Colorful Bombay

1937 • Directed by

This travelogue begins with an appreciation of Bombay as a port city. Beyond the port and Taj Mahal Hotel is a teeming city, dominated by caste. The narrator casts a baleful eye on the treatment of hardworking Untouchables, especially the women. We watch a building's construction, see the byplay among castes at a market, and visit a fishing village where caste has less influence. The women clean and dry fish caught by men. Here Hinduism finds harmony in the relationships of couples. There are pressures for all to marry, and girls as young as ten are wives. We watch a funeral procession of a young bride. Then, we end at Bombay's race track, a grand melting pot for rich and poor.