Movies:
Note to Students and Parents:
The following descriptions of the films are from the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com). Details and a parent’s guide to a film’s possibly objectionable material can be found at this site. Some of the movies are rated “R”, so NO CREDIT WILL BE GRANTED FOR R-RATED MOVIES WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM A PARENT OR GUARDIAN E-mailed to the teacher.
Monsoon Wedding: 2001 (R) 2 Hrs.
A stressed father, a bride-to-be with a secret, a smitten event planner, and relatives from around the world create much ado about the preparations for an arranged marriage in India.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: In what ways is traditional Indian culture (dharma, caste, etc.) still evident in modern times?
Slumdog Millionaire: 2008 (R) 2 Hrs.
A Mumbai teen who grew up in the slums, becomes a contestant on the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" He is arrested under suspicion of cheating, and while being interrogated, events from his life history are shown which explain why he knows the answers.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: What did you learn about India that builds on what you learned in class?
Salaam Bombay: 1988 (R) 2 Hrs.
The story of Krishna, Manju, Chillum and the other children on the streets of Bombay. Sometimes they can get a temporary job selling tea, but mostly they have to beg for money and keep out of the way of the police. Examines the life of India’s drug-addicted street children in the years before India reconnected itself to the global economy in the 1990s.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: Why are there so many poor children in India?
Lagaan: Once upon a Time in India: (2001) (PG) 4 Hrs.
The people of a small village in Colonial India stake their future on a game of cricket against their ruthless British rulers...
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: Was your opinion of colonialism changed or affirmed by this movie?
Bend it Like Beckham: (2002) (PG-13) 2 Hrs.
An Indian Sikh girl in London wants to pursue her passion of soccer while her traditional family disapproves. A personal journey through the tug-of-war between cultures faced by all children of recent immigrants.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: What did you learn about Indian or Sikh culture that either surprised you or built upon what was learned in class?
Any Bollywood musical. See teacher to discuss it before viewing.
Videos:
BBC India (1-4 Hours...one hour per episode)
Episode 1: Bombay Dreams (1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2U_OLdu5sQ
Episode 2: The Longest Road (1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFXGczcu6Ag
Episode 3: Mystic River (1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vELAGcXcThI
Episode 4: A Camel Called Sanjeev (1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vELAGcXcThI
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: Question for all four episodes: Is India rising or collapsing?
Food Paradise India (1-6 Hours...one hour per episode) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-p_EMVkzGs
Getting to know the diversity of India through its food, markets, and cooks
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: What did you learn, or what can you conclude, about India through its culture of food?
Slumming It with Kevin McCloud (2 Hours) PART 1 / PART 2
A surprisingly uplifting story of a well-off middle-aged English reporter who lives for two weeks in Dharavi, Mumbai's largest slum.
I Am Guragon: The New Urban India (1 Hour) CLICK HERE
(Subtitled) The lives and thoughts of those able to afford to live in Mumbai's growing suburbs for India's rich.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: What do their lives and attitudes suggest about the future of India?
Welcome to India: (Rated R--language) (1-3 Hours, one hour per episode)
CLICK HERE for Episode 1, HERE for Episode 2, and HERE for Episode 3.
A highly recommended view of the lives of people struggling to make it in the new India.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: Which lives stood out to you most?
Books:
(All books can be checked out by the teacher)
From India: The Cultural Companion:
- Buddhism (1 hr.) Everything you need to know about the religion.
- The Forms of Vishnu (2 hrs.) Hindu history through the study of this deity.
- Shiva and the Goddess (2 hrs.) The role of female deities in Hinduism.
- Yogic Arts (2 hrs.) The religious significance of the different types of yoga.
- Time and the Universe (3 hrs.) Making Hinduism more understandable.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: For all: What new understandings did you gain?
From In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India:
- Chap. 3: Battles of the Righteous: The Rise of India's Lower Castes. (3 hrs.) An examination of how caste still matters (or does it?) in modern India.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: Does caste still matter?
- Chap. 4: The Imaginary Horse: The Continuing threat of Hindu Nationalism: (3 hrs.) A look at how Hinduism and Hindu chauvinism might hold back India's development.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: What effects might Hindu chauvinism have on the future of India?
- Chap. 6: Many Crescents: South Asia's Divided Muslims: (3 hrs.) Kashmir, Pakistan, and the Muslims of India.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: What do you predict is the future of Muslim/Hindu relations? Explain your reasoning.
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. (7 hrs.)
One of Mr. Lewin's favorite books, it is the story of a man much like the Buddha who sets out to find enlightenment. A classic, this novella makes Eastern religions a little more comprehensible.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: What new understandings did you reach about Eastern thought?
From Kamdar, Mira. Planet India (2007)
600,000 Villages (3 Hours)
Stories from India's small farming villages discussing why they are getting poorer, and how the success of India's Green Revolution and Globalization comes with a dark side.
Need a prompt for Reflection? Try: Who or what is to blame for the problems facing India's farmers?
The Other India: /uploads/1/3/3/7/13371567/10_aid_packet.docx (2 Hours)
Discussing the problems of India tourists rarely see such as the stubborn persistence of caste, Hindu nationalism, terrorism, working conditions, HIV/AIDS and women's issues.
Need a prompt for Reflection? Try: What outraged you the most? -or- Will India's increasing wealth solve its problems or make them worse?
Graphic Novels:
Quinn, Jason. Gandhi: My Life is my Message.(5 Hours)
Gandhi's autobiography in graphic novel form.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: What did you learn about the Mahatma that you did not learn from the movie?
Travel Stories: (Click on the title to download. Copies available upon request from the teacher)
The Incredible Buddha Boy (2 Hours)
Has the reincarnation of the Buddha been found...or is it just a public relations stunt?
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: What did you learn from the story about Buddhism and how it is practiced?
Famous (1 Hour)
The life path of one of India's worst terrorists. Tries to find why someone might turn to terrorism.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: What drove this young man into committing an act of terrorism?
Tigerland (2 Hours)
In the remote swamps where the Indian Subcontinent's endangered wild tigers still roam.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: Can anything be done to save the tiger?
Next Stop, Squalor (1 Hour)
Can India's worst slum become a tourist attraction? Should it?
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: Well...should it?
Restaurant Visits:
Go to an Indian restaurant and write your impressions, but ONLY if Indian food would be a new experience for you. (2) Minerva at the corner of Shady Grove Road and Rockville Pike is recommended.
Got an idea for a source or an activity that should be on the list? Do not be afraid to run your idea past Mr. Lewin, who is always on the lookout for more and better materials.