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Don't you think it's astounding
that our planet supports

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seven billion of us?

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BABY CRIES

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And counting.

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Learning to survive in a crowded
world is our biggest challenge.

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But there's one corner where we're
already well on our way to adapting.

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Welcome to India.

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Over one in six in the world
live here

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and, in a few years, will be
the most populous nation on earth.

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We're resourceful.

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And we're tactical
at playing the long game.

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It's not just the here and now
that matters.

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Still I'm waiting for one chance.

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It's the future of our family
over generations to come.

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The cycle of life might be
one of our spiritual beliefs,

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but in a crowded world,
it's also a material opportunity

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for a better future.

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A WALTZ PLAYS

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Meet Swapan, one of the shrewdest
dealers in Kolkata's
main fish market.

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Swapan has fish sent up from
the Ganges delta every night.

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Amid cut-throat competition,

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he employs every tactic to sell
them at the best possible price.

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Having started his working day
at 3.00am,

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Swapan heads home for a short rest.

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He lives with his wife, Ruma, and
his two daughters, Ahana and Anesha.

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On top of his all-consuming
fish business,

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Swapan's volunteering
the little time he has left

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to organise his neighbourhood's
Durga Puja celebration.

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But he's not just on his local
committee for the prestige -

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he hopes that the Goddess Durga's
blessings will help his business.

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All over the city, rich and poor

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are building fantastical temporary
structures known as a "pandals"

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to show their devotion
and creativity

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and, ideally,
to upstage the neighbours.

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Swapan's excited about his
contribution to this year's design.

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The committee are still considering
his ambitious plan

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of a stocked pond
as the star attraction.

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The responsibility for supporting
the family is a huge,
all-consuming task.

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From the moment our kids
start school,

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the expectation of expanding
the family's fortunes is placed
squarely on their shoulders.

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Welcome to Cuffe Parade.

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This illegal settlement
in the thick of down-town Mumbai

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is home to two brothers
facing the full pressure
of their family's ambition.

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I...

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love...

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you.

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Prakash is striving to launch
his lifelong dream -

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to be a Bollywood actor.

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Prakash lives in the family one up,
one down.

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He shares it with his parents,
his elder brother and sister,

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their partners and their young kids.

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MUSIC PLAYS ON MOBILE

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HE SINGS ALONG

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MUSIC: "Billie Jean"
by Michael Jackson

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Prakash has secretly
been putting aside

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some of the salary
from his job in the harbour.

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After six months, he's finally
got enough to get photos taken
for his portfolio

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to send off
to the city's acting agencies.

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But while he's busy
chasing the Bollywood dream...

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..his younger brother Mangesh
is about to come home
from his first year

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studying software engineering
at a Bangalore university.

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It's a contrast
not lost on their mother.

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Smile.

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Our dreams of a better life

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must be given the best
possible chance of success.

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So focusing a family's combined
resources on our most promising child

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is simply a pragmatic strategy.

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Once a family has carved out
a lucrative business,

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it can be passed down the generations
for as long as it remains profitable.

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Clay tea cups are essential for
the serious chai drinkers of Kolkata,

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and their demand is guaranteed
by being disposable.

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It's an ingenious use of local mud.

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Sujit turns this clay from the Ganges
into several thousand cups a day,

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working 13 days in every fortnight.

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For all their ingenuity, Sujit and
his colleagues need to run a slick
operation to make ends meet.

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Sujit's own wife and kids live
in his village, 400 miles away.

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Renting space here
is simply too expensive.

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Like many who come
to work in the city,

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Sujit sleeps where he works
and can only return home
every six months.

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He's hoping that the approaching
Durga Puja festival

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will boost sales enough
for his family to visit.

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But, for now, he tries
not to dwell on the situation.

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Drink.

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Sujit's workshop is a short stroll
from the Ganges - handy for
bath-time,

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not to mention the all-important mud.

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For us, the Ganges is a sacred being.

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We worship her as a goddess.

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She can wash away
the sins of a lifetime,

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and when we die,
she bears us up to heaven.

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She also performs
more everyday tasks,

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satisfying the needs
of the mega-city of Kolkata,

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and washing its effluent away
down choked canals
and into large shallow lakes.

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These man-made wetlands
are the largest sewage-fed
fisheries in the world.

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The decomposing waste from the city

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nourishes the ponds' ecosystem,

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which feeds the fish
of over 250 fish farms.

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It's an unlikely oasis,

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but it supplies Kolkata's 15 million
people with 30% of their fish -

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a recycling service
care of the mighty Ganges.

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Swapan, the fish merchant,
has come down to the river

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to mark the final run-up
to the Durga Puja festival.

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Swapan and his fellow bathers
are praying that their forefathers

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will bestow health
and wealth upon them.

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No pilgrimage to Mother Ganga
is complete without devoting
some hard cash.

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But we're happy
to make money here, too.

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Gondal and his best friend, Rajesh,

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use the magnets from old speakers
for their very own form of trawling.

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It's the river that provides
19-year-old Gondal and his family
with their main income.

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Gondal and his entire extended family

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live on unclaimed land
just a couple of hundred metres
down the river bank.

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Once Gondal's reeled in enough money
to pay the family's food bill
for the day, he heads home.

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We're not ashamed to dream
of being rich.

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For us, wealth is, quite
simply, the mark of success.

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Prakash is at work, earning the cash
for his brother's education.

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Six months ago, he talked his way
into a job as a cleaner on a luxury
yacht, moored close to his home.

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Prakash's daily brush with the
high life is a constant reminder

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that he's still waiting for
a response from the acting agencies.

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One, two, three, four!

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Five, six, seven, eight! Stop!

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To keep his moves up to scratch,

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he runs a free dance class for kids
from his illegal settlement.

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MUSIC PLAYS

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Four. Five.

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Six.

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Seven.

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Come here.

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Shake!

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Lovely. Come on! Six...

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Dance is huge here,
and not just as escapism.

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Lovely, lovely!

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It can be a real route
to fame and fortune.

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One, two. One, two. Relax.

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11...

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12...

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OK?

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HORNS BLARE

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Prakash is especially
excited tonight.

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His brother is back
from university in Bangalore.

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It's the first time Mangesh
has been home in six months.

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Very nice!

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That's called...

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With only days to go
before Durga Puja,

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Sujit is up early to tackle
his first task of the day.

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HOLLOW CLICKING

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Getting just 25 rupees -
or 30 pence - for every 100 cups,

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Sujit's lucky if he keeps back
2,000 rupees

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or £25 a month.

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But he's got a plan
to increase his margins

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that might allow him to have
his family stay in the city, too.

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He wants to rent a space like this

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to stockpile cups when they're easy
to make in the dry season,

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and sell them at the top
of the market when drying
is hampered by the monsoon.

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Right now, Sujit is missing
his family more than ever.

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Teacups are not the only use for
Ganges mud in this part of town.

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It's in huge demand
for the upcoming Durga Puja festival

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and is being shipped in
by the boat load.

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Hundreds of artists apply
the sticky river mud
over a wood and straw structure

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to create vibrant idols of Goddess
Durga and her exotic entourage.

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Swapan, the fish merchant, and his
daughter are here to collect the idol

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commissioned for their
neighbourhood pandal.

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Back at the pandal itself,

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the cave-like structure
has been progressing fast.

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Swapan's keeping a close eye
on his fish pond.

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With the opening in just two days,
Swapan's given the go ahead

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to source his fish for the pandal.

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After a full night's work
at his market, Swapan sets off
to make his purchase.

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He goes to the market
that sells the wetlands fish,

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farmed in the city's waste water.

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Playing the customer
is a new experience for Swapan.

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A last-minute splash of colour
with some goldfish,

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and the morning's haul
is sped back to the pandal.

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GIRL SCREAMS

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LAUGHTER

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Swapan realises
he's fighting a losing battle.

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But he's not one to let a business
opportunity go to waste.

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Cheers!

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The stress hasn't taken long
to find Swapan's big weakness.

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Aaaah!

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In Mumbai, Prakash has just received
a call from one of the agencies
he sent his portfolio to.

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They want him to come in and audition
for a part in a TV soap opera.

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Thanks!

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It's the break Prakash
has been waiting so long for.

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Mangesh comes along for support.

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Prakash!

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Ready? OK.

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Action!

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Oh, God!

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Cut!

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Thank you so much.

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Thank you. Thank you very much.

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In Kolkata,
the energy levels are mounting

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for the great, four-day Durga Puja
festival starting tomorrow.

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Gondal and his friends
on the riverbank
have spotted a new opportunity.

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Everyone across the city
will need Ganges mud to place
in front of their Mother Durga idols.

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It's a heaven-sent opportunity
to cash in.

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Gondal and two friends spend
the night shaping his mud pile

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into conveniently sized balls.

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At sunrise, representatives from
every pandal pour down to the river

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and celebrate the start of the
festival with a dip in the Ganges.

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But with so many holy
mud-ball sellers here,

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it's a buyers' market and Gondal's
struggling to shift his balls.

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Tough market conditions
demand bigger balls.

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Gondal's strategy soon pays off.

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With 600 rupees fresh in his pocket,
it's a bumper day.

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There's not a moment to lose.

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The festival is in full swing

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and the city's out for a good time.

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Sujit's joining the crowds
visiting the 2,000 or more pandals

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across Kolkata.

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On top of the 15 million-odd
residents,

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thousands of visitors have poured
into the city for the celebrations.

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At Swapan's, the pandal's being
finished in the nick of time.

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And with the pond filled with water,

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he can at last deliver
a fresh load of fish.

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There's just time for Swapan and
the family to put on the new clothes

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they've bought for the occasion.

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First, they pay their respects
at their pandal.

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Mother Durga, personifying
the triumph of good over evil,

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is reborn out of the Ganges mud
for the duration of the festival.

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Showing her our devotion is important
for securing future success
and prosperity.

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Then it's time to party!

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Swapan's daughters
aren't the only thrill seekers.

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Swapan decides to take the family
to pay their respects
to the holy Ganges.

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00:48:14,520 --> 00:48:19,240
But to get there, they pass through
a different kind of ceremony.

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Even as the city celebrates,
some of its charges

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have come to the end of their stay.

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They're closing their own circle
and returning to Mother Ganga.

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Next morning,

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Sujit's up early again.

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With so many extra tea drinkers
in the city for the festival,

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he's busier than ever
and has had a run of record sales.

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He's decided to send for his wife,
two-year-old daughter and new baby.

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00:50:07,560 --> 00:50:12,600
They have boarded a train to the city
and are due to arrive any moment.

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00:51:33,960 --> 00:51:36,680
For the first time
in over eight months,

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Sujit sees his wife, Shila,

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and meets baby Kajal at last.

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Flush with his festival bonus,

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00:52:47,000 --> 00:52:50,840
Sujit's managed to put down a deposit
on a room close to his work.

239
00:53:22,640 --> 00:53:26,160
But to pay the rent,
the room must earn its keep.

240
00:54:05,240 --> 00:54:08,200
DRUMS BEAT, HORNS BLARE

241
00:54:14,840 --> 00:54:17,360
The festival's at an end.

242
00:54:17,360 --> 00:54:19,800
FRENZIED SHOUTING

243
00:54:30,160 --> 00:54:32,320
The idols must be
taken out of their pandals,

244
00:54:32,320 --> 00:54:36,200
and transported back towards
the river where they came from.

245
00:54:38,480 --> 00:54:42,200
WOMAN ULULATES

246
00:54:56,440 --> 00:54:59,560
DRUMS BEAT

247
00:55:00,840 --> 00:55:04,520
We may be sad to see Mother Durga go,

248
00:55:04,520 --> 00:55:07,760
but we make sure
we send her off in style.

249
00:55:09,160 --> 00:55:11,240
It's carnival time!

250
00:55:11,240 --> 00:55:12,400
Hey-hey!

251
00:55:12,400 --> 00:55:13,480
Hey-hey!

252
00:55:14,560 --> 00:55:15,880
Hey-hey!

253
00:56:20,880 --> 00:56:23,680
The festivities
may have been extravagant,

254
00:56:23,680 --> 00:56:26,960
but the leftovers won't go to waste.

255
00:56:26,960 --> 00:56:32,680
Next morning, Gondal and his
friends are watching the river
more intently than ever.

256
00:57:30,760 --> 00:57:34,360
Once the idols have been stripped
of mud and straw,

257
00:57:34,360 --> 00:57:37,000
Gondal will sell the wooden frames

258
00:57:37,000 --> 00:57:39,040
back to their makers.

259
00:58:01,840 --> 00:58:06,280
And as for Prakash?
He didn't land the part in the soap.

260
00:58:07,720 --> 00:58:11,360
But the casting agency
HAVE put him on their books.

261
00:58:11,360 --> 00:58:14,800
He's spending every spare moment
with his dance class.

262
00:58:15,640 --> 00:58:17,400
He's honing his moves,

263
00:58:17,400 --> 00:58:20,920
ready for his next big break.

264
00:58:20,920 --> 00:58:22,160
# Watcha gonna do

265
00:58:22,160 --> 00:58:23,960
# Ha-ha! With the party? Yeah!

266
00:58:23,960 --> 00:58:25,560
# Ha-ha! With the party? Yeah!

267
00:58:25,560 --> 00:58:27,360
# Ha-ha! With the party? Yeah!

268
00:58:27,360 --> 00:58:29,240
# Ha-ha! With the party? Yeah!

269
00:58:51,960 --> 00:58:54,200
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd