Rob & Rylan's Passage To India | Preview (BBC Two)

TV Zone
Sep 7
2 min read

Following their Bafta-winning Grand Tour of Italy, Rob Rinder and Rylan are taking things to the next level and heading out of art galleries and into the teeming streets of one of the world’s oldest and greatest civilisations: India. But can the art and culture of India help them to lead better lives?

This time the pair are following in the footsteps of Rob’s favourite novelist, E.M. Forster, who a century ago wrote A Passage to India and changed the way the world saw the country. As Rob and Rylan embark on their own journey through the country, they hope to discover how its ancient wisdom, art and culture can challenge them - personally, intellectually and physically.

They begin their journey in Delhi, India’s capital and home to 34 million people, almost four times the population of London. After immersing themselves in the chaotic street market of Chandni Chowk, where Forster began his journey, they escape the hectic streets by heading for Humayun’s Tomb, a serene masterpiece of 16th-century architecture that was to inspire the Taj Mahal.

Delhi is now a city of jaw-dropping extremes of wealth and poverty. Here, Rob and Rylan meet billionaire art collector, Shalini Passi, who proudly shows them her staggering collection of contemporary art.

But they also head out on to the streets with activist Naveen Koomar, who comes from a caste or social class that was traditionally seen as the lowest of the low - the Dalits. As a rapper he’s built up a big fanbase by rapping about social problems. He invites Rob and Rylan to perform their own self-penned rap, out on the street…

But the streets of Delhi are where amazing art of all kinds can be found. The pair are impressed by the Lodhi colony, a part of town where every building is covered in giant paintings. It’s a kind of open-air art gallery, accessible to all - even the city’s much-respected and revered cows, who wander the streets at will.

Their journey ends next to a giant rubbish dump, where a famous community of puppeteers, jugglers, acrobats and street performers have made their home. This is the Kathputli colony, and master puppeteer Puran invites Rob and Rylan to try pulling a few strings themselves, becoming puppeteers in a performance for hundreds of the children who live at the camp…