soft alerts for
more than three people

Per square meter and
strong alerts for
more than five.

This helps inform the team
about the areas in danger
of becoming overcrowded.

Singh uses this data to
instruct his teams on the
ground which manage crowds.

Eliminating bottle necks
and averting injury.

After 50 days of
festivities,

Darkness falls on the
last day of the kumbh
festival.

The pilgrims launch
hundreds of burning lamps
into the sacred rivers,

Ganga and yamuna.

High above, the drone
technology takes to the night
sky for a special display.

They spell out the
phrase "kumbh 2019"

Together with the three
colors of the indian
national flag.

This modern-day spectacle
marks the end

Of the largest religious
gathering in the world.

From traditions that date
back over a millennia,

To the millennials ringing
in the new year with a
modern celebration.

India is a land
of festivity.

Come December, a
festival begins to heat
up on the world-famous

Beaches of goa, on
the west coast.

Asia's largest edm
festival, sunburn.

An event where fans,
world famous djs and
top edm performers

From around the globe come
together for a larger
than life celebration.

After sunburn takes
over the beaches of goa
at the end of the year,

Another festival begins
in the spring

That unites indians of
almost all faiths.

We travel from the
southwest to the northern
region of india.

It is a warm afternoon
in the town of nandgaon.

(bell sounds)

A view from the air
reveals a group of young
men winding their way

Through the narrow
passages in the town.

A crowd of women
waits for them in
the main square.

Each woman is armed
with a long stick
called the laathi.

When the men arrive,
the women use their
lathis to beat them.

This symbolic act is
part of a day long
celebration in nandgaon

That marks the beginning
of the festival of holi
every year.

It's early evening
in the northern
town of nandgaon,

Where a unique ritual
is playing out.

This is lathmar holi.

It began as a retelling
of a famous hindu legend.

A love story between
the lord krishna and
the maiden, radha.

Krishna is believed to
have blue colored skin.

The story goes that krishna
and his friends visit the
village where radha lives.

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Krishna smothers her in
pigment to try and change
the color of her skin.

Radha fights back.

She and her friends beat
krishna with sticks and
drive him from the town.

The modern inhabitants
of nandgaon,

The village where
lord krishna spent
his childhood,

Recreate this tale
of a youthful prank

In their playful
stick beating ritual.

Nandgaon erupts in a
kaleidoscope of color.

Neighbors throw handfuls
of pigment at each other

To celebrate the
ancient legend.

Age, gender and
nationality disappear
under a blanket of colors.

Scenes like these can
be found across the
subcontinent

During the week of holi.

As people come together
in a fun celebration

That coincides with
the start of spring.

Like the festivals
which bind together
india's citizens,

The desire for progress
transcends borders of
states and culture.

The indian space program
is a source of great
pride for the nation.

From its launchpad in the
city of sriharikota,

The indian space research
organization has sent

Missions to both
the moon and mars.

The modern drive to
build vessels to explore

New horizons springs
from the nation's
ancient roots.

Once source of this
passion for engineering
can be found

On india's west coast,
in the city of veraval.

Indians have fished from
boats here for centuries.

A bird's eye view reveals
that veraval is still a
busy fishing port today.

Many of these boats are
made from fiberglass.

A few are wooden,
built by carpenters

Who used techniques
honed over centuries.

Mansur kureshi comes
from a long line of
shipbuilders

That has always made
boats the old way.

Narrator: Mansur builds
wooden boats of all shapes

And sizes for high
profile clients with
traditional tastes.

His vessels range from
40 to over 1,500
tonnes in capacity.

This week, the
pressure is on
mansur and his team.

They must complete
this huge fishing
boat, called a dhow,

In the next seven
days before the high
tide arrives.

Miss the tide because
of delays and mansur

Will have to push
back delivery to his
client by a month.

Narrator: Today mansur
must check the boat's
hull one final time

To make sure it's
ready for launch.

Every wooden panel
and every joint
must be perfect.

Defects must be
repaired.

Mansur's team cannot
risk late delivery
to the client.

The hull of a vessel
like this one starts

As a single piece of
wood called a keel.

Craftsmen make a frame to
support the boat's shape

Using large planks
of wood.

Then, the last
layer of wood,

Which makes the
outer skin of the
boat, is fitted on.

Mansur's team of skilled
workers uses only nuts

And bolts to put
this dhow together.

Mansur finishes his
inspection.

The boat's hull
is perfect.

The build is right on
schedule for floating and
delivery to the client.

In an age when india has
the technology to launch
missions into space,

This nation is
careful to preserve
the unique techniques

Pioneered by its past.

India is one of the fastest
growing economies in the
industrialized world.

And its population
is predicted to
increase 20 percent

To 1.5 billion by 2030.

This growth will
stretch india's
energy infrastructure

To its limits.

To meet future demand,
india has an ambitious
plan to boost the amount

Of energy it generates
from renewable sources

By 40 percent before
the end of the decade.

Kamuthi, in the southern
state of tamil nadu,

Receives an average of
more than seven hours
of sunshine every day,

Making it an ideal
place to build such
an epic solar farm.

And this monumental
power plant is best
seen from above.

Two and a half million
solar panels combine

To generate 648 megawatts
of clean energy.

Enough to power about
150,000 homes,

This is one of the
largest solar power
plants on earth.

Anil: The entire
project is spread across
2,500 acres of land,

If I have to give an analogy
that land means 950 olympic
sized football grounds.

This plant has 38,000
pile foundations and
30,000 structural steel.

Narrator: The solar farm
needs to run at close

To maximum efficiency
to meet demand.

For this, anil gupta
and his team must make
sure nothing prevents

The sunlight from
reaching the panels
photovoltaic cells.

Anil assigns a team of
20 grass cutters to
remove tall foliage

That could throw shadows
over the solar panels.

But the hot, rural
location creates
another big problem.

Dust.

Layers of dust settle
on panels each day which
could impede efficiency.

Using water jets to clean
the panels takes too long
and is too labor intensive.

So, anil deploys
a solution.

25 giant robotic mops.

Each spins at 100
revolutions per minute.

A solar powered motor
moves them vertically up
and down a rectangular

Frame attached to a row
of solar panels.

Once a section is
cleaned, the frame slides
along automatically

To the neighboring panel.

It takes one mop around
two hours to clean a row of
solar panels 803 feet long.

The robotic mops work every
day to ensure this solar
farm captures the natural,

Renewable resources
india needs to meet
its energy demands.

Anil: India is poising
to become a part of

Five trillion us dollar
economy by the year 2025.

And today we are at
2.7, so we have to grow.

As india grow our power
demand will also grow.

And to reduce our
carbon footprints,

We believe solar
project is one of the
most promising area.

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Narrator: India is
one of the youngest
nations on earth

With more than 65 percent
of its population under
the age of 35.

They honor the past while
bringing innovation to
all areas of modern life,

From business and
technology to sport
and big events.

Building new traditions
for the future.

One of the most extreme
sports events takes place

Over 2,000 miles
from kamuthi,

In india's northern
most territory.

Ladakh is one of the most
remote places on earth.

A view from above reveals
a cold desert landscape

Of high plains and
deep valleys.

In the distance are
the peaks of the
mighty himalayas.

The youngest mountain
range on the planet.

This unforgiving terrain
is now the setting

For one of the world's
toughest sporting events.

It's 2:50 a.M.

A group of athletes stands
at the start line of
the khardung la challenge.

Started in 2012, it's an
ultra-marathon held across

Some of the most
breathtaking yet grueling
landscapes of ladakh.

Shabbir hussain was born
and raised in this region.

He has won the challenge
two years running.

Can he make it three
in a row today?

Narrator: The khardung
la challenge is a 44.7
mile ultra-marathon

Across some of the
world's highest and most
demanding terrains.

It is a new sporting
festival for the
21st century.

Shabbir hussain has
emerged victorious two
years in a row,

Today he hopes to
make it three.

Narrator: 3 a.M.

Race official:
Three, two, one, go!

Narrator: The race begins.

The challenge is divided
into four legs,

As it winds its way
through the mountains

Between the villages of
khardung and leh.

The first leg
stretches 20 miles
and climbs 4,580 feet

To the top of
khardung la mountain.

Shabbir must run up one
of the highest paved
roads in the world

In almost complete
darkness to get there.

Narrator: Our bird's
eye view captures
the spectacular

And rugged terrain
that lies ahead.

During the winter months,
temperatures here drop to
about 0° fahrenheit

Such extreme weather
conditions sometimes
isolate ladakh

From the rest of
the country.

The marathon is held
in September, just
before winter.

Here in khardung la,

The temperature
is approximately
23° fahrenheit

Shabbir begins
the second leg
of the race.

It's a distance of 8.8
miles to the village of
south pullu.

Thick patches of ice
nestle in the folds of
the rough mountainsides.

The atmosphere here
contains 50 percent less
oxygen than at sea level.

Goba: The biggest challenge
that the runners feel,

Specially people who are
coming from outside ladakh,
is the elevation.

You know, running at
over 17,000 feet it's
absolutely, you know,

Something people
will not imagine.

Narrator: By the time
shabbir starts the
third leg of the race,

High altitude, low
oxygen and extreme
temperature changes

Push some athletes
past their limits.

Runner: Water?

Water?

Narrator: In extreme
circumstances,
athletes can develop

Life threatening forms of
acute mountain sickness.

Shabbir stays focused
on his objective.

His final destination
is leh, 8.3 miles away.

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At the finish line in
leh market, a crowd
is waiting.

Shabbir and a
fellow competitor
are neck and neck

When they turn into
the home straight.

(applause)

6 hours and 53 minutes
after he set off, shabbir
hussain makes history.

Becoming the first
person ever to win the
khardung la challenge

Three years in a row.

Narrator: This race
welcomes competitors
from across the world.

120 athletes out of the
142 that started the race
complete the challenge.

They can take pride in
finishing one of the world's
highest ultra-marathons.

India is the
second-most populous
nation in the world.

While nearly one third
of its population
lives in cities,

A majority live in over
half a million villages.

And once every five
years, rural and urban
india come together

To elect a federal
government.

From the high mountains
to the dense forests in
the country,

No matter where one
resides, the election
commission of india

Makes sure that each
registered voter can
cast their vote.

The forest of gir in the
western state of gujarat

Is one of the most wild
and remote places in
all of india.

An abundance of deciduous
trees stretches to the
horizon.

This temple is the
only visible sign

Of human habitation
for miles around.

Home to 69-year-old
priest, bharatdas
darshandas.

He lives here, alone,
with only the wildlife
for company.

Narrator: His
social interactions are
limited to a house help.

And the occasional devotee
who visits this forest
temple bearing gifts.

Of grain, fruit and
vegetables, which are
his main source

Of sustenance
through the year.

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The priest's solitude
is broken once every
five years,

By an event that unites
the whole of india in
one purpose.

The indian national
election.

In 2019, around 900
million indians,
aged 18 and over,

Have the right to
decide who should
govern the country.

That number of eligible
voters is larger than the
combined population

Of the united states
and the european union.

It makes india the world's
largest democracy.

And voting is a right
that mahant bharatdas
darshandas holds dear.

Narrator: To ensure
that the lone priest
can cast his vote,

These election commission
officials travel deep

Inside the gir forest to
prepare a polling station.

They are part of an army
of election commission
employees who set up

Over one million
voting booths
across the country.

Making sure that there is
a voting booth erected for
every 1.2 miles of land.

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Mahant bharatdas
darshandas casts his vote.

The election official
marks his nail with
indelible ink,

A device to ensure no
one can vote twice.

The priest then
starts his journey
back to the temple,

Continuing his life
of solitude.

Delhi.

A modern metropolis with
a history that dates back
more than 2,000 years.

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A city that has been built
and rebuilt nine times.

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It has served as a national
capital for over 100 years.

Every year on the 26th of
January, delhi celebrates
india's traditions

And achievements in
a show right in the
heart of the city.

This is the republic
day parade.

Over 100,000 spectators'
line the rajpath,
a ceremonial street,

To watch india's
grandest procession.

Nearly 40 million indians
watch it on live tv.

Along with the
different regiments from
the indian armed forces,

There is one unit that
really stands out.

The camel contingent
of the indian border
security force.

Every camel contingent
soldier considers riding

In the republic day
parade a great honor.

Narrator: The unit must
ride the 4.2 miles of
the procession route

In perfect formation.

Guaranteeing a good show
rests on ensuring that
only the best camels

And riders take part
in india's most
important parade.

354 miles southwest of delhi
is the camel contingent's
barracks at jodhpur.

Here, deputy commander
ghanshyam singh puts
both soldiers

And camels through a
rigorous training program

To find the most
accomplished
man-animal teams.

Physical fitness is
critical to ensuring a
flawless performance.

All riders and camels
must demonstrate
they're parade ready.

Narrator: Soldiers and
camels must also master
gymnastic routines

To show they have the
poise and precision to
ride in tight formations.

Riders strengthen this
bond with their camels

Through a meticulous
routine that they
follow.

Every day, riders
remove sand from
their camel's eyes,

Scrub their coats
and remove pests.

Regular rest for
animals and trainers
is important too.

An ethical concern for
some animal activists,

The use of camels in
the republic day parade

Remains an important
cultural ceremony for
the indian armed forces.

The best camels and
riders win their
place in the parade

By showcasing their
skills in a specially
choreographed display.

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Every camel and rider
must perform impeccably.

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The smallest hesitation
is enough to cost them
their place in the parade.

The pressure is on.

After months of
training, the camels
and riders transition

Seamlessly between
formations.

Every man-animal team
keeps perfect time.

Not one misses a
step or a cue.

With the training
complete, the camel
contingent is all set

To March at the next
republic day parade.

Flying over india, our
bird's eye view reveals
a nation moving forward

While embracing its
unique traditions.

Artificial intelligence
is helping to make
sacred festivals

Safer for millions
of people.

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Master craftsmen are
keeping ancient
construction techniques

Alive for future
generations.

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This is a land where the
achievements of the past

Are still inspiring
the indians of today.

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