Pre-production for India trip

As with any video production, whether it be remote or done in a studio, lots of preparation must be done even before the cameras roll. This is called the pre-production phase. Here, amongst other things, lots of reading and script writing must be done. In our case, it is mostly reading to find out about where we are going and what native customs we must follow.

In preparation for our trip, we've been asked to read four different books. These books are:

The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic by R. K. Narayan.

Ramayana basically translates to Rama's Journey. On the book's cover above, we see Rama on the left and his wife Sita on the right. Although I haven't completed reading the book as of this date, Rama is being taught the history of the world, India, and it's Gods by his mentor Viswamithra. A more in-depth overview of the Ramayana story can be found here.

The next book is The Bhagavad Gita.

According to one brief summary, "One of the glories of Sanskrit poetry, The Bhagavad Gita is the ancient spiritual text that formas a sublime synthesis of the many strands of Hindu belief.

Taken from the Mahabharata epic, it details a dialogue between the divine Krishna and the human warrior Arjuna before a mighty battle in which Arjuna must decide whether to wage war against his own family. Krishna imparts spiritual enlightenment to Arjuna, teaching him the paths of knowledge, devotion, action, and meditation, and helping him to see beyond the temporal to the eternal. This new translation captures both the clarity of Hindu philosophy and the beauty of Sanskrit poetry. For more detailed information on this important book, read this.

The third book and considered at this time to be the definitive history of India, authored by John Keay, is simply entitled "A History of India."

Lastly, Huston Smith's The Illustrated World's Religions: A Guide to Our Wisdom Traditions is an necessary guide in learning about the three main religions found 

in India: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam.