Triveni - Onde os Rios Encontram
Channel: Indian Diplomacy
Date: 2012-06-19

Triveni - Onde os Rios Encontram, India is a cultural collage, an aggregate of distinctive parts that have evolved through centuries of interaction and influences. Many such influences have come from foreign lands, but India assimilated them in its culture and lifestyle to enrich itself. The film begins its journey from the Mughal influence, a culture that brought to India a unique architecture, language, music and cuisine, all of which is now integral to the Indian identity. British and Portuguese cultures have also been significant influences that India assimilated seamlessly, be it cricket, tea, architecture or lifestyle. This journey culminates in an interaction with two distinct communities who came to India from elsewhere but became a piece of the glittering mosaic of Indian culture, yet retaining their distinct identities - the Jews and Parsis.
In the second part of the journey, the film explores common threads that run through various festivals of India, in spite of each being distinct and different. The Chinese in Calcutta, for instance, celebrate their new year following their traditional customs, but they also worship the Hindu goddess Kali. Dharamshala is known to be a microcosm of Tibetan culture where the Tibetan refugees feel free and secure. Many influences have seeped so deep in the Indian culture that they are barely recognized as foreign. The film explores some such influences in historical monuments, clothing and music. Finally the film highlights some unique initiatives in music and dance that attempt to create fusion between traditional Indian forms and those from other cultures. These initiatives also demonstrate the extraordinary ability of the Indian culture to accept new influences and offer its own to others.