India - Fatehpur, Chini and Pu c.1928

Join a trek through mountainous northern India and the Tibetan border region, and glimpse a ritual Buddhist ‘devil dance’

These breathtaking scenes of northern India and the Tibetan borderland were shot by Dr R. MacLagan Gorrie. At Fatehpur Sikri, Uttar Pradesh - founded by Mughal Emperor Akbar and abandoned in 1585 - we see the marbled tomb of Salim Chishti. Governor of the Punjab Sir Malcolm Hailey pays a visit to Chini in Himachal Pradesh. We join a trek through remote, mountainous terrain to the Tibetan border, stopping at the Pangi temple; we also see the Spiti river gorge and a masked ‘devil dance’ or cham at Lippa (Tibetan monks were erroneously referred to as ‘lamas’ by many westerners). The film ends with scenes of timber being pushed into the Sutlej and Baspa rivers.

Dr Gorrie was an extraordinarily prolific amateur filmmaker, recording his family life, work and travels. Between 1927 and 1960 he made 57 films, which are now held by the BFI National Archive. Gorrie was known for his research into soil conservation in India. He worked at Dehra Dun's internationally renowned Forest Research Institute with its imposing imperial architecture that can be glimpsed in several of the films.