Candid shots

THE MAHA Kumbh may not have seen the arrival of Hollywood celebrities by the dozens to occupy air-conditioned tents with valet service. But jostling with pilgrims for space in the Tamil Nadu tents was Michael Wood, the star of many BBC documentaries. He was not involved in filming the Kumbh, but decided not to miss a holiday opportunity, with his wife Rebecca and daughters Jyothi and Meena. After spending Pongal in Chidambaram, the Woods visited Chennai, all excited about the prospect of Allahabad.

Michael Wood, whose "Legacy" series and "Footsteps of Alexander the Great" were enormously successful world -wide, spoke about his new four film series on the Spanish Conquistadors."My preferred area in foreign filming would be somewhere between Greece, Iran and India... we feel most at home and enjoy these areas. In terms of cultural depth, American civilisations don't count anywhere nearly as complex as India.. Nevertheless, it has been a truly fantastic experience. It took us 10 days to get to the lost city of the Incas, and shoot five minutes of the series. To find a helicopter, rather it took three days for a helicopter to find us trekking in the Amazon. Sleeping in tents, walking through marsh lands... it does show in the final result that we took a lot of trouble to get there.." says Wood, who is happy to relax with his family after nearly three years of hard work. The series was launched in England in October to rave notices, and will be seen in America in May. As he did earlier, Wood has written a book based on his research for the four films, which will also be released simultaneously.

The fascinating story of the four journeys which changed the thinking of the world which had until then concentrated on old civilisations of Asia and Europe is the theme of the series. The fall of the New World had been described by Karl Marx as the "greatest event in the history of the world". For the first time, one Culture had gone out and taken over an entire continent, taken all it's natural resources, when 90 per cent of the population died..."It was the beginning of globalisation... the establishment of the American world empire..." remarks Wood. The films open up the debate about human rights. It was in Spain that for the first time in history, universal human rights were mooted. The king of Spain sponsored a great public debate : do the non-Europeans have the same human rights as the rest of us?

Wood explains the interest his films have evoked. "It is current to talk about ethical foreign policy.. it is the same debate which started way back then when the new world was discovered and taken over. It is a tremendous story and we were amazed at the public response in Britain. Everybody knows a little about it... they have no idea about the unbelievable events... nothing like it in the history of the world."

Michael Wood and his wife Rebecca who as the head of Maya Vision and producer, speak about the four journeys as if they had re- lived the originals. Filming in unknown territories with high risks proved an adventure. The march of Cortez, and Pisaro who expected to find El Dorado, the voyages from Spain, the ship wrecks, and the way the pioneers virtually walked across a country searching for their goal, amidst mountains, jungles and hidden civilisations, have all been woven into this exciting series. Wood traces the course of not merely an Amazonian journey by boat which took place in the 16th Century, but throws light on amazing facts.

"It was not a journey, it was miracle... they were lost for 18 months. There were diaries kept by some of the voyagers. There seems to have been about five million people who lived in Amazonia. One place had 18 miles without a break of houses, settlements... there were 300 mile- long tribal federations, with kings, subjects... this is a world that existed then, and still none of us know enough about it " says Wood. For Cortez, landing on the shores of the Americas was like landing on another planet. He found a woman who spoke Mayan and Aztec, and used the help of a Spanish sailor who could speak Mayan, and who would speak to the woman who acted as interpreter to the Azecs. "We have used in the film accounts of the people of Aztec and Inca descent, soon after the conquests... they had given big speeches in their villages..." says Wood.

It all happened in 20 years...journeys which defined the course of history for the next 500 years. With a historian's perspective of the world, Wood exclaims "It will be interesting to see if India, Persia and China will be able to regain their positions as power houses of civilisation".

Michael Wood hopes that the revival of interest in historic documentaries may again bring him to India. But in the meantime, he is looking forward to his next series closer to home. Four one-hour films on the life of Shakespeare. "He was not the man we think he was.. that will be interesting" he says. The Woods may not be disappointed with the Maha Kumbh, but they do want to start a movement - "Save Chidambaram". The temple town's deterioration makes this world traveller, historian, and friend of Tamil Nadu, sad.

LAKSHMI VISWANATHAN

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