The Ganges with Sue Perkins

Original version

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

BBC One HD

Documentaries

Factual: Travel

Sue Perkins undertakes an epic, personal journey to the source of India's Ganges river.

Sue Perkins undertakes an epic, personal journey to the source of India's Ganges river in the Himalayas, meeting hermits and holy men to understand the sacred nature of this river.

BBC Two

BBC Two is a TV channel that started broadcasting on the 20th April 1964.

BBC Scotland

Simulcast of BBC One Northern Ireland in high definition. From 24/10/2012

BBC One Northern Ireland HD

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West

Simulcast of BBC One Wales in high definition. From 29/01/2013

BBC One Wales HD

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

BBC One London

London

BBC One West Midlands

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East

BBC One North West

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria

BBC One Yorkshire

BBC One Oxfordshire

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East

BBC One Cambridgeshire

BBC One Channel Islands

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

BBC One Wales

Wales

Simulcast of BBC One Scotland in high definition. From 14/01/2013

BBC One Scotland HD

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

BBC Two Scotland

BBC Two Northern Ireland

Until 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales (analogue) was known simply as BBC Two Wales. BBC Two Wales (digital) was BBC 2W. From 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales schedules on both analogue and digital became identical

BBC Two Wales

BBC Two England

England

Simulcast of network BBC Two in high definition.

BBC Two HD

Simulcast of BBC Two Wales in high definition

BBC Two Wales HD

Simulcast of BBC Two Northern Ireland in high definition

BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

A BBC TV channel for Scotland which will broadcast every evening and will show drama, factual, comedy and news programmes made in Scotland

BBC Scotland HD

Sue Perkins

Val Croft

Steve Robinson

Vicky Hinners

Catherine Phillips

Neil Ferguson

Nainita Desai

William Ennals

Dan Wheatley

undefined Folk Films

Adroit Visuals

The Ganges with Sue Perkins: Series 1: Episode 2

ganges-with-sue-perkins_261017_e02_pp.jpg

Episode 2

Series 1

BBC One - The Ganges with Sue Perkins, Series 1, Episode 2Search BBC

Sue Perkins arrives in Varanasi, India's most intense and breathtaking city.

Sue Perkins undertakes an epic, personal journey along the Ganges. In this programme, she arrives in Varanasi, India's most intense, extraordinary and breathtaking city.

Sue Perkins goes on an extraordinary journey, spanning over 1,500 miles, from the source of the Ganges high in the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. She travels through some of the most extraordinary, chaotic and exciting places on earth, exploring the lives and landscapes of modern India at this crucial point in its history.

In this second episode, Sue is halfway down the Ganges in the ancient city of Varanasi, a place which, for India's 950 million Hindus, has a unique significance. Sue immerses herself into the complex life of Varanasi, where the power of the Ganges is at its greatest and where life and death exist side by side. But she also discovers that it is here that the river faces its biggest challenges.

In this intricate human habitat, Sue explores the lives of its people and sets out to understand more about the city's place in Hindu death rituals. She visits Varanasi's so-called death hotels, walks the lanes of the old city, encountering dead bodies being rushed past on their way to the cremation grounds, and on the steps of Varanasi's bathing ghats meets an Aghori monk going about his daily business - cleansing his soul in the Ganges river and rubbing the ashes of dead bodies over himself.

Sue quickly discovers the contradictions that lie at the city's heart. On the one hand, it is seen by millions as the spiritual centre of India, yet on the other, it contains some of the most polluted stretches of river in the entire world. But for many devout Hindus, the physical condition of the water is separate from the spiritual power it holds. Sue meets Professor Mishra, who is uniquely qualified to help her understand the paradox that lies at the heart of the great river. 

Sue makes her final stop at the Manikarnika Ghat, Varanasi's most prestigious funeral pyre, where bodies are burned on open fires so their souls can be released into a different realm.

The Ganges with Sue Perkins: Series 1

BBC One

BBC One is a TV channel that started broadcasting on the 20th April 1964. It replaced BBC Television.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Ganges with Sue Perkins

Series 1

Episode 2

Contributors

Genres

Brand

Series

BBC One HD

About BBC One