Perspective | BBC Documentaries | Sacred River with Simon Reeve

June 22, 2020

Perspective | BBC Documentaries | Sacred River with Simon Reeve

The notion that most feature-filmmakers are exploitative, and documentarians are truthful is increasingly getting reinforced in my mind. As I examine documentaries, my conscience compares their work with features and realise how cruel some filmmakers are (not being empathetic of victims).

Seldom filmmakers who make investigative crime features, are mindful of the pains of vicitims. Their interests are primarily centered on exhibition of brutality. Therefore, I'm losing respect for them, and gaining admiration for documentarians as they are mostly truthful.

Even though I don't have the resources yet to visit places, the documentary, Sacred Rivers with Simon Reeve, virtually took me to three mightiest rivers of our planet - Yangtze (China), Nile (Egypt) and Ganges (India).

Civilaztions flourished and real economic progress happened across the lengths of these rivers because of perennial water flow. Particularly, I was deeply saddaned by the highly polluted sacred river, Ganges (Ganga) in Kanpur, India. Industrial and man made pollutants have poisoned and turned the once sacred river into toxic waste. I'm really curious to know of the intelligent engineers who devised the disruptive idea of channeling sewage into rivers. Can't they build exclusive channels? The documentarian was perplexed on completing the Indian episode, that was not the case with other rivers specifically, Yangtze as it is well preserved.

Official Synopsis:

The Nile (Egypt)

Adventurer Simon Reeve travels from source to sea along the world's longest river, the Nile. His journey will take him from the holy source of the Blue Nile in the Ethiopian highlands, through the desert of Sudan and onwards through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. The life-giving river has forged some of our earliest civilisations and influenced some of our greatest religions. But with populations along its banks rising fast, Nile countries are demanding an ever-greater share of the sacred waters, threatening the stability of the entire region.

The Ganges (India)

Simon Reeve follows the sacred waters of the Ganges from source to sea, exploring how India's economy has affected its religious culture.

Along the way he meets westerners in Rishikesh seeking spiritual enlightenment, takes a holy dip in the fast-flowing waters at Haridwar and discovers how the river is being severely polluted in Kanpur. While there, Simon hears allegations that holy cows are secretly being slaughtered to fuel a booming leather trade. Finally, at Sagar Island in the Indian Ocean, Simon wonders how long India's age-old sacred river can survive its economic boom.

The Yangtze (China)

Simon Reeve explores the influence three rivers have on the countries they flow through. He travels along the Yangtze, discovering a revival of religious faith in China