Making a radio documentary series about the river Ganges

Abstract

Since May 2000, the authors have been co-operating on researching a series of radio documentaries about the river Ganges in India. In addition to the radio series are a number of projects running alongside, including the development of educational material for inclusion in schools' curricula, a website, a book and a travelling science museum exhibit. The project as a whole is in its early stages and the authors do not expect to begin recording until 2003, with the actual broadcast date likely to be 2005. The present article includes a discussion of the time-scale needed for the research, technical limitations, radio versus other media, and a synopsis of research carried out so far in three--'Gomukh to Haridwar: from the mythic origins of the Ganges to the technology of the Raj', 'Kanpur and its tanneries', and 'Banaras and understandings of purity and pollution'--of the planned five separate programmes. The article concludes with a discussion of two emerging themes; science and environmentalism, and religio-cultural views of purity and pollution.