India (1953)

[Music] India how many Forgotten Dreams does she bring to mind a Hindu temple symbol of the faith proud and gleaming in the Sun a Hindu Maiden out of Kipling waiting perhaps at some old and secret rendevu the sacred cow seeming now so grotesquely out of place holy men with their queer hypnotic arts and self-inflicted tortures pictures from a story book pictures strange and long remembered pictures of the toiling elephant rare today yet real enough yesterday when jumbo was the mighty worker of the forest and favorite servant of the tiger hunting Maharaja in many ways India has gone modern in others she remains forever ancient she is a land of paradox whose civilization dates back Beyond 1500 BC in the far Villages or the City marketplaces the snake Charmers still match their eerie music against the deadly Dance of the venomous Cobra weedling this demon out of a nightmare into Sullen submission in other parts of India her people still travel in rickety oldfashioned carts or ekas content with long established custom but more and more the modern and the new are taking over as the whirling wheels of progress speed Travel and Transport and India marches toward her Destiny in Cosmopolitan Kolkata commercial and industrial city of Eastern India this great modern Bridge hurls its tons of soaring Steel across the Waters of the ancient hogly river typifying the progressive Spirit of the new India further epitomizing ing that Spirit built on sound Democratic principles are kolkata's massive and Majestic buildings everywhere this Metropolis of the East reflects the new India yet like its teaming populace it is irrevocably tied to the Past India's great rivers are alive with shipping for this land of some 350 million second only to China is the foremost commercial power in all Asia her steel mills are becoming among the world's most productive her jute cotton and great textile industry her humming factories and swarming railroad yards all are a part of the growing industrial giant or just as yesterday when she traded with such lands as Babylonia China and the mighty Roman Empire the new India is ever seeking new outlets for her many products the Ganges who hasn't heard of this an ient River of Old Mother India at Benares spiritual capital of the Hindu world the faithful bath in the sacred Waters a ceremony repeated since the dawn of time itself each year the far-flung masses come from miles to visit their holy city and purify their souls in the muddy current of their fabulous [Music] River as for the Ganges itself its tranquil flow remains as Eternal as its traditional spiritual power it is a river of story and Timeless Legend a river of song and sorrow of promise to those who seek its secret and its Sanctuary it is India strange fathomless and forever fascinating forever calling to the spirit of the faithful [Music] all through the day all through the night the gats of bonares are a glow with their ceaseless funeral Fires for to these sacred Shores to venaris holy of holies come thousands who have vowed to die beside their beloved Ganges from the shores of the Ganges to the p and ceremony of New Deli India's famous capital here the colorful presidential horse guards demonstrate their skill and Precision in the art of military maneuver always the soldiers of India have served their land with honor and this proud company is typical turbaned and booted and spurred with brilliant uniforms and preaches of sheep skin this picked group of men make an impressive spectacle they are the stalwart Guardians of the new India that infant but eager Republic so strongly dedicated to the cause of Freedom a new land determined to take her place in a new world no longer is this colorful land of India a place apart in this Modern Age where time and distance have been reduced almost to non-existence it is but another new and glamorous adventure for those who would take Wings to its beckoning Shores each year increasing thousands visit this exotic land where historical past and surging modern Trends join for a truly memorable experience in a changing World here it's beautiful Bombay Jewel of the East world renowned as the Gateway of India first founded some four centuries ago on a swamp of malarious mud flats this Metropolitan giant of 3 million is today the chief Harbor of all India back in that long ago beginning it was a poor fishing Village of so little consequence that England's Charles II leased it to the East India Company for 10 a year not too impressive a start for the mighty metropolis and its enterprising multitudes which constitute modern [Music] Bombay here health and education go together as the children of the new India receive their schooling in the open air schooling based upon the principles of democracy learning is fast becoming available to India's once illiterate millions and one day every child will have its share of teaching every citizen the opportunity to make a new and better way of life through the miracle of modern education Sports also have their important place in India especially the ever popular sport of Kings at Bombay popular racetrack one of the finest in the East a holiday crowd gathers for an Indian handicap pounding Hooves and the surging Thrill of the crowd as the flying thoroughbreds flash into the [Music] [Applause] stretch the wonders of India are surpassed only by the beauties of India south of New Delhi stands the city of Agra home of the beautiful and Fabulous Taj Mahal and therein lies one of the world's great love stories for This Magnificent Monument of pure white marble with its slender minettes and multi-d roof was built by a Man Who Loved a Woman by Shah Jahan as an immortal dedication to the memory of his lost young wife song and poetry have told and retold The Haunting story but none more appropriately than Lawrence hes pale hands I Lov beside the Shalimar such is the fascination of India the strong and Progressive Spirit of India the power and the Splendor of India the Everlasting beauty of India in this world of ours