And 70 years after independence, india is still a diverse, ever evolving assortment of cultures, creeds, religions and languages. Heading off the well worn tourist path, were on a journey which spans this vast subcontinent from east to west. Travelling from one of the driest places on earth. It is quite incredible, the sand. Its just crystal, hard cystals. White salt. You can probably taste it. To one of the wettest. These are areas really for the adventurous traveller. This isnt india on tap. Im on a quest to find out how history, religion and politics have shaped india. And also, meet the people who call this intriguing and sometimes overwhelming country home. Its going to be an amazing journey. For thousands of years, india found its riches and influence through international trade. At the heart of this enterprise was the sea. And the state of gujarat, with a thousand miles of coastline, served as a Shipping Gateway to africa, arabia and beyond. This is as far west as you can get in india. Its the influences from overseas that have helped make gujarat what it is today. The region is known as kutch. And its beaches are a popular Domestic Tourist attraction. This ancient port towns economy is still anchored in a much older maritime tradition. This is genuinely incredible. Im in heaven. A huge shipyard with boats and ships at various stage 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 we are close up to these incredible hulks, really. This ones in mid construction. We can actually go inside, which im going to see how they actually make these things. Apparently, each of these takes about 2. 5 years to make. For many of the workers, Ship Building is a family tradition. This ancient craft is now attracting unexpected new admirers. The region was home to one of the worlds earliest civilisations and can be traced back to prehistoric times. Its old Royal Capital is the city of bujh. Its glory days are kind of over. It was badly hit by the 2001 earthquake. Theres a kind of melancholy about this area. This was once the real opulent centre of a rich empire, Trading Empire any way, and the hub was here. But what is still flourishing is the aso year old market, just a few minutes away, where the Trading Tradition continues. What do they sell here . They sell everything fruit, vegetables, fabric, grocery. You see all sorts of community, all cultural background can be seen in the marketplace. Here, as you can see, theyre like all different community, ethnic groups comes here. But the natural harmony was disrupted over 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 herdsmen. Theyve been living here for 400, 500 years, since they migrated down south. Ever since the split, theres been tension between the two governments. But to these herdsmen, National Borders and religious differences mean little. For the people, when we say india, pakistan or, like, hindu, muslim, its not that important. People are religious, of course. But they are like 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 traumatic scenes, more than a Million People died in religious rioting. Many millions more were displaced. This all used to be one, but now its, like, 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. Thats where the India Pakistan border is. That lies in the middle of the area, which is of geographical value. At nearly 500 metres above sea level, the highest point allows us a dramatic view of this geological phenomenon, the desert, which continues into pakistan. I wanted to get up closer to this natural wonder. Its quite incredible. Its just cystals, hard cystals, white salt. Probably taste it. Really unusual to see Something Like this. The further out i walked, the less lovely it became. Its actually quite incredible. Its more like snow or sludge than white sand or cystals. When it gets wet around here, im 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, where by night, theres live music and other performances and by day, theres plenty of activities and just here is what you might call the glamping quarters. 50,000 people have come here in the last month alone. I guess this is like a cross between a Weekend Festival and a resort. Its basically a honey pot for the booming middle classes in 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 and its very, very rich over here. Previously, they used to perform with their kettles, then afterwards, when they come home, theyd get together and spiritual songs are being performed. One person plays two flutes at the same time . Yes, yes. Now, for example, 500 kettles are there and only one zither is there. He will sit below a tree and Start Playing this and whatever this musical notes, the kettles will not go out of that range. Wow. And they enjoy the music so the milk output increases. Almost like meditation. Yeah, 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. Of course, theyre very well paid. Not only do i get a demonstration, but also the privilege of playing along. As lead tinkler. Yet again, im made aware that Kutch Culture is all about a Sense Of Community and certainly not about religious segregation. From the bottom of my heart, im telling you, till today, in spiritual, in music forms, hindus and muslims sit together and perform until today. For the next part of myjourney, im heading to the south east of gujarat, to the town ofjunagadh. The classic Indian Railway station. To me, nothing sums up this country better than the Indian Railway network. More than any political act, they say this is what unifies this country. I remember as a small child being on an indian train and being totally overwhelmed by it. But i love it. Ah, this feels imminent. Who knows when this was made, this train. It looks pretty damn old to me. But wow, look at that. Its a network that ferries millions of Passengers Daily across Tens Of Thousands of track to nearly 7,000 stations. Its one of the worlds biggest employers. If theres one defining legacy of british rule, its the vast, sprawling, creaking Indian Railway network. Its still the lifeblood of the country today. Singing ill tell you this, you wouldnt get this on a suburban train on a cold wednesday morning in london or any other western city. This is unique. You know everyone on this carriage . Yeah. From the train journey . Trainjourney, yeah. Train friends. Excellent, you have a community. Very good. Is it lucky to have a seat on the train . Yes. Very lucky. Shes very lucky. Very lucky 0k like me so, here we are, the ancient fortified city ofjunagadh, crowded and noisy as i expected. Lets go explore. Just a few minutes from the station, along a dusty, busy road stands this jaw dropping and little known architectural wonder. Built in the late 19th century, this is an elaborate mausoleum blending indian and european architecture. The intricate carvings took over a decade to complete and the whole structure reflects the opulence and influences of the time. Back in the day, under the british raj, there were hundreds of so called princely states run by maharajas, powerful and wealthy men. There was one such character here, who made decisions which still has ramifications for relations between india and pakistan, even today. These nawabs led lavish lifestyles, in stark contrast to ordinary indians. The Nawab Ofjunagadh was no different. Archive Junagadh State celebrates the marriage of all the pomp and splendour of a princely wedding. Harish was ten in 1946 and recalls the splendour of the ceremony. Archive escorted by the royal guard, the bridegroom drives l through the streets. Theres a profusion of wedding gifts. All princes were there. Princely patrons with turbans on their heads. Dance girls used to be brought there, musicians and all that. That lasted for several days. And he recalls getting his first taste of this other world. For the first time, i saw bread, butter, sandwich, everything. Because that was not known to us here. My father said you eat this, this is bread and this is butter. I liked it. There were small pastries. I still remember that made in england, london, there was huntly and palmer biscuits. Important thing is that the formal photograph of his highness. The nawabs own most legendary indulgence was was his love of animals. His main hobby was for dogs. I think almost all brands and varieties of dogs from all the world were here. He used to arrange marriages for dogs and celebrated parties and then they were sent for honeymoon. Honeymoon yeah, he used to do it. But with the advent of independence, the power and influence of indias royal rulers was coming to an end. Come partition, the muslim nawab Wanted To Makejunagadh part of the newly created islamic pakistan. Even though the town is more than 80 hindu and hundreds of kilometres from the border. Infuriated, the new Indian Government rallied its troops. The news started coming that the army is coming, huge tanks and trucks and jeeps and artillery and guns and everything is there. Junagadh state was besieged on three sides also. An economic blockade was ordered, cutting off supplies of food and resources into the region. Eventually, junagadh acceded to india and the nawab fled to pakistan. Yet, to this day, his Great Grandson Still lays claim to junagadh. And the episode lingers as a reminder of the last days of the raj in india. And 65 kilometres down the road, the nawabs legacy as an Animal Lover Extraordinaire continues with the most regal of creatures. Lions may have iconic status here. Theyre a royal symbol. Theyre in hindu mythology. But at the beginning of the last century, they were threatened with extinction. Im going somewhere now, which is the only natural abode of the asiatic lion. They banned hunting. These Asiatic Lions are smaller and paler than their african relatives. And these are their modern day protectors, indias first female forest rangers, the so called lion queens. Now theyre part of a team that performs more animal rescues than any other Wildlife Park in the world. On average, the unarmed rangers cover 25 kilometres a day and have to tackle venomous snakes, leopards and poachers as well as lions. If they did get agitated, how would you be able to tell from the animal . How would you know if youre safe or not being this close to the animal . And it did get dangerous early on in her career here. Applications from women for these posts have rocketed and the rangers are role models and trailblazers in the region today. Look, look at that mouth the good news is that from once being in danger of Extinction Numbers have climbed to over 500. The next, much more Welcome Problem is if the sanctuary is actually big enough for their growing population. So the first part of my travels across india come to a close. But next week, i head to the north east of the country. Im on the banks of the mighty river and about to go to a very spiritual place. The amount of people crammed on here as well its going to be an experience a region that prides itself on tradition and creativity. And a passionate desire to protect this unique part of the world forfuture generations. Hello. Thanks for tuning in to our Weather Forecast for the next ten days. And i can tell you straight away that theres absolutely no let up to the kind of weather weve been having for weeks now. So, once again, early august is going to be changeable, on the cool side, with rain at times. And if we look at the recent satellite picture, you can see Weather Systems a daisy chain of them lining up in the atlantic and heading our way. And through the course of this week, crucially, quite a strong jet stream across the atlantic also pointing in our direction. You can see even some dips in the jet stream, or troughs, as we call it in meteorology. And that means that cooler air at times will be streaming in from the north. I think thursday will be a particularly cool day across the north of the country, whereas the warm weather is reserved for the southern climes. 0nto the forecast, then, for monday, and extensive cloud after a wet sunday night. The morning temperatures around 8 00 on monday will be typically in the high teens across england and wales. Thats because this is tropical maritime air. But in the north of scotland, after a clearer night, quite a bit fresher there first thing. But i think the overall message for monday is one of cloudy skies, bursts of rain now and then, almost anywhere across the country. But, yes, through the layers of cloud, there will be some bright or sunny spells poking through. And i think at times well be getting them across the south and the south west of england, possibly to the east of the pennines. But they may be brief here. And thats how were going to end monday. So on a cloudy note and with rain at times. Tuesday, admittedly, is going to be a better day. Its not going to be bad at all, i think, across many parts of southern and Eastern England some sunny spells, lengthy spells of sunshine. In fact, 2 for london, maybe a few showers in the north of england and scotland. But the next low pressure will be sweeping in and will park itself over the uk on wednesday. And quite an angry looking area of low pressure there. Potentially some strong winds blowing across parts of southern england, even near gale force around some of the coasts. In the north of scotland, i think the weather will be better. Clearly most of the rain is across england and wales during the course of wednesday and the temperatures around 18 to 20 degrees, at best. Now, once that area of low pressure clears away, and it will do, eventually towards the east, into scandinavia, behind it, this back edge will see colder winds coming in from the north. And i think quite chilly around the north coast of scotland, maybe along the north sea coast. Inland well feel that breeze as well. Temperatures still will nudge up to around about 20 degrees or so in the south, maybe in one or two sheltered spots futher north, too. But i think showers will arrive on thursday and friday. Some of the showers could even be quite heavy and maybe even the odd rumble of thunder towards the end of the week. And look at those temperatures 15 in aberdeen, 17 in belfast, high teens in the south. Now lets have a look at the forecast. So this is the following weekend. So were well into august here. Again, similar weather, quite changeable. And now im going to go a little bit further deeper into august, if you like. Lets see what the jet stream is doing. So this is a rough idea of what the jet stream might be, how it might be behaving, and it looks as though it will be generally close to the uk, and at times, south of us, which means this unsettled weather will continue. Bye bye. At least 37 people have been killed in a bomb blast at a political gathering in pakistan. Dozens more were injured in the explosion. Dozens more were injured in the explosion. Hundreds of supporters of nigers Military Coup Protest outside the French Embassy in niamey as france stops aid. President putin praises the might of russias navy but doesnt dismiss the idea of peace talks over ukraine. Here in the uk, the Prime Minister insists hes on the side of car drivers, and wants traffic reducing measures reviewed. And in the womens world cup in a last minute twist colombia stun germany with a shock late win. Welcome to the programme. At least 37 people have been killed in an explosion at a political rally in north west pakistan. Dozens more were injured in the explosion in the bajaur district, where the leader of an Islamist Party was due to address the gathering. Local clinics and hospitals have been overwhelmed by casualties, and the authorities have declared a health emergency. The party has urged its supporters to donate blood
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