E.S. Keller

Indian Durbar

Technicolor scenes from an Indian Durbar, held for the Maharaja of Alwar in Rajasthan.

Delhi

Filmed in 1938, less than a decade before Indian independence, Delhi has a curious tale to tell. ‘Delhi’, the viewer is informed, ‘is the cockpit of the Indian Empire’, it provides the ‘gateway to the riches of the south’. The opening sections of the film focus upon those who have tried and failed to establish a lasting power in the capital. ‘At Delhi’, the commentator states, ‘successive cities have been built by conquering invaders – each has fallen into disuse and decay’. The camerawork focuses on the ‘impressive ruins’ of these earlier invaders. Although the film also depicts the enduring architecture of Muslim rulers, such as Akbar and Shahjahan, it is stressed that their power has been superseded. Legend has it that it will be the ninth city of Delhi that ‘will endure and will rule forever’. Shahjahan had built the eighth.

A Road in India

Life on the road in India, showing the traffic, people and animals.

Temples of India

Hindu temples at Benares and Belur and the mythologies associated with them.

Petra

“Travelogue on the city of Petra. Traces four civilisations, each of which found value in re-establishing the life of this city, whose temples and dwellings were shaped out of the caves in the cliff of a mountain range in the heart of the Arabian desert.” - BFI. Shot in Technicolor by Jack Cardiff.