The Story of India

The first series of "Origins" tells about the origins of Indian civilization - from the first settlers who came here from Africa along the Arabian Sea to the time of writing the Mahabharata.
Some modern Indians still carry the M-130, the gene of the first humans. The film tells about this a little clumsily, first it shows a village somewhere in the south and presents one of the oldest local clans, the Virumandi. His representative is the carrier of this gene, at first this is explained by the fact that marriages between close relatives are allowed in this area, allegedly for this reason it was possible to preserve the gene. After 30 seconds, it turns out that the M-130 was found near the whole village)
The presenter was well "cheated" at the bazaar in Peshawar, he is looking for an ancient ritual drink "soma", he is offered to brew some coniferous branches, he drinks and tells that the god Indra consumed it in large quantities in connection with It had an exciting effect, but the drink made the presenter very talkative, etc. And then, following the path of the Aryans, he came to Turkmenistan, where he met with archaeologist Viktor Sereanidi in Karakum. He shows him the stone bowls in which "soma" was brewed, and then it turns out that opium and cannabis were also included in the composition. Although it may not have been a hoax, everything is getting smaller in our world, even sacred drinks, maybe "soma" is the only one now.
And my special respect to the presenter, you need to have the courage and self-control to feast and drink with archaeologists of the Soviet school.
I also learned with interest that the Mahabharata was written on the principle of "what I see is what I write." It is probably from there that the story about two warring families, so popular in Eastern culture, originates, then new branches appeared - the families became poor and rich)
The last shots of the series once again aroused the desire to visit the Holi festival, insanely beautiful, bright and positive.

I thought that the series called "The Way of Spices and the Great Silk Road" would become my favorite, but it's probably just a bad time to watch. This is especially felt when you watch footage from Kabul and Peshawar and involuntarily compare these cities during the reign of the Kushans and modern times. It's hard to believe that the first was ruled by a dynasty that provided two centuries of peace, which gave rise to economic and cultural development, demographic growth, etc., known for its religious tolerance and tolerance, and the second was the richest city on the Great Silk Road, it was called the "garden city".
But a number of things have remained unchanged - peace, trade, and cultural exchange play as important a role in modern human life as they did in the second century AD. In this respect, our eras are very similar. And yet, despite all modern technologies, the beauty of Indian silk processed "in the old-fashioned way" still amazes.

I liked the second series of "The Power of Ideas" much less than the first. Too much philosophy, sometimes it got boring. Although it was interesting to look at Buddhism from a different angle, I, for example, never thought about the fact that it is essentially an atheistic teaching. The paradox. Maybe atheism can be perceived as a kind of religion.
And Ashoka's ideas and code of laws on the culture of nonviolence, the promotion of religious tolerance, measures to protect animals and ecology look like a mockery in the light of the realities of modern India. Moreover, the beginning of the episode talks about the terrorist attack that took place the day before.
Well, the ending is simply "brilliant":
- Now many in the West are interested in Buddhism. Why do you think that is?
"The Buddha spoke the truth.
It's almost at the level of "Why?" - "By kachan"