ALAIN DANIELOU

An adventurous musical journey starting from Brittany, passing through India (Shantiniketan, Varanasi, Khajuraho, Konarak, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Pondicherry), Paris, Berlin, Venice and Rome, following the story of the French-born Alain Daniélou, indologist and musicologist who mainly lived in India between the 30’s and the 60’s.

In Banaras (now Varanasi) Daniélou and his life partner, the Swiss photographer Raymond Burnier made for 15 years their home in Rewa palace, on the banks of the Ganga. Here Daniélou became a Sanskrit scholar, converted to Hinduism, studied Indian classical music, played the veena professionally and wrote books about Veda, Hindu philosophy and Shivaism. Since 1950 Daniélou is the curator of the first world classical music collection for UNESCO. In 1963, been back to Europe, he founds and directs the Berlin International Institute for Comparative Studies and Documentation, carrying on the recordings for the UNESCO collection. Indian Music, Dance, Religion, Tradition vs Modernity, Sculpture and Philosophy are explored in this documentary through the eyes and the autobiography of Daniélou himself “The Way to the Labyrinth”, with a main focus on traditional Indian music , the “the Music of Gods”.