1 00:00:03,887 --> 00:00:05,639 Hm. 2 00:00:58,367 --> 00:01:03,282 I'm flying into this majestic world of rock and ice in a military helicopter 3 00:01:03,447 --> 00:01:06,644 because this valley is on the border 4 00:01:06,807 --> 00:01:12,006 between the Himalaya's most quarrelsome neighbours - India and Pakistan. 5 00:01:12,167 --> 00:01:16,160 With supreme irony, they call this place Concordia. 6 00:01:22,207 --> 00:01:28,282 It's a beautiful but harsh land which you enter at your peril. 0hl See what I mean? 7 00:01:33,207 --> 00:01:38,076 I'm at 14,500 feet in the heart of the Karakoram mountains. 8 00:01:38,247 --> 00:01:42,718 If anywhere can be called "the hall of the mountain kings", this is it. 9 00:01:42,887 --> 00:01:47,722 Clustered around me are ten of the world's 30 highest peaks, 10 00:01:47,887 --> 00:01:52,324 dominated by K2 - the second highest mountain in the world. 11 00:01:52,487 --> 00:01:58,039 It's known as the killer mountain and is a much harder climb than Everest. 12 00:01:58,207 --> 00:02:02,803 There's not just natural splendour here, there's human drama as well. 13 00:02:02,967 --> 00:02:09,156 To the east the Indian and Pakistan armies face each other in a high altitude stand-off 14 00:02:09,327 --> 00:02:12,797 in these ice-bound conditions. 15 00:02:23,327 --> 00:02:28,526 It's scarcely believable that two oxygen-starved armies eyeball one another down there 16 00:02:28,687 --> 00:02:32,680 with only a UN line of control to keep them apart. 17 00:02:35,327 --> 00:02:40,606 This means I can't cross from Pakistan to India through the mountains. 18 00:02:40,767 --> 00:02:47,445 Instead I must go to the one official crossing point on the border near Lahore. 19 00:02:48,847 --> 00:02:52,317 Lahore is an often beautiful, always busy, city, 20 00:02:52,487 --> 00:02:55,399 proud of its military and literary traditions. 21 00:02:55,567 --> 00:03:00,925 You may not think so, but this is one of the most important objects in Lahore - 22 00:03:01,087 --> 00:03:04,523 Zamzama, the great cannon. 23 00:03:04,687 --> 00:03:07,804 It was first fired in anger about 250 years ago, 24 00:03:07,967 --> 00:03:11,004 and they say that who holds the cannon holds the Punjab. 25 00:03:11,167 --> 00:03:17,686 Which maybe accounts for why it appears in Rudyard Kipling's "Kim". 26 00:03:17,847 --> 00:03:23,558 "He sat, in defiance of municipal orders, astride the gun Zamzama." 27 00:03:23,727 --> 00:03:27,845 This is the gun that Rudyard Kipling's Kim sat astride. 28 00:03:29,727 --> 00:03:32,799 Oh! It's very hot this afternoon. 29 00:03:33,927 --> 00:03:39,126 The Moguls, who came from central Asia 600 years ago, left a mark on Lahore. 30 00:03:39,287 --> 00:03:43,041 The Shalimar Gardens, created by the man who built the TajMahal. 31 00:03:43,207 --> 00:03:48,839 The Badshahi Mosque whose courtyard can hold 60,000 worshippers. 32 00:03:49,007 --> 00:03:53,046 And in Lahore Fort, the exquisite Palace of Mirrors. 33 00:03:54,327 --> 00:03:58,366 They say it was here that Emperor Akbar caught his favourite courtesan 34 00:03:58,527 --> 00:04:01,519 exchanging a glance with this son. 35 00:04:02,527 --> 00:04:08,523 True to the Mogul image of good taste and bad temper, he had her walled up alive. 36 00:04:11,647 --> 00:04:16,767 0ur penultimate day in Pakistan and I'm looking across the border at India. 37 00:04:16,927 --> 00:04:19,236 (CHEERING) 38 00:04:19,407 --> 00:04:23,446 Here at Wagah, the old military ceremony of lowering the flag 39 00:04:23,607 --> 00:04:26,838 has been turned into an entertainment. 40 00:04:31,007 --> 00:04:34,477 The partition of India in 1947 was traumatic. 41 00:04:34,647 --> 00:04:39,767 Nearly a million were killed in sectarian fury as the two new nations were born. 42 00:04:41,967 --> 00:04:43,958 Nearly 60 years later, 43 00:04:44,127 --> 00:04:49,599 that aggression has been channelled into a largely good-natured ritual. 44 00:04:58,887 --> 00:05:01,355 Crowds can root for their country, 45 00:05:01,527 --> 00:05:07,921 whilst guardsmen lay on a display of carefully choreographed contempt. 46 00:05:11,807 --> 00:05:14,879 This is chauvinism at its most camp. 47 00:05:53,287 --> 00:05:59,283 The Pakistan Rangers demonstrate how angry you can get without hitting anyone. 48 00:06:16,127 --> 00:06:22,123 As the moment of flag-lowering grows closer, the crowd's excitement grows more vocal. 49 00:06:28,847 --> 00:06:33,841 National passions are further inflamed by a display of precision nastiness 50 00:06:34,007 --> 00:06:36,999 in which thumbs are used to terrifying effect. 51 00:06:39,047 --> 00:06:41,515 (CHEERING) 52 00:07:03,447 --> 00:07:06,439 (PLAYS LAST POST) 53 00:07:08,127 --> 00:07:10,561 Now the moment they've been waiting for - 54 00:07:10,727 --> 00:07:14,515 the guards, fans sprouting from their turbans like raised hackles, 55 00:07:14,687 --> 00:07:17,281 measure out the lengths of rope. 56 00:07:21,647 --> 00:07:24,115 And they must get it spot on, 57 00:07:24,287 --> 00:07:29,236 so that the tricolour of secular India and the crescent moon of Muslim Pakistan 58 00:07:29,407 --> 00:07:33,366 descend at exactly the same time. 59 00:07:49,847 --> 00:07:53,362 (SOLDIER SHOUTS COMMANDS) 60 00:07:59,527 --> 00:08:03,759 Despite the show of bellicosity, this is a combined operation 61 00:08:03,927 --> 00:08:06,999 with both sides working together. 62 00:08:07,167 --> 00:08:11,046 It ends with a flourish - a quadrille of stamping soldiers, 63 00:08:11,207 --> 00:08:17,203 the briefest of handshakes, the border between India and Pakistan is sealed. 64 00:08:18,327 --> 00:08:20,795 Job done. 65 00:08:27,447 --> 00:08:32,840 Next morning, the crowds of spectators are gone - to be replaced by a crowd of porters. 66 00:08:33,007 --> 00:08:39,162 22, in fact, carrying our 40-odd pieces of equipment up to the border. 67 00:08:39,327 --> 00:08:44,321 Here, they're received by 22 equally fortunate Indian porters. 68 00:08:45,807 --> 00:08:48,446 A beady-eyed Pakistan Ranger 69 00:08:48,607 --> 00:08:54,079 makes sure there is no illegal immigration across the white border line. 70 00:08:57,567 --> 00:09:02,516 So we leave one country where no elected government has ever completed its term 71 00:09:02,687 --> 00:09:06,919 and enter one where nearly a billion use the ballot box. 72 00:09:10,247 --> 00:09:13,603 The Indian way is immediately apparent. 73 00:09:13,767 --> 00:09:18,283 This man must be telepathic. He certainly knows what's on my mind. 74 00:09:18,447 --> 00:09:21,519 That was your question? A beer? Thunderbolt. 75 00:09:21,687 --> 00:09:27,922 That's what you need after... four weeks of abstinence. 76 00:09:28,927 --> 00:09:31,885 You're not allowed to drink in public in Pakistan. 77 00:09:32,047 --> 00:09:36,598 They know that as soon as you get across the border, this is what you need. 78 00:09:36,767 --> 00:09:42,603 But after four weeks, I feel fit, younger, better. I don't know what to do with this. 79 00:09:46,087 --> 00:09:47,566 Oh. 80 00:09:52,127 --> 00:09:57,440 Buoyed up by beer and the relief that always comes from crossing a frontier, 81 00:09:57,607 --> 00:10:03,603 I hop into a local minibus, which takes me the ten miles to the first Indian city. 82 00:10:05,367 --> 00:10:10,487 Neither Muslim nor Hindu, Amritsar is a Sikh town. 83 00:10:12,327 --> 00:10:17,321 I know a bit about Sikhs - the turbans and the hair that should never be cut 84 00:10:17,487 --> 00:10:21,480 and their reputation as fierce warriors and shrewd businessmen - 85 00:10:21,647 --> 00:10:26,641 but to learn more I make for Amritsar's most holy site - the Golden Temple. 86 00:10:28,487 --> 00:10:31,604 - This is for going into the temple? - Yes. 87 00:10:31,767 --> 00:10:35,043 I need one of these? What is it? 88 00:10:37,127 --> 00:10:41,405 What is it? A scarf or a hat? 89 00:10:41,567 --> 00:10:44,843 Ten rupees? OK. How do I wear it? 90 00:10:45,847 --> 00:10:48,315 Can you show me? Ah. 91 00:10:54,887 --> 00:10:59,915 I see. It's my own sort of semi-turban. 92 00:11:00,087 --> 00:11:03,079 Not the real thing. Thank you very much. 93 00:11:04,767 --> 00:11:08,237 Though they seem a relaxed and worldly people, 94 00:11:08,407 --> 00:11:11,604 the Sikhs demand a strict dress code for the temple. 95 00:11:11,767 --> 00:11:16,238 Apart from covering my head, I must leave my shoes and socks behind. 96 00:11:16,407 --> 00:11:19,319 I'm also required to wash my hands, 97 00:11:19,487 --> 00:11:25,198 divest myself of tobacco, intoxicants and narcotics, and enter via a cleansing pool. 98 00:11:28,687 --> 00:11:33,966 There are an estimated 20 million Sikhs in India - 2% of the population. 99 00:11:34,127 --> 00:11:36,516 They believe in one God for all, 100 00:11:36,687 --> 00:11:42,478 with no human hierarchies or priesthoods, idols or icons coming in between. 101 00:11:44,047 --> 00:11:46,083 It sounds modest. 102 00:11:46,247 --> 00:11:50,035 But when I see the golden Hari Mandir - the holy of holies - 103 00:11:50,207 --> 00:11:54,200 "modest" is not the first word that comes to mind. 104 00:11:57,647 --> 00:12:01,925 The Golden Temple - covered in 500 kilograms of gold - 105 00:12:02,087 --> 00:12:05,602 is only a small part of an enormous complex. 106 00:12:12,087 --> 00:12:16,205 In the kitchens, volunteers prepare a simple, free meal 107 00:12:16,367 --> 00:12:18,927 for anyone who wants it. 108 00:12:20,447 --> 00:12:25,919 Chapatti, dhal, pickle and water, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 109 00:12:29,207 --> 00:12:32,199 This is the chapattiproduction line. 110 00:12:35,487 --> 00:12:37,955 These are the dhal vats. 111 00:12:38,127 --> 00:12:42,484 In sweatshop conditions, thousands of kilos of lentil curry 112 00:12:42,647 --> 00:12:45,445 are stirred in titanic cauldrons. 113 00:12:45,607 --> 00:12:49,395 I sample the result with a young Sikh, 0nkar Singh. 114 00:12:50,607 --> 00:12:57,683 So, essentially, they give a basic meal to... whoever turns up? 115 00:12:57,847 --> 00:12:59,917 - Yes. - Within reason. 116 00:13:00,087 --> 00:13:03,796 - This must be a very big operation. - Yes. 117 00:13:03,967 --> 00:13:06,800 How many meals do they provide a day? 118 00:13:06,967 --> 00:13:12,166 Basically, this kitchen is open 24 hours to everybody. 119 00:13:12,327 --> 00:13:17,720 And every day, 40 to 50,000 people come here and have food. 120 00:13:17,887 --> 00:13:23,166 (PALIN) What sort of people are they? Poor people who can't get food? 121 00:13:23,327 --> 00:13:26,125 Or people like us making documentaries? 122 00:13:26,287 --> 00:13:29,996 (SINGH) This is a basic thing of every Sikh temple, 123 00:13:30,167 --> 00:13:35,036 essential for every Sikh temple, everybody has to come in the kitchen. 124 00:13:35,207 --> 00:13:39,041 The third Guru, who started this tradition - Guru Amar Das - 125 00:13:39,207 --> 00:13:42,836 said, "If you want to meet me, first go to the kitchen." 126 00:13:43,007 --> 00:13:48,161 He said that because if anybody has ego or pride, 127 00:13:48,327 --> 00:13:51,603 here everyone learns the lesson of equality. 128 00:13:51,767 --> 00:13:56,318 - That's what it's about. - No matter which class, which religion. 129 00:13:56,487 --> 00:14:01,515 (PALIN) So it's probably more important for someone who is rich 130 00:14:01,687 --> 00:14:05,362 to come along and eat with everybody else. 131 00:14:05,527 --> 00:14:09,998 Even King Akbar came here and had to sit equally with everybody. 132 00:14:10,167 --> 00:14:13,637 So the answer to your question is 133 00:14:13,807 --> 00:14:19,359 no matter if one is poor or rich, they come here, have food and bless God. 134 00:14:19,527 --> 00:14:23,440 - This is the essence of the kitchen. - That's great. 135 00:14:23,607 --> 00:14:27,680 On Saturday and Sunday there are limitless people. 136 00:14:27,847 --> 00:14:33,638 - About 100,000 people come here. - 100,000? 137 00:14:33,807 --> 00:14:38,756 Both floors - the ground floor and first floor - are busy. 138 00:14:38,927 --> 00:14:44,047 Then on the pavements, they sit there and start eating. 139 00:14:51,607 --> 00:14:55,600 This is voluntary work, and the washing-up may be done by doctors, lawyers, 140 00:14:55,767 --> 00:15:00,887 bricklayers, rickshaw drivers or anyone who enjoys making a noise. 141 00:15:01,767 --> 00:15:03,758 (CRASHING) 142 00:15:16,847 --> 00:15:21,841 This causeway leads to the Hari Mandir - the most holy part of the temple. 143 00:15:22,007 --> 00:15:25,556 Crowds wait to pay their respects to the Guru Granth - 144 00:15:25,727 --> 00:15:28,719 the holy book of the Sikh religion. 145 00:15:28,887 --> 00:15:31,401 (SOFT MUSIC) 146 00:15:34,447 --> 00:15:37,883 In the holy book are the sacred Ragas, written by Guru Nanak, 147 00:15:38,047 --> 00:15:40,641 who founded Sikhism in the 17th century. 148 00:15:40,807 --> 00:15:46,598 These are performed by the musicians and singers in the holy of holies. 149 00:15:52,007 --> 00:15:56,000 They ring round the temple for 16 hours a day. 150 00:15:56,167 --> 00:16:00,524 It's takes 2.5 days to chant the whole book, then it starts again. 151 00:16:02,647 --> 00:16:06,481 (MUSIC AND SONG RINGS OUT) 152 00:16:24,847 --> 00:16:28,522 If you want to stay the night, there's a hotel out the back. 153 00:16:29,487 --> 00:16:31,876 - Oops. - Lots of people. 154 00:16:32,047 --> 00:16:36,723 It's already busy, isn't it? How many people can they take here? 155 00:16:36,887 --> 00:16:42,280 - Well, about 25,000 people can stay here. - At one time? 156 00:16:42,447 --> 00:16:45,086 - At one time, yes. - Gigantic. 157 00:16:45,247 --> 00:16:47,966 - Isn't it? - Yes, yes. 158 00:16:50,447 --> 00:16:54,679 Thank you. Oh, bathroom. Lovely. 159 00:16:54,847 --> 00:16:57,680 - Michael? - Yes? 160 00:16:57,847 --> 00:17:01,317 (TOILET WON'T FLUSH) 161 00:17:05,087 --> 00:17:07,840 - (FLUSHES) - Very efficient. 162 00:17:10,247 --> 00:17:14,399 Yeah, that's good. A shower for short people. 163 00:17:16,447 --> 00:17:18,563 Everything you need. 164 00:17:18,727 --> 00:17:21,321 - Jacuzzi? - No. 165 00:17:21,487 --> 00:17:24,285 It's all right. I'll make my own. Thank you. 166 00:17:24,447 --> 00:17:29,475 Very nice. That's extremely palatial. Thank you very much. OK. 167 00:17:37,327 --> 00:17:39,318 Well, it's not bad. 168 00:17:41,887 --> 00:17:45,926 No divans, but where else in the world could you get... 169 00:17:47,327 --> 00:17:52,481 a bathroom, two enormous king-size beds for 65p a night? 170 00:17:54,487 --> 00:17:58,400 (FAINT TRUMPET CRY) 171 00:18:10,287 --> 00:18:16,283 It's ten o'clock and something is stirring as the devotional day draws to a climax. 172 00:18:16,447 --> 00:18:21,567 (TRUMPET CALL AND CHANTING) 173 00:18:25,807 --> 00:18:29,846 Followed by a man who keeps the air clean above it, 174 00:18:30,007 --> 00:18:36,003 the holy book is borne out of the Hari Mandir on a pillow and laid on a palanquin. 175 00:18:38,727 --> 00:18:43,323 The book is regarded as the 11th and last Guru of Sikhism 176 00:18:43,487 --> 00:18:49,483 and it, or rather "he", will be taken across the causeway and, literally, put to bed. 177 00:19:15,287 --> 00:19:18,518 The doors are shut and fastened. 178 00:19:23,847 --> 00:19:28,079 The book is laid on the bed and covered up until, at 2.30 tomorrow morning, 179 00:19:28,247 --> 00:19:32,559 it will be woken up to start another day at the Golden Temple. 180 00:19:40,687 --> 00:19:44,726 This is Kalka station, starting point for the Himalayan Queen - 181 00:19:44,887 --> 00:19:49,039 a train that will take me up to the hill town of Shimla or Simla. 182 00:19:49,207 --> 00:19:53,519 It's the start of school holidays and the train is packed. 183 00:19:53,687 --> 00:20:00,923 The Himalayan Queen will take me only 57 miles, but we will climb 7,000 feet. 184 00:20:01,087 --> 00:20:05,399 With me on the journey is local historian, Raaja Bhasin, 185 00:20:05,567 --> 00:20:09,446 which is just as well, as I'm having trouble finding my seat. 186 00:20:10,447 --> 00:20:12,438 There we are. 187 00:20:12,607 --> 00:20:18,842 That's me. Unless there's another Michael P. And there you are, Raja Bassin. 188 00:20:27,287 --> 00:20:32,281 There's no dining car, but there is home cooking courtesy of a fellow passenger. 189 00:20:32,447 --> 00:20:37,157 Thank you very much. That's lovely. What is this? 190 00:20:37,327 --> 00:20:40,000 - This is puri. - Puri. Puri and? 191 00:20:40,167 --> 00:20:43,921 Made out of wheat flour. These are potatoes. 192 00:20:44,087 --> 00:20:46,237 - Lovely. - With Indian spices. 193 00:20:46,407 --> 00:20:52,676 - Lovely. This is your picnic for the family? - Yes. Holiday time with my family. 194 00:20:52,847 --> 00:20:57,204 Lovely. And why did you choose to go to Shimla? 195 00:20:57,367 --> 00:21:00,325 - Because it is nearby. - Where are you from? 196 00:21:00,487 --> 00:21:04,321 - I am from Delhi. - Right. Did you start very early? 197 00:21:04,487 --> 00:21:09,641 Yeah. Four o'clock I wake up, I cooked food. Six o'clock we left... 198 00:21:09,807 --> 00:21:13,959 - Yeah. I cook this. - That's a labour of love. 199 00:21:14,127 --> 00:21:17,563 At 7.40 we boarded the train. 200 00:21:22,247 --> 00:21:25,045 (PALIN) Is Delhi a very high-pressure city? 201 00:21:25,207 --> 00:21:28,005 - Yes. Very much so. - What do you do? 202 00:21:28,167 --> 00:21:32,160 I work with the government of India, Ministry of Defence. 203 00:21:32,327 --> 00:21:34,477 Secret work? 204 00:21:35,487 --> 00:21:39,878 Yes, well... Buying British weapons, we hope! 205 00:21:42,847 --> 00:21:47,443 When the British ruled India, Simla was their summer headquarters. 206 00:21:47,607 --> 00:21:50,280 Until the railway was built 100 years ago, 207 00:21:50,447 --> 00:21:55,521 everything would have been carried up here by horse or donkey. 208 00:21:55,687 --> 00:21:58,042 Some of the stations 209 00:21:58,207 --> 00:22:04,840 and, indeed, all the bridges and tunnels look the way they must have done when it opened. 210 00:22:05,007 --> 00:22:08,079 - That's true. - They've stood the test of time. 211 00:22:08,247 --> 00:22:14,641 And very well. Most of the stone abutments have been built by a raw stone dressing, 212 00:22:14,807 --> 00:22:16,638 no mortar. 213 00:22:16,807 --> 00:22:22,006 The bridges are old-fashioned Roman aqueducts, still functioning perfectly. 214 00:22:22,167 --> 00:22:27,082 In actual terms of construction, nothing has really altered. 215 00:22:27,247 --> 00:22:29,886 There are 103 tunnels on the line, 216 00:22:30,047 --> 00:22:34,757 one of them built by a Colonel Barog, who had it dug from both ends. 217 00:22:34,927 --> 00:22:39,045 When they didn't meet in the middle, he shot himself. 218 00:22:49,407 --> 00:22:53,082 You're a school? A school party going to Shimla? 219 00:22:53,247 --> 00:22:55,317 - Here. - Here? 220 00:22:55,487 --> 00:23:00,641 So they're leaving the train now. How long are they? For a week here? 221 00:23:00,807 --> 00:23:03,924 - Four days. - You're their teacher? 222 00:23:04,087 --> 00:23:06,396 - Yes. - Good luck! 223 00:23:06,567 --> 00:23:10,719 - Thank you. We'll have a nice time. - A very nice time. 224 00:23:10,887 --> 00:23:16,837 The delicacies at the station buffet seemed a good way of repaying my friend. 225 00:23:17,007 --> 00:23:19,965 - In return for the puri. - No. 226 00:23:20,127 --> 00:23:23,244 But, of course, she wouldn't have it. 227 00:23:24,887 --> 00:23:27,879 - How much are they? - Ten rupees. 228 00:23:29,167 --> 00:23:31,158 Two for ten. 229 00:23:33,687 --> 00:23:37,362 Fortunately, I know someone who'll eat anything. 230 00:23:37,527 --> 00:23:42,476 I only got two, I'm afraid, and I'm going to eat both of them. 231 00:23:42,647 --> 00:23:47,767 There you are. Go on, Nige. Would you like it with tomato? 232 00:23:47,927 --> 00:23:52,398 Dip it in the tomato. You're getting quite a gourmet! 233 00:23:56,447 --> 00:24:01,077 We climb higher, pulling out of the dense jungle and into Alpine woodland. 234 00:24:04,727 --> 00:24:09,596 I press Raaja to explain some of the more dubious legends of the railway. 235 00:24:09,767 --> 00:24:12,884 How about the "kissing tunnel", this story I heard? 236 00:24:13,047 --> 00:24:17,120 Yes. Barog is over a kilometre long. 237 00:24:17,287 --> 00:24:23,476 To go through the tunnel takes about four minutes - time enough to snatch a kiss. 238 00:24:23,647 --> 00:24:26,115 Yeah. Absolutely. 239 00:24:26,287 --> 00:24:33,238 That's a Jane Austen-ish kiss. Nowadays they'd have had a family by then. 240 00:24:33,407 --> 00:24:35,841 - Absolutely. - Sorry. 241 00:24:36,007 --> 00:24:40,159 So that's why it's called the "kissing tunnel"? Ah. 242 00:24:40,327 --> 00:24:45,720 So you figured out who was sitting where and what you had to do with whom, 243 00:24:45,887 --> 00:24:48,924 and the moment you entered the tunnel... 244 00:24:49,087 --> 00:24:53,797 (PALIN) Oh, stop it! Get off me! Oh, Raaja! Please. Ooh! 245 00:24:53,967 --> 00:24:56,959 (BOTH LAUGH) 246 00:24:58,407 --> 00:25:00,875 (PALIN) I didn't know you cared. 247 00:25:04,767 --> 00:25:09,557 Simla, the hill station, is now Shimla, the provincial capital, 248 00:25:09,727 --> 00:25:11,877 but the imperial legacy remains. 249 00:25:12,047 --> 00:25:16,359 The Viceroy's palace - Victorian self-confidence set in stone - 250 00:25:16,527 --> 00:25:19,087 still dominates the town. 251 00:25:19,247 --> 00:25:21,761 One fifth of humanity was ruled from here. 252 00:25:21,927 --> 00:25:25,397 As much as that? The British Empire at that time? 253 00:25:25,567 --> 00:25:30,925 Yes. That was the Viceroy's office. For eight months in the year... 254 00:25:31,087 --> 00:25:36,923 Simla was officially the summer capital, but really remained the real capital. 255 00:25:37,087 --> 00:25:41,683 For eight months in the year the government was stationed at Simla. 256 00:25:41,847 --> 00:25:45,283 From March, April to October, November. 257 00:25:45,447 --> 00:25:51,795 Someone like Gandhi, who was a modest man, what would he have felt coming here? 258 00:25:51,967 --> 00:25:57,758 He disliked it. The other thing was that while everybody else came in rickshaws - 259 00:25:57,927 --> 00:26:01,283 human-pulled rickshaws, two pulling, two pushing - 260 00:26:01,447 --> 00:26:08,000 Gandhi invariably walked to the place while Nehru invariably used a horse. 261 00:26:15,647 --> 00:26:18,445 Despite 60 years of independence, 262 00:26:18,607 --> 00:26:23,203 Shimla still feels like an Indian Tunbridge Wells. 263 00:26:24,287 --> 00:26:26,801 - Where's this? - This is the Ridge. 264 00:26:26,967 --> 00:26:32,200 - A parade ground. - The Ridge, the town's largest open space. 265 00:26:32,367 --> 00:26:35,484 We're walking along a natural watershed now. 266 00:26:35,647 --> 00:26:41,882 The flow from the right goes down to the Bay of Bengal and from the left to the Arabian Sea. 267 00:26:42,047 --> 00:26:45,881 Extraordinary. Is that partly why they chose this spot? 268 00:26:46,047 --> 00:26:51,485 - It's wonderful. Dividing India. - Yes. Or sitting astride it. 269 00:26:51,647 --> 00:26:55,720 Sitting astride it, yes. It's an imposition, isn't it? 270 00:26:57,327 --> 00:27:02,321 The old Gaiety Theatre survives, saved from retirement by the Indian Army, 271 00:27:02,487 --> 00:27:06,560 who use it as a club and put on the occasional production. 272 00:27:08,087 --> 00:27:13,764 We're on stage... What a jewel of a theatre, isn't it? 273 00:27:13,927 --> 00:27:16,122 It's beautiful. 274 00:27:16,287 --> 00:27:22,556 Someone said that Shimla was a bit like Cheltenham, and I can see what they mean. 275 00:27:22,727 --> 00:27:25,924 Yes, locking India outside the door. 276 00:27:26,087 --> 00:27:29,557 What sort of names would have been here? Famous names? 277 00:27:29,727 --> 00:27:33,163 Yes, and not necessarily connected with theatre. 278 00:27:33,327 --> 00:27:37,605 - There's Baden-Powell. - The founder of the Scouts? 279 00:27:37,767 --> 00:27:40,042 I never thought of him as a thesp! 280 00:27:40,207 --> 00:27:45,964 He did a play here before he went off to the Boer War. And Kipling. 281 00:27:46,127 --> 00:27:51,724 What sort of plays would they have played here and who would have supplied the cast? 282 00:27:51,887 --> 00:27:56,836 They were mostly drawing-room comedies, the occasional musical. 283 00:27:57,007 --> 00:27:58,326 Yeah. 284 00:27:58,487 --> 00:28:04,596 And in them would be government officers who spent most of their time acting. 285 00:28:04,767 --> 00:28:08,601 - There's a play on tonight. What time? - 6.30. 286 00:28:08,767 --> 00:28:12,726 We'd better go. I'm sure they'd prefer to see us. 287 00:28:12,887 --> 00:28:16,004 Tonight's play is an early work by Michael Frayn. 288 00:28:16,167 --> 00:28:18,556 The audience and actors are all army. 289 00:28:18,727 --> 00:28:21,924 Before we start, we've got a surprise for you. 290 00:28:22,087 --> 00:28:28,162 May I present to you Mr Michael Palin? Please come forward, Mr Michael Palin. 291 00:28:29,647 --> 00:28:33,481 - Thank you. Thank you very much. - (APPLAUSE) 292 00:28:35,167 --> 00:28:38,682 If I might crave your indulgence for a few moments. 293 00:28:38,847 --> 00:28:40,838 My name is Michael Palin 294 00:28:41,007 --> 00:28:46,161 and I'm with the BBC filming a journey through the Himalayas. 295 00:28:46,327 --> 00:28:49,797 We couldn't come to the Himalayas without coming to India, 296 00:28:49,967 --> 00:28:52,242 or to India without coming to Shimla, 297 00:28:52,407 --> 00:28:56,320 and we couldn't come to Shimla without coming to the Gaiety. 298 00:28:56,487 --> 00:29:02,960 I'm excited to be here on the stage of a theatre that would be the envy of many towns. 299 00:29:03,127 --> 00:29:09,475 I hope you enjoy the production. Many of you are army people so, by the right, quick, laugh! 300 00:29:09,647 --> 00:29:13,560 (LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE) 301 00:29:17,527 --> 00:29:21,520 There's a certain irony in coming 8,000 miles to India 302 00:29:21,687 --> 00:29:25,123 to see a suburban comedy set in Surrey. 303 00:29:27,407 --> 00:29:29,079 Sorry, John. 304 00:29:29,247 --> 00:29:33,525 (SLURRING) Jo, is there anything that I can do? 305 00:29:33,687 --> 00:29:36,838 No. Just getting the place straight. 306 00:29:38,447 --> 00:29:44,602 Why don't you go back into the kitchen and relax? 307 00:29:44,767 --> 00:29:48,316 It's lonely in the kitchen. There's no one to talk to. 308 00:29:48,487 --> 00:29:53,481 The actors on stage work closely with their fellow actors off stage. 309 00:29:53,647 --> 00:29:56,286 - (SHE PROMPTS THE LINES) - No, Barney. 310 00:29:56,447 --> 00:29:59,086 It's no good looking at me like that. 311 00:29:59,247 --> 00:30:06,244 I'm not amused. You just stay there and don't you come out until I tell you. 312 00:30:06,407 --> 00:30:12,243 - What are you doing? - I'll just... 313 00:30:13,647 --> 00:30:18,767 When the curtain comes down, it's no surprise that the biggest round of the evening 314 00:30:18,927 --> 00:30:22,920 is reserved for Mrs Vijaylakshmi Sood - the prompter. 315 00:30:23,087 --> 00:30:26,523 Mrs Vijaylakshmi Sood. 316 00:30:29,607 --> 00:30:33,361 And the make-up in charge, Mrs Andrew Kappa. 317 00:30:33,527 --> 00:30:37,236 (APPLAUSE) 318 00:30:37,407 --> 00:30:41,559 And our special guest, Mr Michael Plain. 319 00:30:41,727 --> 00:30:44,844 (APPLAUSE) 320 00:30:49,847 --> 00:30:55,843 Next morning, Michael Plain and driver head north to an altogether less happy place. 321 00:30:56,007 --> 00:31:02,003 A battleground since independence and still one of the world's flashpoints - Kashmir. 322 00:31:03,407 --> 00:31:07,036 60,000 have died in fighting over the last 15 years. 323 00:31:07,207 --> 00:31:11,564 A bomb on the road north has just killed 33 people. 324 00:31:11,727 --> 00:31:14,844 The root cause goes back 60 years. 325 00:31:15,927 --> 00:31:20,955 At partition in 1947, Kashmir was a princely state, 326 00:31:21,127 --> 00:31:25,166 free to choose if it wanted to stay in India or join Pakistan. 327 00:31:25,327 --> 00:31:31,277 The Maharajah chose India. The trouble is that Kashmir was 80% Muslim. 328 00:31:34,727 --> 00:31:37,958 In Kashmir, heaven and hell come pretty close. 329 00:31:38,127 --> 00:31:43,838 Swanning about like Cleopatra in a barge on Dal Lake, I feel completely at peace. 330 00:31:44,007 --> 00:31:50,355 But in the city of Srinagar on the shores of the lake, a nasty war slowly grinds on. 331 00:31:55,567 --> 00:32:00,118 The British loved the lake but weren't allowed to own land around it, 332 00:32:00,287 --> 00:32:04,075 so instead they built houseboats like manor houses. 333 00:32:11,087 --> 00:32:13,555 They're mostly run as hotels now. 334 00:32:13,727 --> 00:32:18,323 I am staying with Mr Gulam Butt, proprietor of Clermont Houseboats - 335 00:32:18,487 --> 00:32:21,365 once the most sought after on the lake. 336 00:32:21,527 --> 00:32:23,518 Mr Butt? 337 00:32:23,687 --> 00:32:28,636 - I'm so happy to see you here. - You've had a few people before me. 338 00:32:28,807 --> 00:32:33,801 - They've all stayed here. George Harrison. - My dear friend George. 339 00:32:33,967 --> 00:32:39,166 - He was here with Ravi Shankar. - What year was he here? 340 00:32:39,327 --> 00:32:42,399 - That was 1966. - 1966. Gosh. 341 00:32:42,567 --> 00:32:48,437 And one evening they had a big musician party on the lawn. 342 00:32:48,607 --> 00:32:53,886 That's Joan Fontaine, the famous American movie star. 343 00:32:54,047 --> 00:32:57,164 Nelson Rockefeller! 344 00:32:57,327 --> 00:33:02,720 Mr Butt's hall of fame is impressive - 14 ambassadors have stayed here - 345 00:33:02,887 --> 00:33:05,355 but the names stop in the 1980s 346 00:33:05,527 --> 00:33:09,884 and the faces on his wall are from another, more confident, era. 347 00:33:10,047 --> 00:33:14,916 Astronaut who went on the moon. The first man. That's Neil Armstrong. 348 00:33:15,087 --> 00:33:19,365 - Is that Neil Armstrong, really? - Yes. He was here. 349 00:33:19,527 --> 00:33:23,805 Wow. And they come here for peace and quiet? 350 00:33:23,967 --> 00:33:29,678 Peace and quiet and for holidaying on the houseboat, enjoying the lake and my garden. 351 00:33:29,847 --> 00:33:31,838 Good. I want to see it. 352 00:33:32,007 --> 00:33:38,242 I'll show you, when you have time, the guest books, what remarks they have written. 353 00:33:38,407 --> 00:33:43,720 - Have you still got people coming now? - Yes. Unfortunately, not... 354 00:33:43,887 --> 00:33:47,960 Mostly journalists, because since 1990... You know all that. 355 00:33:48,127 --> 00:33:53,804 - There's been a lot of troubles. - Yes, since 1990, because of the problems. 356 00:33:53,967 --> 00:33:58,757 Sadly, the boat on which Ravi Shankar taught George Harrison the sitar 357 00:33:58,927 --> 00:34:00,918 is now half-submerged. 358 00:34:01,087 --> 00:34:06,605 Despite the troubles, Mr Butt's optimism has kept the bulk of his business afloat. 359 00:34:06,767 --> 00:34:09,839 ...paradise on earth. 360 00:34:10,007 --> 00:34:15,001 This is on the upper part of the lake. The houseboats were started in 1880. 361 00:34:15,167 --> 00:34:19,399 - I should shower some flowers on you, sir. - Thank you. 362 00:34:19,567 --> 00:34:24,243 This is an affectionate way to greet you with flowers 363 00:34:24,407 --> 00:34:27,240 while you are entering my houseboat. 364 00:34:27,407 --> 00:34:34,358 This is the houseboat. Now we go in. And I show you. This is the living room. 365 00:34:34,527 --> 00:34:40,841 - (PALIN) It's a palace, isn't it? Fit for a queen. - This is a small room on water for you. 366 00:34:41,007 --> 00:34:43,919 I hope that you'll enjoy your stay here. 367 00:34:49,327 --> 00:34:51,318 It's lovely. Thanks. Bye. 368 00:35:10,207 --> 00:35:14,962 Pakistan and India have played for high stakes in Kashmir. 369 00:35:15,127 --> 00:35:19,917 At Dal Lake, it's almost impossible to believe that in 2001 370 00:35:20,087 --> 00:35:26,526 the threat of nuclear war brought a paradise like this to the brink of destruction. 371 00:35:53,847 --> 00:35:58,557 A full-scale conflict may have been avoided, but issues are still unresolved 372 00:35:58,727 --> 00:36:01,799 and the fight for Kashmir goes on. 373 00:36:05,367 --> 00:36:07,835 0nly a week before we arrived, 374 00:36:08,007 --> 00:36:12,285 Indian security forces used mortars to clear this hotel in Srinagar 375 00:36:12,447 --> 00:36:16,918 of what they suspected were two Pakistani-backed militants. 376 00:36:22,527 --> 00:36:28,841 Casualties of war lie in the local cemetery and in many others throughout Kashmir. 377 00:36:29,007 --> 00:36:33,478 This is a Muslim graveyard and they call their victims "martyrs". 378 00:36:33,647 --> 00:36:35,797 Some fought deliberately, 379 00:36:35,967 --> 00:36:41,963 others, like the mother and child killed at the hotel, were never given the choice. 380 00:36:51,367 --> 00:36:54,723 This feels like an occupied country. 381 00:36:56,647 --> 00:37:01,118 Tourism, once the lifeblood of Kashmir, has been hard hit. 382 00:37:13,927 --> 00:37:20,116 As governments warn against travel, international interest has all but dried up. 383 00:37:20,287 --> 00:37:23,279 (THUNDER CRACKS) 384 00:38:04,847 --> 00:38:09,875 A downpour only adds to the air of melancholy that hangs over Srinagar, 385 00:38:10,047 --> 00:38:14,040 as I'm shown around by Faruk, a local businessman. 386 00:38:15,127 --> 00:38:21,680 Do you think the city is suffering quite a lot from the problems, or the violence? 387 00:38:21,847 --> 00:38:25,556 Very much. The last 14 years very much. 388 00:38:25,727 --> 00:38:28,082 - You see this house? - Yes. 389 00:38:29,727 --> 00:38:33,117 Srinagar has echoes of Belfast in the 1970s. 390 00:38:33,287 --> 00:38:38,645 It's a city scarred by siege, pockmarked by damage and neglect, 391 00:38:38,807 --> 00:38:45,440 a city waiting for the nightmare to end and the symbols of hatred to disappear. 392 00:38:54,847 --> 00:39:01,002 Perched in the Himalayan foothills near Dharamsala is the village of McLeod Ganj. 393 00:39:02,607 --> 00:39:08,398 It's a nondescript place, but travellers from all over the world flock here. 394 00:39:19,447 --> 00:39:25,443 Alongside local poverty is a parallel economy geared to well-heeled Westerners. 395 00:39:25,607 --> 00:39:32,126 The reason for all this is religion - neither Hindu nor Muslim, but Buddhist. 396 00:39:32,287 --> 00:39:35,996 (LOW CHANTING) 397 00:39:37,167 --> 00:39:39,761 Ten years after the Chinese took over his country, 398 00:39:39,927 --> 00:39:45,559 the Dalai Lama, fearing imprisonment, fled across the Himalaya from Tibet. 399 00:39:47,047 --> 00:39:52,599 India's Prime Minister Nehru risked Chinese wrath to offer him sanctuary. 400 00:39:54,327 --> 00:39:59,606 This is where the leader of Tibetan Buddhism lives, surrounded by his followers. 401 00:40:15,207 --> 00:40:19,758 These Indian hill villages have become known as Little Lhasa. 402 00:40:19,927 --> 00:40:24,762 In this monastery, prayer flags hang above golden-white stupas. 403 00:40:24,927 --> 00:40:29,159 0vens burning juniper and cedar make smoke trails up to the gods 404 00:40:29,327 --> 00:40:34,720 and prayer wheels send good thoughts spinning out into the world. 405 00:40:41,767 --> 00:40:44,600 Buddhism is an outgoing, inclusive religion 406 00:40:44,767 --> 00:40:48,646 and they seem happy to let me take part in a ceremony 407 00:40:48,807 --> 00:40:51,685 whose purpose is a complete mystery to me. 408 00:40:51,847 --> 00:40:54,600 (CHANTING) 409 00:40:58,927 --> 00:41:04,559 0n a count of three, I, like everyone else, throw into the air my handful of "sampa" - 410 00:41:04,727 --> 00:41:07,195 roast barley flour... 411 00:41:10,247 --> 00:41:14,035 and, like everyone else, feel a lot better for it. 412 00:41:17,327 --> 00:41:22,959 Young Tibetans like Thupten Tsewang have never seen their ancestral homeland. 413 00:41:23,127 --> 00:41:27,598 Your parents had to leave Tibet, I assume, did they? 414 00:41:27,767 --> 00:41:33,637 Yes. They came to India in around 1960s. 415 00:41:33,807 --> 00:41:36,958 During that time they ran away in a group. 416 00:41:37,127 --> 00:41:42,121 - Do you think you'll ever go to Tibet? - No. I would like to go. 417 00:41:42,287 --> 00:41:48,601 But it's really difficult at this moment. We have special procedures to follow. 418 00:41:48,767 --> 00:41:54,239 The unlikelihood of ever seeing Tibet doesn't seem to have dampened spirits. 419 00:41:54,407 --> 00:41:56,557 - It's beautiful work. - Yes. 420 00:41:56,727 --> 00:42:00,766 This is our Thangka painting studio. The Norbulingka Institute. 421 00:42:00,927 --> 00:42:07,116 Everywhere you look enormous energy is devoted to keeping the culture alive. 422 00:42:07,287 --> 00:42:12,486 In this workshop they produce "Thangkas" - decorated religious scrolls. 423 00:42:12,647 --> 00:42:17,243 They seem very young, most of the people working here. 424 00:42:17,407 --> 00:42:21,400 People who would never have been to Tibet. 425 00:42:21,567 --> 00:42:26,800 How is it organised? Are they under the guidance of people who are Tibetan? 426 00:42:26,967 --> 00:42:29,640 - All of them are Tibetan... - Been to Tibet. 427 00:42:29,807 --> 00:42:31,604 Yes. All are Tibetans. 428 00:42:31,767 --> 00:42:38,206 How we organise this, we have a master under whose guidance the students learn. 429 00:42:38,367 --> 00:42:41,837 - Are they in great demand? - Yes. 430 00:42:42,007 --> 00:42:45,397 I can say that because we have a pile of orders. 431 00:42:45,567 --> 00:42:51,278 If you order a Thangka right now, you have to wait for five or six years. 432 00:42:51,447 --> 00:42:53,802 - Five or six years? - Yes. 433 00:42:54,927 --> 00:42:58,636 The Tibetan diaspora is a worldwide phenomenon 434 00:42:58,807 --> 00:43:05,121 and the demand for images makes the work profitable as well as educational. 435 00:43:18,887 --> 00:43:25,076 The commitment is demanding. A metal sculpture apprenticeship takes 12 years. 436 00:43:36,047 --> 00:43:38,800 Not just craftsmanship is kept alive. 437 00:43:38,967 --> 00:43:43,324 Children are taught Tibetan song and dance. 438 00:43:43,487 --> 00:43:47,002 (CHILDREN SING) 439 00:43:48,687 --> 00:43:54,557 - This is traditional Tibetan music? - Yes. Very traditional music. 440 00:43:54,727 --> 00:43:58,766 It was started nine years back, this event. 441 00:43:58,927 --> 00:44:05,036 The theme is to let the Tibetan children know their own cultural songs and dances. 442 00:44:05,207 --> 00:44:10,884 Because we are losing it, being influenced by Hindi songs, Bollywood songs. 443 00:44:11,047 --> 00:44:14,722 So there's a danger of these old songs being forgotten? 444 00:44:14,887 --> 00:44:20,041 The children didn't have the contact, so such events have been organised. 445 00:44:20,207 --> 00:44:25,645 - Today is a celebration of Gandhi. - Yes. It's Gandhi's birthday today. 446 00:44:25,807 --> 00:44:29,004 So the children enjoy doing the Tibetan music? 447 00:44:29,167 --> 00:44:32,239 They don't mind being weaned away from Bollywood? 448 00:44:32,407 --> 00:44:36,446 No. You can see from their faces. They're excited, I guess. 449 00:44:36,607 --> 00:44:40,156 (RHYTHMIC SINGING AND MUSIC) 450 00:44:59,607 --> 00:45:02,405 (APPLAUSE) 451 00:45:09,287 --> 00:45:13,758 Keeping world opinion on their side is important to the Tibetans in exile. 452 00:45:13,927 --> 00:45:18,364 They offer all types of services including this astrology centre 453 00:45:18,527 --> 00:45:22,042 which can tell you what you were in your previous life 454 00:45:22,207 --> 00:45:24,767 and what you'll become in the next. 455 00:45:28,367 --> 00:45:35,284 Having sent my birth details to the experts upstairs, I've come to hear the results. 456 00:45:37,007 --> 00:45:39,601 Mr Palin, this way, please. 457 00:45:39,767 --> 00:45:43,203 My astrologer's name is Phurbu Tsering. 458 00:45:43,367 --> 00:45:49,397 So this is my astrological chart which will show, among other things, 459 00:45:49,567 --> 00:45:55,199 what I will be reincarnated as and what I am reincarnated as. Is that right? 460 00:45:55,367 --> 00:45:59,645 - Yes. - Wow. I'm shaking a little bit. 461 00:45:59,807 --> 00:46:04,403 - Really? No need. - I've never known this information before. 462 00:46:04,567 --> 00:46:07,286 Oh. Here we go. Right. 463 00:46:09,127 --> 00:46:11,163 I see. Yes. 464 00:46:11,327 --> 00:46:16,162 So the real stuff comes here. Oh, there's a lot. 465 00:46:18,847 --> 00:46:24,524 Here we are. "You were likely to be an elephant in your previous life." 466 00:46:24,687 --> 00:46:28,726 Oh, that's... I've always been kind to elephants. 467 00:46:28,887 --> 00:46:30,878 An elephant charged me once. 468 00:46:31,047 --> 00:46:35,279 It probably recognised me and wanted to say hello. 469 00:46:35,447 --> 00:46:41,363 "But you are going to be born as a daughter of a rich family in the West again." 470 00:46:41,527 --> 00:46:44,360 I don't know what to say to that, really. 471 00:46:44,527 --> 00:46:50,557 It's not too bad. Sometimes, I suppose, you have to give rather bad news to people. 472 00:46:50,727 --> 00:46:52,797 Yes, but in that case... 473 00:46:52,967 --> 00:46:55,925 This is all based on your date of birth. 474 00:46:56,087 --> 00:46:59,477 Based on the individual's date of birth, time. 475 00:46:59,647 --> 00:47:03,686 At that time this whole life is a map like that, 476 00:47:03,847 --> 00:47:10,161 and he or she may be born again as some sort of... bad life, bad birth. 477 00:47:10,327 --> 00:47:13,797 In that case, it doesn't mean that it's all fixed. 478 00:47:13,967 --> 00:47:18,199 You can change it by yourself through a special approach 479 00:47:18,367 --> 00:47:21,165 or through your own hard work. 480 00:47:21,327 --> 00:47:26,685 So if I was going to be born again as a sort of... mosquito, 481 00:47:26,847 --> 00:47:29,122 there's still time for me to change? 482 00:47:29,287 --> 00:47:32,802 Yes, yes. It's all in your hands. In this life. 483 00:47:32,967 --> 00:47:38,485 You see, I'm really against all this. I don't believe in anything predestined. 484 00:47:38,647 --> 00:47:41,878 I'd prefer to think that some exercise of free will 485 00:47:42,047 --> 00:47:46,438 can control the course of my life - that's how I was brought up. 486 00:47:46,607 --> 00:47:52,716 So it's interesting that you're saying here that you can change your life. 487 00:47:52,887 --> 00:47:58,245 But I was an elephant... so I'll always remain having been an elephant? 488 00:47:58,407 --> 00:48:03,925 - I can't change that. I was an elephant. - An elephant in your previous birth. 489 00:48:04,087 --> 00:48:08,160 Do you know what you were in a previous life? 490 00:48:08,327 --> 00:48:11,558 No, because I don't have my own date of birth. 491 00:48:11,727 --> 00:48:14,844 You don't know exactly when you were born? 492 00:48:15,007 --> 00:48:19,603 My parents didn't have all the records for us, so I don't have. 493 00:48:19,767 --> 00:48:22,964 When the Chinese invaded our country... 494 00:48:23,127 --> 00:48:27,200 - Yes. - So most of the youth of my age... 495 00:48:27,367 --> 00:48:33,044 The records were destroyed because your parents had to leave Tibet. 496 00:48:33,207 --> 00:48:36,199 If you believe this or not, I was born on the roadside. 497 00:48:36,367 --> 00:48:40,963 Many of the youth of our age at that time were born on the roadsides. 498 00:48:41,927 --> 00:48:44,839 (LOW CHANTING) 499 00:48:54,687 --> 00:48:58,396 The head of the Tibetan government-in-exile 500 00:48:58,567 --> 00:49:04,085 is this son of peasant farmers - His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. 501 00:49:11,327 --> 00:49:15,445 At the age of two, this man - who likes to call himself a simple monk - 502 00:49:15,607 --> 00:49:21,045 was proved by various tests to be the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. 503 00:49:21,207 --> 00:49:25,678 When he dies, he'll be reborn as the 15th Dalai Lama. 504 00:49:30,967 --> 00:49:35,358 Morning prayers are open to people from all over the world 505 00:49:35,527 --> 00:49:38,837 and the Dalai Lama seems pleased to see them, 506 00:49:39,007 --> 00:49:42,795 whilst men in grey suits provide discreet security. 507 00:49:53,207 --> 00:49:57,439 I've been granted a one-to-one audience with His Holiness. 508 00:49:57,607 --> 00:50:02,237 But before that, he's agreed to meet 700 other people. 509 00:50:02,407 --> 00:50:07,242 In a smoothly organised operation, a line of pilgrims and fans 510 00:50:07,407 --> 00:50:13,243 is moved briskly up the driveway and past the balcony of his bungalow. 511 00:50:17,687 --> 00:50:23,239 In return for queuing patiently, they receive a handshake, direct eye contact 512 00:50:23,407 --> 00:50:27,559 and a sacred cord blessed by him. 513 00:50:44,407 --> 00:50:47,524 The Dalai Lama greets his Western admirers first. 514 00:50:47,687 --> 00:50:50,406 Then it's the Nepalese and Tibetans. 515 00:50:50,567 --> 00:50:54,719 0nly they get packets of herbal pills blessed by His Holiness 516 00:50:54,887 --> 00:50:57,606 which will cure coughs and colds. 517 00:51:02,647 --> 00:51:06,117 If the international pilgrims seem almost blasé, 518 00:51:06,287 --> 00:51:10,599 the Tibetans are quite visibly awed by his presence. 519 00:51:17,247 --> 00:51:20,125 Next he meets refugees from Tibet. 520 00:51:20,287 --> 00:51:25,998 To avoid reprisals if they go back, we film them from behind. 521 00:51:26,167 --> 00:51:31,480 Trying to put them at their ease, he asks about the journey. 522 00:51:31,647 --> 00:51:34,719 How did they bring their money across the border? 523 00:51:34,887 --> 00:51:37,959 Did they swallow it and throw it up later? 524 00:51:38,967 --> 00:51:41,686 He asks how many plan to go back. 525 00:51:42,767 --> 00:51:48,239 If he goes back, he says, it would never be to the old feudal way of doing things. 526 00:51:48,407 --> 00:51:52,480 Despite appearances, his message is "modernise". 527 00:51:54,327 --> 00:51:57,046 Then, all of a sudden, it's our turn. 528 00:51:57,207 --> 00:52:03,203 Your Holiness. Thank you so much. Thank you for coming to talk to us. 529 00:52:03,367 --> 00:52:07,246 It's very nice to be here. You're a busy man. 530 00:52:09,767 --> 00:52:14,636 Your face is very familiar to me because of BBC. 531 00:52:14,807 --> 00:52:18,595 Oh, really? Your face is very familiar to me. 532 00:52:20,447 --> 00:52:25,475 - Do you watch the BBC, then? - Practically every day. 533 00:52:25,647 --> 00:52:29,526 - Do you? Oh. - Because I have more trust. 534 00:52:29,687 --> 00:52:31,757 Really? Yes. 535 00:52:31,927 --> 00:52:36,523 And mainly some beautiful documentaries are filmed, 536 00:52:36,687 --> 00:52:39,155 including your own films. 537 00:52:39,327 --> 00:52:41,841 You visit different places 538 00:52:42,007 --> 00:52:47,877 and sometimes I wish I could journey with you and could see many places. 539 00:52:49,087 --> 00:52:52,682 - Meet different people. - You know where we're going next. 540 00:52:52,847 --> 00:52:58,365 We'll be going to Tibet, Your Holiness. But I don't think you'll want to come. 541 00:53:02,527 --> 00:53:04,995 I was going to ask you something. 542 00:53:05,167 --> 00:53:10,685 Yesterday, I went to your astrological department and they made up a chart for me. 543 00:53:10,847 --> 00:53:15,238 And in my previous life I was an elephant 544 00:53:15,407 --> 00:53:21,084 and in my next life I'm going to be the daughter of a rich family in the West. 545 00:53:21,247 --> 00:53:25,126 Which do you think is the best of the two options? 546 00:53:28,287 --> 00:53:33,281 I wondered to myself, how does an elephant get to be a television presenter? 547 00:53:34,927 --> 00:53:39,603 Because an elephant also has a lot of curiosity to know. 548 00:53:39,767 --> 00:53:43,726 - Yes, that's true. - With their nose, they go like that. 549 00:53:43,887 --> 00:53:50,235 The trouble is an elephant never forgets and I forget far too much. 550 00:53:50,407 --> 00:53:55,162 We're going to Tibet, as I say, in a month, which is very exciting. 551 00:53:56,167 --> 00:54:01,400 What sort of situation do you think we'll encounter there? 552 00:54:01,567 --> 00:54:06,641 What is Tibet like now? I hear there's a revival of interest in Buddhism. 553 00:54:06,807 --> 00:54:10,800 Will we see this and will it be the real thing? 554 00:54:13,007 --> 00:54:17,683 Since you are going there, so you yourself must find out 555 00:54:17,847 --> 00:54:20,315 what's the true situation. 556 00:54:23,487 --> 00:54:28,880 Although I am here outside Tibet, not inside Tibet... 557 00:54:30,007 --> 00:54:36,355 but as a Tibetan, I want to extend my welcome to you 558 00:54:36,527 --> 00:54:38,995 to visit my own country. 559 00:54:43,127 --> 00:54:47,325 You're the best travelled of any Dalai Lama in history. 560 00:54:47,487 --> 00:54:51,446 You have a very hectic schedule. 561 00:54:51,607 --> 00:54:54,963 Why do you think it's important to travel? 562 00:54:55,127 --> 00:54:59,359 From my childhood, I always have curiosity. 563 00:54:59,527 --> 00:55:04,521 A desire to know more about different people, different cultures. 564 00:55:04,687 --> 00:55:08,441 And, as a Buddhist monk, I also have an interest 565 00:55:08,607 --> 00:55:12,680 to learn more about different religious traditions. 566 00:55:12,847 --> 00:55:16,044 You lead this very hectic, frenetic life. 567 00:55:16,207 --> 00:55:20,485 How do you keep in good condition? Do you have a health regime? 568 00:55:23,007 --> 00:55:28,240 I think, firstly, my parents gave me this quite good body. 569 00:55:30,167 --> 00:55:35,480 It seems! Except for two days I've had a problem with my eye - eyelid. 570 00:55:35,647 --> 00:55:40,357 Slightly shaking eyelid. I've never seen you with your glasses off. 571 00:55:40,527 --> 00:55:42,404 Really? 572 00:55:44,767 --> 00:55:48,077 Do I seem very small or am I a bit blurred? 573 00:55:50,527 --> 00:55:54,759 Then my daily life, my daily routine... 574 00:55:57,647 --> 00:56:02,402 are usually quite - how do you say? - stable. 575 00:56:03,407 --> 00:56:05,443 - (TIBETAN) - Disciplined. 576 00:56:05,607 --> 00:56:12,683 Disciplined. Breakfast, lunch, no dinner as a Buddhist monk, but evening tea. 577 00:56:13,687 --> 00:56:16,679 And I sleep usually... 578 00:56:16,847 --> 00:56:23,844 It's quite fixed except when I travel to different places, especially America. 579 00:56:24,007 --> 00:56:27,795 Then, I think, more than... 580 00:56:27,967 --> 00:56:32,563 - Sometimes the time differences. - The jet lag. 581 00:56:32,727 --> 00:56:37,721 So now, for example, one week ago I returned from the United States. 582 00:56:38,727 --> 00:56:44,643 My sleep is not much problem, but my stomach is still American time. 583 00:56:44,807 --> 00:56:47,241 - Oh, dear. - Still. 584 00:56:49,167 --> 00:56:53,877 Usually I... toilet, usually morning, 585 00:56:54,047 --> 00:56:58,359 but nowadays it's evening because of American time! 586 00:56:58,527 --> 00:57:01,121 That's very tricky. 587 00:57:02,807 --> 00:57:07,358 - I know you're busy. Thank you very much. - Thank you. 588 00:57:07,527 --> 00:57:11,964 There's lots more I want to talk to you about, but you've got to talk to other people. 589 00:57:15,927 --> 00:57:19,203 The next day the Dalai Lama is off on his travels again 590 00:57:19,367 --> 00:57:22,439 and the crowds are out to catch a glimpse of him. 591 00:57:25,127 --> 00:57:29,837 He may see himself as a simple monk, but his people, for whom life is religion, 592 00:57:30,007 --> 00:57:33,238 see him as nothing less than the God-King. 593 00:57:33,407 --> 00:57:36,717 They may not want to share him with the world, 594 00:57:36,887 --> 00:57:41,199 but they pay him respect as he sets off once more on his mission 595 00:57:41,367 --> 00:57:44,359 to keep a candle burning for Tibet. 596 00:57:50,047 --> 00:57:52,845 It's time for me to move on as well - 597 00:57:53,007 --> 00:57:58,286 to Ladak, the "land of passes", where the mountains take over the landscape. 598 00:58:03,127 --> 00:58:07,325 A field of ancient stupas stand like melting snowmen, 599 00:58:07,487 --> 00:58:10,877 a reminder of when the Silk Route came through here, 600 00:58:11,047 --> 00:58:15,040 carrying other travellers on their way to the East. 601 00:58:22,487 --> 00:58:26,241 Next time on "Himalaya", I microlight up to the mountains. 602 00:58:26,407 --> 00:58:30,798 Watch Gurkhas being recruited. Leave ridiculous tips for the waitresses. 603 00:58:30,967 --> 00:58:34,676 Test myself on the Annapurna Trail. 604 00:58:37,647 --> 00:58:41,720 See the temples and funeral pyres of Kathmandu. 605 00:58:41,887 --> 00:58:44,640 Gamble with the licence-payers' money. 606 00:58:46,287 --> 00:58:50,405 Meet the highest nuns in the world. 607 00:58:50,567 --> 00:58:53,240 And take Sunday lunch at Everest. 608 00:58:53,407 --> 00:58:56,080 "Himalaya" - high adventure.