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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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NARRATOR: What is the secret
of the snake charmers art?

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Does this cobra really
dance to his master's tune?

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In this remote
churchyard in West

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Bengal lie the graves
of two strange children.

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Is it really true that they
were brought up by wolves?

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And in Goa, what has
preserved the body

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of Saint Francis Xavier from
decay for over 400 years?

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Mysteries from the files
of Arthur C. Clarke,

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author of "2001" and inventor
of the communication satellite.

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Now in retreat in Sri Lanka,
he ponders the mysteries

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of this and other worlds.

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ARTHUR C. CLARKE: My own
adopted homeland of Sri Lanka

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hangs like a teardrop from
the southern shore of India.

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To travelers, that
great subcontinent just

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across the sea
from here has long

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been the source of extraordinary
tales-- snake charmers,

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children brought up by
wolves, and miraculous feats

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by holy men.

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In the wake of the
travelers have come

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scientists and skeptics
attempting to find

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the truth behind these stories.

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What do they think
of mysterious India?

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[SNAKE CHARMING MUSIC]

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Snake charming still fascinates
and sometimes horrifies.

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But what's this
charmer's secret?

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In the 19th century,
Colonel Frank Wall,

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author of this book,
"The Snakes of Ceylon,"

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was brave enough to investigate.

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He conducted his experiments
with cobras on the veranda

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of his own house.

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And his work is being
continued by Romulus Whitaker.

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ROMULUS WHITAKER:
Snake charming has

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been around for a long time.

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And the obvious thing to
everyone's sort of amazement

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is that the snake
is actually dancing

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to music-- so they think.

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We have stories such as a
radio playing a certain tune,

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and snakes coming into
the house and just

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on their own dancing
to this beautiful sound

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coming from the radio.

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So with this many beliefs
wandering around India,

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and people actually
believing this thing,

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the snake charmer has no trouble
at all convincing his audience.

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I'm playing this sound, and
the snake is dancing to it.

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NARRATOR: No modern
investigator has

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dared to repeat Colonel
Wall's dangerous experiment

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and confirm his findings.

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30 years of handling
cobras have given Romulus

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Whitaker the confidence to try.

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ROMULUS WHITAKER: The
purpose of this experiment

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is that we're
going to try to see

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if this cobra will
react to sound,

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even when its eyes
are covered up.

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And the theory being, of course,
that the cobra is reacting

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to movement, and
the snake charmer

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waves his flute back and forth.

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So we've gently
covered his eyes up.

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Back into the basket.

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Let's let him calm
down for a minute.

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OK, he feels very disoriented.

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And the only reaction
we're getting

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is that he wants to escape.

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[BANGING PAN]

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Well, no reaction to that sound.

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Now, the snake charmer's flute
is supposed to make him dance.

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[SNAKE CHARMING MUSIC]

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He seems still more interested
in finding a place to hide,

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and wondering what this
is covering his eyes.

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He's not spreading the hood,
nor is he reacting in any way

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to the flute or the
pots and pans beating.

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And now we'll take
the blindfold off,

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I think, and see what-- be
careful-- not only for him,

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but for yourself as well.

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And now let's see
the reaction to this.

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[SNAKE CHARMING MUSIC]

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Well, actually, it's
the flute that he

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likes more than the music.

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He'll follow that
just about anywhere,

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including all the way around.

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So basically, the snake,
when he's not blindfolded,

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is going to follow movement.

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When he is blindfolded,
if you touch him,

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of course, he's going to react.

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But he hasn't heard a thing.

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[HORN HONKING]

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ARTHUR C. CLARKE: Most things
rot quickly in the heat

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of India, especially bodies.

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That's why funerals
are usually held

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only a few hours after death.

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So the survival of the body
of Saint Francis Xavier

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is all the more amazing.

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NARRATOR: Goa is a
former Portuguese colony.

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It's where the first Christian
missionaries landed in India.

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The Basilica of Bom Jesus
is a place of pilgrimage,

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not only for believers, but
also for medical investigators.

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The dead body of Saint Francis
Xavier is entombed here.

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Nearly 450 years ago,
San Francis died.

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But a gruesome mystery lives on.

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Why, after all this time,
has his body not rotted away?

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Why can the flesh of his face,
and even the veins in his feet,

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still be plainly seen?

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Saint Francis was a
tireless missionary.

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His journeys to spread
the Christian gospel

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took him from Goa to China.

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Such was his zeal
that in 1552 he

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died, aged 46, of exhaustion.

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His followers wanted to take
his bones home to Goa as relics.

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They buried him in a
grave full of quicklime

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to help his flesh rot.

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But they were to be amazed.

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FATHER VASCO DO REGO:
Two months or so later,

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when the body was
disinterred, it was found

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that was absolutely fresh.

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And to prove the freshness
of it, one of the persons

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who disinterred the body made a
wound just below the left knee.

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And the blood flowed out.

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NARRATOR: One year later,
the still-fresh body

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of Saint Francis completed
the long voyage home to Goa.

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FATHER VASCO DO REGO: In
1654, a French Jesuit called

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Father Bayard came down to Goa.

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And he examined
the body in detail.

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He left us a vivid description
of it as he found it there.

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And I'm impressed
by the fact that he

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says that his eyes are black.

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That means he opened
them to examine the eyes

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as though they were alive.

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He found the lips
reddish and alive.

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He found also the
relative softness

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of the body at the time.

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Can we ever presume to doubt
the authenticity of this report

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which is sent to
France informally 100

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years after the Saint's death?

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I think this is a
wonderful testimony.

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NARRATOR: At Goa
Medical College,

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Dr. Audi of the
Forensic Department

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is equally fascinated
by the history

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of Saint Francis' remains.

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Dr. Audi and his
colleagues plan to study

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what's left of the saint.

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In their work solving murders,
they see many dead bodies,

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but none as strange as this.

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The file on Saint Francis'
survival is still open.

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DR. AUDI: Be careful.

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NARRATOR: Inside
the basilica, they

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built elaborate scaffolding
for a historic post-mortem.

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DR. AUDI: [INAUDIBLE] We can
see here there are hairs.

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NARRATOR: Flesh remains
on Saint Francis' skull.

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Even wisps of hair have
survived for centuries.

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The doctors search
for every clue.

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The corpse was last
on open show in 1953.

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His decrepit state today
owes more to relic hunters

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than to rot.

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They cut off an arm in 1614.

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It's now in the Vatican.

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The shoulder and the
entrails went next.

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Even some of Saint Francis'
toes have been carried off.

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DR. AUDI: The first
one was actually

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taken by a Portuguese lady.

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In exuberance of
feminine devotion,

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she bit off one of the toes.

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Three others fell off
at different times.

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Two of them are preserved
in our sacristy.

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I have here a silver
reliquary in which

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we preserve these toes.

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They're relics of his body.

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We treasure them reverently,
because they belong

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to the father of our faith.

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NARRATOR: The scientists
bird's eye view of Saint

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Francis provokes fierce debate.

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They know why the
body is decaying now,

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but how did it stay so
fresh for 150 years?

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DR. AUDI: After death,
there are two processes

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that are taking place.

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Number one is autolysis.

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NARRATOR: Dr. Audi believes
that the quicklime used

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in the original grave so dried
the body that putrefaction

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could not set in.

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Thus, science
explains the mystery.

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DR. SEPAGO: The first sign of
death is that the body stinks.

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That's a notorious
foul-smelling.

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Everybody will [INAUDIBLE].

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NARRATOR: Dr. Sepago, on the
other hand, favors a miracle.

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He maintains that all
the reports of the time

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speak of the body being moist.

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DR. SEPAGO: The body should
be disintegrating faster.

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Did it take place?

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DR. AUDI: No.

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In my opinion, I would say this
body-- the skin is completely

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dry because of the
quicklime which

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has been put below and
above this particular body

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and put in the coffin.

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DR. SEPAGO: And in my opinion,
I feel that the lime was used

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in order that the body
should get decayed faster,

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which did not take place.

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NARRATOR: The scientists
must agree to differ.

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But Father Rego believes the
case has a divine solution.

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I can only say it's a
miracle worked by God.

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There are fixed laws of Nature.

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There are laws that God
himself has put in Nature.

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But God can suspend
his laws or go

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against them, as here,
he has suspended law

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of corruption of a dead body.

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Now why could he have done that?

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How can we fathom
the mind of God?

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ARTHUR C. CLARKE: My friend,
Professor Calafan Zakir

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has spent many
years investigating

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the various magical
performances and feats

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that take place, or
are said to take place,

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in this part of the world.

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Of course, the most
famous of all these

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is the Indian rope trick.

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Now, have you ever
seen it yourself?

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PROFESSOR CALAFAN ZAKIR:
No, Art, I haven't.

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But of course, this, as you
say, is the most fantastic

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of them all.

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NARRATOR: In 1938, a
journalist from Bombay

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published these
extraordinary pictures.

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He claimed they show
the classic rope trick.

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First, the magician tosses
a rope into the air.

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Suddenly, it becomes
completely rigid.

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His boy assistant
scurries to the top.

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Under the hypnotic
gaze of the magician,

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the onlookers swear the boy
has vanished into thin air.

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Sabre in teeth, the
magician scales the rope.

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The horrified audience
sees the boy's severed

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limbs fall to the ground.

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But with a few magic
words and a flourish,

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the master reveals the child at
the bottom of the rope, whole

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again.

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Not all performances of the
rope trick are so impressive.

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This magician called himself
Karachi, but he was English.

256
00:12:59,180 --> 00:13:11,490


257
00:13:11,490 --> 00:13:14,710
The Hartfordshire rope
trick was a piece of a flop.

258
00:13:14,710 --> 00:13:25,157


259
00:13:25,157 --> 00:13:26,690
PROFESSOR CALAFAN ZAKIR:
In your wide travels,

260
00:13:26,690 --> 00:13:27,950
have you ever seen it?

261
00:13:27,950 --> 00:13:29,183
ARTHUR C. CLARKE:
I've never seen it.

262
00:13:29,183 --> 00:13:31,230
And you know anyone who has?

263
00:13:31,230 --> 00:13:34,790
PROFESSOR CALAFAN ZAKIR:
Well, I count among my friends

264
00:13:34,790 --> 00:13:38,160
the smartest magicians
in this country.

265
00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:39,920
They haven't seen it.

266
00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:42,370
None of them can perform it.

267
00:13:42,370 --> 00:13:44,980
But we cannot discount
this altogether,

268
00:13:44,980 --> 00:13:48,250
because there are people
who claim to have seen it

269
00:13:48,250 --> 00:13:50,060
and actually photographed it.

270
00:13:50,060 --> 00:13:52,730
NARRATOR: In 1917,
Captain F. W. Holmes,

271
00:13:52,730 --> 00:13:56,256
VC took this photograph from
the veranda of his bungalow

272
00:13:56,256 --> 00:13:56,955
in Pune.

273
00:13:56,955 --> 00:14:00,750


274
00:14:00,750 --> 00:14:03,490
And another soldier took
this precarious picture.

275
00:14:03,490 --> 00:14:07,190


276
00:14:07,190 --> 00:14:11,970
In 1937, Lieutenant Colonel
Cyril Streeter Dirtenlobee,

277
00:14:11,970 --> 00:14:15,170
then serving in the Queen's
own Royal West Kent Regiment,

278
00:14:15,170 --> 00:14:17,340
arranged and filmed
this demonstration

279
00:14:17,340 --> 00:14:18,710
at Karachi army barracks.

280
00:14:18,710 --> 00:14:45,400


281
00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:48,360
The rope trick is not the only
Indian mystery to have captured

282
00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:50,620
the imagination of the world.

283
00:14:50,620 --> 00:14:53,850
In October 1920, two little
girls were discovered

284
00:14:53,850 --> 00:14:56,620
near Calcutta by a clergyman.

285
00:14:56,620 --> 00:14:58,770
The girls lived
in this orphanage.

286
00:14:58,770 --> 00:15:00,310
It's now in ruins.

287
00:15:00,310 --> 00:15:02,150
But local schoolchildren
are drawn to it

288
00:15:02,150 --> 00:15:04,000
for a poignant history lesson.

289
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:06,810
TEACHER: You'll see this is
the oldest house, I think,

290
00:15:06,810 --> 00:15:07,660
in [INAUDIBLE].

291
00:15:07,660 --> 00:15:09,450
This is an orphanage.

292
00:15:09,450 --> 00:15:11,585
I lectured you on it earlier.
And you'll see--

293
00:15:11,585 --> 00:15:13,185
NARRATOR: The two little
girls were said to have

294
00:15:13,185 --> 00:15:15,390
been brought up by wolves.

295
00:15:15,390 --> 00:15:18,650
Stories from the newspapers
spoke of their animal habits,

296
00:15:18,650 --> 00:15:23,740
of their fierce natures, how
they ran around on all fours.

297
00:15:23,740 --> 00:15:27,720
The Midnapore Orphanage was run
by the Reverend and Mrs. Singh.

298
00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:30,420
One day, alarmed
villagers came to them.

299
00:15:30,420 --> 00:15:32,180
They said they'd
spotted children living

300
00:15:32,180 --> 00:15:34,080
with wolves in the jungle.

301
00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:37,340
Reverend Singh's daughter-in-law
recalls the wolves' den.

302
00:15:37,340 --> 00:15:40,366
It was deep inside
a huge anthill.

303
00:15:40,366 --> 00:15:43,810
MRS. M. M. SINGH: It was
shaped like a Hindu temple.

304
00:15:43,810 --> 00:15:46,046
And it had seven holes.

305
00:15:46,046 --> 00:15:49,350
And these holes led to
a tunnel underground

306
00:15:49,350 --> 00:15:52,590
where this wolf
family used to live.

307
00:15:52,590 --> 00:15:54,670
NARRATOR: Singh was prepared
to kill the children's

308
00:15:54,670 --> 00:15:57,760
wolf parents to save them.

309
00:15:57,760 --> 00:15:59,970
MRS. M. M. SINGH: And
he hired laborers,

310
00:15:59,970 --> 00:16:05,600
and they came with a spear,
bow, arrow and shovel.

311
00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:08,450
And they started digging a door.

312
00:16:08,450 --> 00:16:11,220
And as soon as they
began to dig the door,

313
00:16:11,220 --> 00:16:13,740
the father wolf escaped.

314
00:16:13,740 --> 00:16:15,500
Then the mother wolf came out.

315
00:16:15,500 --> 00:16:17,800
She was very, very ferocious.

316
00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:21,700
And the laborers had to
kill her with a spear.

317
00:16:21,700 --> 00:16:24,400
But they went inside.

318
00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:29,360
They found the cubs and these
children were bundled together.

319
00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:33,680
And this is how he
rescued the wolf children.

320
00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:35,130
NARRATOR: The Singhs
brought the two

321
00:16:35,130 --> 00:16:37,360
little girls home
to the orphanage,

322
00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:39,540
but not to the human race.

323
00:16:39,540 --> 00:16:41,680
They drank and ate like animals.

324
00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:43,810
They hated to wear clothes.

325
00:16:43,810 --> 00:16:46,040
They spoke no human
language, and often

326
00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:48,140
attacked the other orphans.

327
00:16:48,140 --> 00:16:51,630
Fearful of bright lights,
they liked to hide away.

328
00:16:51,630 --> 00:16:53,960
They behaved more like
wolves than children.

329
00:16:53,960 --> 00:17:05,900


330
00:17:05,900 --> 00:17:09,400
One of the very few people alive
today who met the wolf children

331
00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:12,849
is Mrs. Geeta Mallik.

332
00:17:12,849 --> 00:17:16,950
She visited the orphanage
when she was 14.

333
00:17:16,950 --> 00:17:19,050
MRS. GEETA MALLIK: I
remember we went one morning.

334
00:17:19,050 --> 00:17:21,040
As we went there,
the padre's wife--

335
00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:23,819
she came forward and
took us to the parlor.

336
00:17:23,819 --> 00:17:24,740
And we sat there.

337
00:17:24,740 --> 00:17:27,740
And then she said,
I'll bring the girls.

338
00:17:27,740 --> 00:17:29,800
But the child didn't like us.

339
00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:31,280
We could see that.

340
00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:34,220
She resented being
looked at, actually.

341
00:17:34,220 --> 00:17:36,620
And then my mother
asked her some question,

342
00:17:36,620 --> 00:17:38,080
what is your name?

343
00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:39,290
No answer.

344
00:17:39,290 --> 00:17:40,160
Do you like it here?

345
00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:42,330
She says nothing, no answer.

346
00:17:42,330 --> 00:17:43,390
She just growled.

347
00:17:43,390 --> 00:17:44,600
She was just growling.

348
00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:51,850


349
00:17:51,850 --> 00:17:53,510
There was a courtyard.

350
00:17:53,510 --> 00:17:55,370
And she rushed out
to the courtyard.

351
00:17:55,370 --> 00:17:56,650
There was a little
chicken going.

352
00:17:56,650 --> 00:18:00,570
And she caught hold of
chicken and twisted its neck.

353
00:18:00,570 --> 00:18:03,460
She was just going to eat
it, when the padre's wife

354
00:18:03,460 --> 00:18:05,430
rushed out of this meeting.

355
00:18:05,430 --> 00:18:06,800
She rushed out and
took the chicken

356
00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:09,286
away, and caught hold
of the girl, and said,

357
00:18:09,286 --> 00:18:10,270
I must love her.

358
00:18:10,270 --> 00:18:12,238
She's in that mood now.

359
00:18:12,238 --> 00:18:16,190
Whatever she sees,
she will bite.

360
00:18:16,190 --> 00:18:18,970
NARRATOR: After only
a year, in 1921,

361
00:18:18,970 --> 00:18:22,820
the youngest wolf child, Amala,
died of dysentery and fever.

362
00:18:22,820 --> 00:18:24,740
Her sister was inconsolable.

363
00:18:24,740 --> 00:18:27,360
MRS. M. M. SINGH: She wouldn't
touch her food-- neither food

364
00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:31,140
nor water or milk,
for two, three days.

365
00:18:31,140 --> 00:18:35,986
And at night, she would howl
like a wolf, cry, scream.

366
00:18:35,986 --> 00:18:40,210
And after dusk, she would
run out of this orphanage.

367
00:18:40,210 --> 00:18:43,360
But she couldn't find Amala.

368
00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:44,490
NARRATOR: The
older girl survived

369
00:18:44,490 --> 00:18:46,540
only into her teenage years.

370
00:18:46,540 --> 00:18:48,860
She died in 1929.

371
00:18:48,860 --> 00:18:52,090
Now, the children are buried
beside their adopted father--

372
00:18:52,090 --> 00:18:54,020
together in death.

373
00:18:54,020 --> 00:18:56,850
But in life, they had remained
true to their first family--

374
00:18:56,850 --> 00:18:59,840
the wolves of the jungle.

375
00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:01,910
ARTHUR C. CLARKE: India is
the home of one of the world's

376
00:19:01,910 --> 00:19:04,180
oldest civilizations.

377
00:19:04,180 --> 00:19:06,290
Much of its history
and culture is

378
00:19:06,290 --> 00:19:08,910
recorded in ancient writings.

379
00:19:08,910 --> 00:19:10,810
Yet the secrets of
some of its greatest

380
00:19:10,810 --> 00:19:14,040
technological achievements
have been lost.

381
00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:16,930
Rediscovering them has
provided challenges

382
00:19:16,930 --> 00:19:18,500
to metallurgists in particular.

383
00:19:18,500 --> 00:19:21,760


384
00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:23,100
NARRATOR: The ruined
mosque of Qutab

385
00:19:23,100 --> 00:19:25,420
Minar, with its iron
pillar, is the site

386
00:19:25,420 --> 00:19:26,940
of two metallic mysteries.

387
00:19:26,940 --> 00:19:29,700


388
00:19:29,700 --> 00:19:32,350
Tradition says that embracing
the pillar backwards

389
00:19:32,350 --> 00:19:33,500
will bring luck.

390
00:19:33,500 --> 00:19:35,320
And tourists flock to try.

391
00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:37,950


392
00:19:37,950 --> 00:19:40,610
The first mystery--
why has the pillar

393
00:19:40,610 --> 00:19:43,900
never rested in 16 centuries?

394
00:19:43,900 --> 00:19:47,620
Scientists now know the secret
lies in Delhi's mild climate,

395
00:19:47,620 --> 00:19:51,150
and the chemical makeup
of the metal itself.

396
00:19:51,150 --> 00:19:53,280
A team from the National
Physical Laboratory

397
00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:56,570
is trying to solve
the second mystery.

398
00:19:56,570 --> 00:19:57,644
Dr. Ashok Kumar.

399
00:19:57,644 --> 00:19:59,410
DR. ASHOK KUMAR: The earliest
scientists have already

400
00:19:59,410 --> 00:20:02,170
answered many questions.

401
00:20:02,170 --> 00:20:05,870
It only remains now a mystery
how was it made, especially

402
00:20:05,870 --> 00:20:09,340
if we look at its
age-- 1,600 years old--

403
00:20:09,340 --> 00:20:12,100
and we look at its
massive weight--

404
00:20:12,100 --> 00:20:15,220
six tonnes of weight
and such a long run.

405
00:20:15,220 --> 00:20:17,495
That remains a mystery, and
we'd like to certainly answer

406
00:20:17,495 --> 00:20:21,810
how was it made, and what
is the structure inside?

407
00:20:21,810 --> 00:20:24,290
NARRATOR: A popular theory is
that the ancient metallurgists

408
00:20:24,290 --> 00:20:27,470
placed disks of molten
iron, one on top of another.

409
00:20:27,470 --> 00:20:30,290
Heavy hammering and more
heat bound them together.

410
00:20:30,290 --> 00:20:34,320
They formed the pillar like
a tower of iron chapatis.

411
00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:37,290
Dr. Kumar is using ultrasound
to detect any joins

412
00:20:37,290 --> 00:20:39,550
left by such a method.

413
00:20:39,550 --> 00:20:41,710
The speed that sound
travels through the iron

414
00:20:41,710 --> 00:20:44,940
will tell him if the
pillar's made of disks.

415
00:20:44,940 --> 00:20:46,820
DR. ASHOK KUMAR: We
put two transmitters

416
00:20:46,820 --> 00:20:48,580
diametrically opposed
to each other,

417
00:20:48,580 --> 00:20:50,290
and measured the velocity.

418
00:20:50,290 --> 00:20:53,860
And then kept one transmitter
secured at one place,

419
00:20:53,860 --> 00:20:57,700
and moved another
one a bit higher,

420
00:20:57,700 --> 00:21:01,910
and again measured the
velocity, and then brought

421
00:21:01,910 --> 00:21:05,030
this one a little
lower-- lower than even

422
00:21:05,030 --> 00:21:08,630
the previous position-- and
again measured the velocity.

423
00:21:08,630 --> 00:21:13,090
Now, these three velocities
are roughly equal order.

424
00:21:13,090 --> 00:21:16,140
If there was anything--
any joint here

425
00:21:16,140 --> 00:21:18,850
between the two
pieces-- this velocity

426
00:21:18,850 --> 00:21:21,020
would have not been the same.

427
00:21:21,020 --> 00:21:24,120
NARRATOR: Kumar concludes the
pillar was built in one piece.

428
00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:27,620
But how was this cast
centuries before the invention

429
00:21:27,620 --> 00:21:29,930
of large furnaces?

430
00:21:29,930 --> 00:21:31,865
DR. ASHOK KUMAR: What
we like to suggest right

431
00:21:31,865 --> 00:21:36,100
now is that it was perhaps
a mold in which the iron was

432
00:21:36,100 --> 00:21:39,420
simply put-- the molten iron
was put, allowed to cool down,

433
00:21:39,420 --> 00:21:41,170
and hammered it from outside.

434
00:21:41,170 --> 00:21:43,800
And then some more
iron put in the mold,

435
00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:45,450
and again hammered from outside.

436
00:21:45,450 --> 00:21:47,970
And they continuously kept
on doing for days and days,

437
00:21:47,970 --> 00:21:49,840
until they could
get to this shape.

438
00:21:49,840 --> 00:22:05,260


439
00:22:05,260 --> 00:22:06,840
ARTHUR C. CLARKE:
India's holy men

440
00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:10,830
claimed to have a repertoire
of more than 1,000 miracles.

441
00:22:10,830 --> 00:22:13,410
But not everyone is
happy with the influence

442
00:22:13,410 --> 00:22:15,780
this can give them
over superstitious

443
00:22:15,780 --> 00:22:16,800
and gullible people.

444
00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:19,390


445
00:22:19,390 --> 00:22:25,150
NARRATOR: The weirdest
parade in all of India--

446
00:22:25,150 --> 00:22:27,970
it looks as though a host of
holy men have come to town.

447
00:22:27,970 --> 00:22:32,750


448
00:22:32,750 --> 00:22:34,755
The posters promise
a feast of miracles.

449
00:22:34,755 --> 00:22:39,970


450
00:22:39,970 --> 00:22:44,200
But appearances deceive--
that's the message of this man.

451
00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:46,790
Premanand has dedicated
his life to debunking

452
00:22:46,790 --> 00:22:48,700
the holy men's repertoire.

453
00:22:48,700 --> 00:22:55,220
They claim they can
perform 1,500 miracles.

454
00:22:55,220 --> 00:22:58,955
Pulling a chariot with hooks in
the back is miracle number 25.

455
00:22:58,955 --> 00:23:04,740


456
00:23:04,740 --> 00:23:08,080
Dedicated to exposing
godmen who cheat the poor,

457
00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:12,010
Premanand travels India
explaining their trickery.

458
00:23:12,010 --> 00:23:15,505
PREMANAND: The next item
is making tea on the head

459
00:23:15,505 --> 00:23:16,830
of a beautiful lady.

460
00:23:16,830 --> 00:23:19,530


461
00:23:19,530 --> 00:23:21,260
NARRATOR: This is
miracle number 95.

462
00:23:21,260 --> 00:23:24,034


463
00:23:24,034 --> 00:23:24,800
PREMANAND: [INAUDIBLE].

464
00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:31,310


465
00:23:31,310 --> 00:23:33,980
And the person has to
be very careful that it

466
00:23:33,980 --> 00:23:36,630
doesn't move their head.

467
00:23:36,630 --> 00:23:39,088
People think fire is dangerous.

468
00:23:39,088 --> 00:23:43,770


469
00:23:43,770 --> 00:23:47,230
[INAUDIBLE] Then
all they have to do,

470
00:23:47,230 --> 00:23:49,660
they have to very
carefully put it on it

471
00:23:49,660 --> 00:23:53,540
so that it doesn't fall off.

472
00:23:53,540 --> 00:23:55,000
NARRATOR: The
trick is explained.

473
00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:57,040
Wet dough hidden
in the towel keeps

474
00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:00,095
the lady's head from burning.

475
00:24:00,095 --> 00:24:01,490
PREMANAND: [INAUDIBLE] secret.

476
00:24:01,490 --> 00:24:03,740
The godmen [INAUDIBLE].

477
00:24:03,740 --> 00:24:07,050
NARRATOR: In the evening,
the village show begins.

478
00:24:07,050 --> 00:24:10,410
PREMANAND: Ask him not to
move the fire on the body,

479
00:24:10,410 --> 00:24:15,712
but to keep the fire
on the same place.

480
00:24:15,712 --> 00:24:17,650
[CROWD NOISE]

481
00:24:17,650 --> 00:24:20,250
NARRATOR: Nervous volunteers
are chosen to take part.

482
00:24:20,250 --> 00:24:23,450


483
00:24:23,450 --> 00:24:26,480
PREMANAND: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

484
00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:51,400


485
00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:58,420
My ambition in life is to see at
least one miracle before I die.

486
00:24:58,420 --> 00:25:01,040
I think that my experience
has shown that I

487
00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:02,910
may not be able to do it.

488
00:25:02,910 --> 00:25:05,890
But if people can help
me-- if they think they'll

489
00:25:05,890 --> 00:25:10,050
come across any real miracle--
if they will tell me where it

490
00:25:10,050 --> 00:25:12,950
is happening, and if
it is a real miracle,

491
00:25:12,950 --> 00:25:14,890
I will be dying
peacefully, thinking

492
00:25:14,890 --> 00:25:19,030
that my search has ended.

493
00:25:19,030 --> 00:25:20,930
ARTHUR C. CLARKE: Well,
perhaps in my attempt

494
00:25:20,930 --> 00:25:24,580
to deflate these mysteries,
I've offended enough holy men

495
00:25:24,580 --> 00:25:28,240
to last a lifetime-- or
if some of them are right,

496
00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:31,510
several future lifetimes.

497
00:25:31,510 --> 00:25:35,460
[MUSIC PLAYING]

498
00:25:35,460 --> 00:26:04,767