Exploring India with Bettany Hughes

Varanasi is one of India’s holiest cities. Historian Bettany Hughes visits the city and takes part in a Hindu ritual which helps her process a recent bereavement in her own life. In this journey of cultural exploration, she also takes a boat out to the magnificent Lake Palace on an island in Lake Pichola before exploring Fatehpur Sikri, the Imperial capital of the Mughal Empire.

Historian Bettany Hughes continues her cultural exploration of India, visiting fascinating sites in the south of the sub-continent. She enjoys a breath-taking journey through the Tamil Nadu hills, between Mettupalayam and Udhagamandalam and meets the local Toda people who still revere the train’s arrival. She then visits Thanjavur, the capital of the Chola empire in the 8th century BCE.