Our Asian Neighbours - India SERIES

1977, Total Running Time 240 Minutes (14 x Episodes)

Our Asian Neighbours is a series of films that aims to convey everyday life in Asia and promote greater understanding of often complex societies.

This series is devoted to India and brings to life its people and their culture. Each program captures the lifestyle of a different individual in their own environment and from their own perspective.

Anokhi (20 Minutes) The story of John Singh and his English wife Faith and their efforts to maintain the traditional hand-printing clothing industry of the villages around Jaipur in Rajasthan. They keep the art alive by converting the designs into exotic items for sale to Western markets. [See Anokhi]

Bijan (15 Minutes) A personal look at the life of Bijan Choudhury, an artist who lives in a village close to Calcutta. Thorough his painting we gain an inside impression of Calcutta and the difference between living in a city and living in a quiet village.

Bombay Movies (15 Minutes) Vinod Khanna is one of the most popular Hindi movie stars in Bollywood - India's homegrown film industry based in Bombay (Mumbai). The film explores his life and work as a way of gaining insight into India’s popular culture.

Jyoti (18 Minutes) A first-hand account of a twelve-year-old girl’s daily life in a huge industrial complex on the outskirts of Bombay (Mumbai).

Padma - South Indian Dancer (20 Minutes) A close look at a renowned teacher of classical Indian dancing in Madras (Chennai).

Questions (15 Minutes) The “God rich colony” is a huge industrial estate on the outskirts of Bombay (Mumbai). It is a self-contained company town where everything is provided for the factory workers and their families, including very good schools. This program goes inside a classroom to talk directly to a group of secondary students.

Rana (19 Minutes) The story of a young Muslim girl student living in a crowded section of Old Delhi. The customary veiling of women (Purdah) and impending marriage by arrangement are examined.

Puppeteer (21 Minutes) Depicts the way of life of a traditional Rajasthan puppeteer in Udaipur (The City of Lakes) in Rajasthan. Living in a tent on a street corner, Bansilal works in a suburban maharajah’s palace, which has now been converted into a five-star hotel.

Swami Shyan (18 Minutes) A guru and his followers live in an ashram in Kullu Valley in the Himalayas. This film gives the audience an insight into Indian Hindu spiritual practice, ending with one of the swami’s three-minute lessons in meditation.

Teacher in the Sky (16 Minutes) India’s Satellite Instructional Television Experiment is an experiment in education, where new technology successfully solves the problems of educating people in remote villages.

Village, The - A Village in Tanjore (16 Minutes) A day in the lives of the people who live in the village of Thillaisthanam, Southern India, with a population of 1500. This village is featured in the book Caste, Class and Power by Dr Andre Beteille.

Village Economy, The - A Village in Tanjore (16 Minutes) Mr Raghavachari own 20 acres of very productive paddy fields in the village of Thillaisthanam, Southern India. He employs many labourers who are not lucky enough to own their own land. He discusses the developments in the village rice industry, and the effects these have on the lives of the people.

Village Family - A Village in Tanjore (16 Minutes) A young Brahmin girl teaches the vina, an Indian stringed instrument, to enable her to support her family and to put her sister through law school. Although educated, she resists the trend to move to a bigger city.

Viney (15 Minutes) In India it is usual for parents to arrange marriages between their children. Viney, a college teacher, agreed to this arrangement, even though she had only met her husband once before the engagement. This film describes the life of a young Hindu housewife living in a comfortable suburb of India's capital city, Delhi.

© 2011 National Film and Sound Archive of Australia