Khyber Pass; Kashmir; Agra

Romantic, atmospheric travelogue capturing some of northern India’s most iconic places – not least the Taj Mahal.

Opening with montages of Bactrian camels carrying goods alongside mules and traders, this atmospheric travelogue brings together three disparate, iconic locations in northern India. Romantic scenes of the Khyber Pass, the distinctive Kashmiri house boats of Srinagar’s Dal Lake and the magical Taj Mahal at Agra are interspersed with shots of British and Indian activity and trade. A contrast to the busy streets around the Dal Lake and at the Pass is the sparsely populated Taj Mahal, where the filmmakers seem to have complete freedom until they move out to the areas around it and the Agra Fort.

This film represents a traveller’s romantic impulse as the camera pans around iconic places like the Taj Mahal and the fog-shrouded Dal Lake. A spectacular distant shot of the river Yamuna and the Taj from the Fort is a reminder of the imprisonment of Shah Jahan. Dr. Amina Yaqin (SOAS University of London)