The Story of India with Michael Wood: Complete BBC Series

I previously watched the series "The Story of China" also with Michael Wood and found it so enjoyable and well-produced that I decided to order this series also and, just like the other one, it was beautifully produced with the perfect balance of history and wonderful images and all condensed into a highly educative, but at the same time very accessible to all types of audience, production. From all the historical documentaries that I have watched from the BBC these ones by Michael Wood are just the best of them all and he presents all the themes with so much enthusiasm and open-mindedness that is extremely rare from a British perspective. It is impossible to watch it without feeling strong emotions throughout it. Furthermore, the background music is enchanting and it is obvious that so much hard work has gone into the making of this series. This DVD I purchased to cherish permanently in my small collection of DVDs.

An excellent series! Once again Michael Wood's enthusiam, knowledge and insight enable you to actually feel the history, really making it come alive and it becomes all the more magical as a result.He manages to cover vast periods of history without skimping on important moments, proceeding at a steady and perfectly measured pace for the viewer.You feel you are seeing sights that few others have seen outside India, from recently discovered buildings to ancient sights.I thoroughly recommend this DVD. Grab yourself some private time, sit back and prepare to be taken on a fascinating journey.This is what historical programmers should be.In my opinion, all others should be measured up to his standard.My only regret is I can't give it six stars.

After watching 'The Story Of India' on DVD I have to say that it was time well spent. Historian Michael Wood is a stellar choice for presenting this series. His innate passion for history and energetic style fits seamlessly with the colourful and vibrant subject matter that is India. This is backed up by engaging visuals and music, as expected from the BBC. The series also does well to go back as far as it does, starting off in the South and working its way around other areas of the Indian subcontinent (Pakistan) and even visiting neighbouring regions (Central Asia).This series has the following 6 episodes on 2-discs.1. Beginnings - Ancient rituals in South India and the Indus Valley Civilisation (3000BC) are explored2. The Power of Ideas - covers the emergence of Buddhism around 500BC and the first Indian Empire led by the Maurya rulers.3. Spice Routes and Silk Roads - India as a trading partner of Ancient Rome and Greece.4. Ages of Gold - The Gupta and Chola Empires which marked the Golden Age of Indian history around 300-600AD.5. The Meeting of Two Oceans - Covers the period of Mughal rule including Akbar the Great around 1600AD.6. Freedom - covering British rule and the struggle for independence.It is a great advert for India and it's rich history, placing it on a par with other civilizations like the Egyptians, Greeks, Persians, Romans and Chinese. There are aspects (Aryan Migration Theory and Indus Valley Civilisation) that some Indian historians will be very unhappy about (as Wood mentions briefly) but until some-one makes a comparable series with evidence to support alternative ideas, this is the best documentary out there. The reason I gave it only 4 stars was because I felt it could have had more content - possibly by having at least 2 more episodes. I personally would have liked more coverage of certain eras (such as 1000BC to 200AD) but I still recommend it highly.

I enjoyed Michael Wood's series about the history the Indian subcontinent. Wood's enthusiasm for the subject matter and his own natural personal sympathy make this a pleasant virtual journey for the viewer. The programs are divided into specific historical periods (pre-history, mauryean dynasty, kushan empire, the golden age, muslim incursions and the british raj) and are well focused, maintaining a good balance between transmitting factual information and illustrating local attitudes through personal interviews. I checked the information given in these programs using online encylopedias and found the material to be generally well researched, presenting the salient points of a vast and rich history (Wood says that he would need a 1,000 films to show it all)! Just a small demur - although widely accepted, the theory of the Aryan invasions of northwest India has been brought into doubt by recent scientific research showing that there there has been no significant change in the genetic composition of the people of South Asia for at least the last 10,000 years. It would have been nice if Wood could have presented the alternative explanation of the development of an indigenous Indo-Aryan culture. Other than that - well done Beeb!

Bought as a gift for a friend so don't really know about it - sorry.

India: The Peacock's CallIndia: The Tiger's RoarIndia: The Elephant's Blessing: 1I have just watched The Story of India by Michael Wood again. I saw it originally on TV in 2007 but am about to return as ever to India and wanted to immerse myself in the ancient land of my birth before I go. It is even better second time around and seen in a concentrated way over two nights. Michael Wood is as passionate as I am about India and his obvious enjoyment impacts positively. It covers this incredible place very well and I wish actually that more Indians would watch this DVD. I plan to buy another copy for a distinguished Indian friend in Delhi. So often documentaries on India can be superficial and indeed slightly sneering and when one has the mis fortune to have seen Jeremy Clarkson fooling about at taxpayers' expense it makes the blood boil. Michael Wood brings wisdom, affection and moderation to this great tale and he also is critical of the British and the hurried and expedient way we left India...that was when I was born there to generations who had served, worked and lived and died there. We globally are paying the price of that irresponsible behaviour by a cash strapped Labour Government on the verge of bankruptcy here in the UK here in 1947whose PM loathed India it became apparent...though I don't think he ever actually had visited; the nest of vipers in the adjacent country continues to hurt all those around and further afield. The Story of India is excellent. [...]

Michael Woods 'creation' of this series is a fastastic combination of a journalist and a thinker. The topics that cover this series, the chronological continuity,the cinematography, the eye for detial are all simply brilliant. The unfathomable passion this man has for India is evident through out-the way he mingles with people of such contrasting cultures, his quest for the truth, his search for the greatness of this country its history and its people and his unending quest to communicate this to his audience is simply brilliant!! Anyone looking for evidence for the greatest civilisation on earth needs must watch this series.It redefines the contemporary hollow definition of a 'superpower'. An absolute must watch

I appreciate the effort, since not many in India would care to take such documentaries. However, I am not fully satisified with this DVD. Lot more useful information could have been shown in this duration of the documentary instead of several of the stuffs that I felt were really un-necessary. For example, they could have avoided the long search for the SOMA drink and attempting to taste and describe how it is... Instead they could have spent more time on explaining the content of the Vedas. The Vedas have good amount of philosophies, universal outlook and indirect historical data embedded, that could have all been explained instead of dramatizing how vedas would have been written.While describing Indus Valley they could have shown details on how Indus cities were planned, the excavated seals, religion etc. There were some contradiciting information such as describing that Indus people were traders and used ships and boats to trade with Iraq and later in the episode of spice trade the author tells that Indians were not capable of ship building and just sold goods to merchants from Rome and Greeks.Another contradiction occurs when the author travels all the way to Turkmenistan to investiage the roots of Aryans. The archaelogist over there concludes that the people who lived there migrated west after rivers dried. Soon after this, the author gives his conclusion that people fromt there migrated further south to Indian subcontinen. The author explains that there is enough evidence in Rig Veda that Aryans came from outside of India, but does not really spell out any direct evidence from Rig Veda itself. He gives just examples like Horse sacrifice, Soma worship to proove that Sanskrit came from outside India, which I feel did not proove his point. He tells that Rig Veda talks about a river in Afghanistan as a proof for foreign origin of Aryans and does not talk about the very important river that Rig Veda speaks out so many times - River Saraswati. When he shows proof that Indus Valley existed on a dry river bed using satellite image, why should he not explain the possibility that this is the Saraswati river and Indus Valley is nothing but an extension of the Ancient Vedic Socieity.I have to say that still not many historians want to explore the possibilty that Aryans went out of India at one point in history due to the same climatic change that the author explains here. On their way they stayed in Central Asia, migrated further to West Asia and further on. How can we explain the Mittani people of West Asia speaking Sanskrit and following precisely the Vedic gods?RigVeda talks so much about Saraswati river and we can imagine how ancient RigVeda is if Saraswati River dried up long before 1500BC, the theoretical date that most historians place for migration of Aryans into India. All this could easily point out to the fact that Vedic civilization is indigineous to India and so is it's precious language, Sanskrit. Most western historians would say that this point is very Indo-centric view, but the question is why not explore the possibilites...?The DVD sometimes passes from one era to another without showing concrete data. Sadly, one of the main aspect of India, Hinduism, was never dealt in any detail at all. The essence of Hinduism and its philosphy were not dealt at all. Many of the sophisticated Indian arts such as the Indian Classical Music and Dance forms were not described at all except for few minutes of explanation of Bharatanatyam. The Indian classical music and dance are so much sophisticated and deserve lot more attention.India's contribution in field of mathematics, science, astronomy and yoga could have been explained in lot more details. More time could have been spent describing how ancient temples were built. India's influence on South East Asia could have been described as well, since there was a tremendous influence by Indian culture on countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia.The extensive Indian literature in the fields of mythology, poetry, drama, science, technology, astronomy, mathematics were not dealt clearly, except for considering the major epics.I have to appreciate one thing definitely though. I have seen several other programmes on India and none of them deal with South India. Usually it is just as if south India doesnt exist. This DVD does walk through South India a lot. But again, the author missed to show in detail the majestic south Indian temples and the architecture. The camera did not attempt to give a better glimpse of the beautiful temples. There were no mention of the abundant Tamil literature, the sophisticated Carnatic music and details of Bharthanatyam dance. Details of the major tamil kingdoms (except that Cholas were included) and other south Indian kingdoms such as Vijayanagar empire were not included when so much of the DVD goes in detailing foreign kings.I might have put in lot of expectations in here, but a 6 hour DVD show could have easily been more informative instead of providing some of the unnecessary information. There were several instances in the documentary which just contained people walking on roads and trains moving, which could have all been replaced with some better informative scenes.Finally I do appreciate the effort since no one in India makes such documentaries for Indian TV channels, which are filled with only commercial stuffs. But when there is an ability to make such extensive documentary, lot more research could have been done on the contents and could have included much more about India.

This series, though far from perfect, is a must see for anyone of Indian descent, or who is interested in insight into a paradoxical but fascinating country. As stated by other reviewers, the series is forced to be superficial on many aspects, but the photography, the passionate narration of Mr. Wood, and the attempts to link India's past to explain the paradoxes of her present make it a must-have.I felt the viewpoints presented were balanced and insightful. Many topics were by necessity dealt with superficially, but always with respect. After spending 41 of my 43 years in the USA, this series left me with a thirst for more insight and knowledge of India's peoples and past, and hopefully will do the same for my children.Based on the appearance of the series on standard TV, the upcoming Blu-Ray transfer (April) should be stunning and worth the wait.

It is both super interstesting on the history and cultural level, and entertaining. It is relevant to us Westerners since a lot of our culture has been influenced by the antique Indian culture.I recommand it to anyone interested in old scriptures, religions, history, India, or just travelling.

Michael Wood beschreibt die indische Geschichte mit grosser Sensibilität unter sorgfältiger Auswahl der Themen. Er führt über die Beschreibung der Fakten in die Tiefe der indischen Seele und Religionsgeschichte und zeigt aus dieser Sicht Wege auf, wie heutige Weltprobleme bewältigt werden können. Ein aus der Tiefe der Liebe kommender künstlerischer Film , der bei mehrmaligem Ansehen immer tiefere Schichten menschlichen und nicht nur indischen Seins entdecken und spüren lässt.

This is a great video. For someone who will not travel there in this life, I can just watch all the beauty of India. Thanks to all who worked on this movie. You all deserve a big hand!!

Michale Woods' India is by far the best overview of India to date. Superb detail, rich color, insights and insider information, Michael Woods brings India alive, accessible and understandable. Michael's enthusiasm is infectious for a country that dares you to understand it. Michael accomplishes this and so much more. If you are an India expert, this will probably not entice, but it will entertain. If you are a neophyte to India, then this will overwhelm you with data, colors, sounds and a sense of India today and 3,000 years ago. This is a marvelous series and very difficult to only watch one segment at a time. What is certain is that you will not be disappointed with India.