THE DANCING MONKS

At the beginning of this documentary, I joined ISKCON or the Hare

Krishna movement as a member. I had seen them dancing and chanting on

streets of London and being an Indian I knew about this organization

and the works of charity they have been involved in. But, I met a lot

of people in London who had no clue about who the Hare Krishnas are

and also the people who were suspicious about them due to a tainted

past. So, I decided to explore the Hare krishnas to know about the problems in the past and their present situation.

Today ISKCON has active centres in more than 96 countries and has a

huge following of members from all over the world.

In the UK, it has centres in all the big cities. They run organic

farms, vegetarian restaurants and schools at most of the centres. 

The members of ISKCON are peace loving, non violent, spiritual and

religious.

Filming the documentary was a major challenge. I was told that the Hare Krishnas are out on the streets thrice every day in Central London, dancing with the crowd, distributing pamphlets and merrily chanting 'Hare Krishna.' Capturing them live was integral to the documentary. Since I had to move constantly with the devotees while they danced on the streets, I was fearful about the quality of the footage and had to capture the shots on several occasions to perfect them.

During the process, I also captured footage of the famous Rath Yatra festival, a carnival organized by ISKCON. Because the Rath Yatra took place on the streets in Central London, I had to take special permission from the London Metropolitan Police, allowing me to shoot in these places. Besides, filming at the 'Bhakti Vedanta Manor', the main temple of ISKCON in London also required permission from the Media Office of ISKCON.

In the end I would say this documentary has been a personal experience of finding peace of mind through spirituality among odds of all kinds.

Hare Krishna!!!