Trip to Manipur (1935)

Duke of Connaught's Indian Tour

The Duke rides an elephant as he ventures on safari in Bengal.

Land of the Elephants

The timber trade calls on animal help.

By the River

Varanasi is the Indian city where Hindus go to die. Stretching along the Ganges, Varanasi holds great spiritual significance because Hindu scriptutres say that anyone who dies there will attain moksha—liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Berlin-based director Dan Braga Ulvestad captures life and death in India’s heartland in this moving documentary filled with exquisite cinematic moments. By the River starts its narrative journey with the city’s “death hotels,” dedicated apartments where people wait to die, sometimes for decades, so they can be cremated on the banks of the Ganges.

Calcutta Pageant

Scenes from a lavish pageant held during the royal visit to India, celebrating King George V’s coronation.

Delhi Durbar

Aristocracy, army, elephants and more mark the start of the 1903 Durbar.

Indian Scene of Procession

Stately scenes in India, likely filmed during the 1903 Delhi Durbar.

Ajmer

Film of local events in Ajmer province including the fair at Pushkar.

Gangtok and Sikkim Trip

Amateur footage of a trip into the Himalaya.

Imphal Bazaar

A scenes from a tour of Manipur State and a women's bazaar in Imphal.

Her Excellency Lady Lytton At The Victoria Memorial

Lady Pamela Lytton, wife of the Governor of Bengal, visits the grand marble Victoria Memorial in Calcutta.

Calcutta Topical No. 2

The race is on - for the Viceroy's Cup.

Procession of Elephants at Jaipur; Galta; Raj Mahal

Armoured elephants, sacred monkeys and a camel carriage from Rajasthan.

Ukhrul Medical Tour

A doctor and party visit the villages of eastern Manipur in India's far north east.

Scenes at his Excellency the Viceroys's Garden Party at Belvedere

Indian high society enjoy themselves at a Calcutta garden party held to welcome the new Viceroy, Lord Irwin.

Delhi to the North West Frontier

Amateur film featuring government buildings in Delhi, a shooting party in Malakand and winter in Abbottabad.

The Ramayana

The Little Ballet Troupe of Bombay performs a "puppet ballet" of the Hindu epic, the Ramayana.

Kolkata with Sue Perkins

Sue Perkins immerses herself in the complex life of Kolkata and sees how it is reinventing itself as a megacity with a reputation for eccentricity, culture and tolerance.

Dams: The Lethal Water Bombs

Documentary short about the disastrous dangers of aging, ailing dams.

India Cabaret

A documentary exploring the "respectable" and "immoral" stereotypes of women in Indian society told from the point of view of 2 strip-tease dancers in a cabaret house in Bombay.

Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Peshawar, The Khyber Pass and Rawl Pindi

The future Edward VIII enjoys stunning mountain scenery on a visit to the Khyber Pass during his royal tour

Khyber Pass; Kashmir; Agra

Romantic, atmospheric travelogue capturing some of northern India’s most iconic places – not least the Taj Mahal.

Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Malakand, Kapurthala and Dehra Dun

The future Edward VIII visits Malakand, Kapurthala and opens the Royal Military College at Dehra Dun

Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Madras, Bangalore, Mysore and Hyderabad

This official travelogue of a royal tour follows the Prince on a series of regimental displays and a tiger hunt.

The Quetta Earthquake

Amateur footage of the devastation caused by one of South Asia's worst earthquakes.

India - Hardwar

Amateur shots of pilgrims and temples at Haridwar, followed by rural scenes and the Gorrie family at home.

An Eastern Market

Documentary detailing a farmer’s visit to the market in Rawalpindi.

Lahore - Refugees from India

Millions of Muslims flee to Lahore in the newly created state of Pakistan, prompted by the partition of British India.

Procession of Elephants with Howdahs - India

An elephantine spectacle, likely part of the celebrations for the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to India.

Procession at Gangtok

Traditional games, dancing and music among the people of Sikkim - in vivid colour.

Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Calcutta and Delhi

The future Edward VIII opens a durbar and enjoys a day at the races before inspecting the fire brigade in Calcutta.

Wonderful Temples of India

A Christian take on 'Edenless' India, where heathens are unafraid of snakes, and build 'interesting' temples to their gods.

Canoe

Boys’ canoe trip on the Thames in London.

Fascinating India

"Fascinating India" spreads an impressive panorama of India’s historical and contemporary world. The film presents the most important cities, royal residences and temple precincts. It follows the trail of different religious denominations, which have influenced India up to the present day. Simon Busch and Alexander Sass travelled for months through the north of the Indian subcontinent to discover what is hidden under India’s exotic and enigmatic surface, and to show what is rarely revealed to foreigners. The film deals with daily life in India. In Varanasi, people burn their dead to ashes. At the Kumbh Mela, the biggest religious gathering of the world, 35 million pilgrims bathe in holy River Ganges. This is the first time India is presented in such an alluring and engaging fashion on screen.

Home Life

Made by an English family living in north India during the heyday of the Raj, this amateur film reveals the grandeur in which middle-class English colonials lived.

Indian Life

A motorist's excursion captures a world made by hand in the environs of Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi.

Indian Elephants in the Service of Man

Indian elephants in action as working animals and in hunting.

Delhi, Great Capital of India

Rare stencil-coloured images of early 20th century Delhi during a Muslim festival.

Arrowhead

Learn how to climb Great Gable in the Lake District, via the Arrowhead ridge climb.

Rajputana, Jhalawar, Bundi & Katakali Dancers

A trip to the spectacular city of Bundi and a Kathakali dance performance, filmed in vivid colour.