[Keralites] Bande Mataram - National Anthem

 

 

Bande Mataram - National Anthem? National song? or a Cultural song?

 

Sunday, 7th November 1875.  'Akshay Navami' Bankimchandra Chatterjee (1838-94) wrote his famous song Bande Mataram at his residence in Kantalpada, in Naihati village, which is just a few miles away from Calcutta.  The song is now 125 years old.  It is probably the only Indian song that is still widely popular all over India, and musicians still want to sing it again and again, and keep composing new tunes for it.  During this year of celebrations, a book in Marathi, Vande Mataram: Ek Shodh by Mr Milind Sabnis, was published in Pune.  This is a carefully researched monograph, which should be translated into Hindi and English soon. 

 

Bankimchandra was among the first batch of graduates from Calcutta University.  Soon after he had securred his BA, he was appointed as Deputy Magistrate, and eventually became a Deputy Collector.  In his work, he had ready access to old papers and gazettes, and came across the documents related to the mutiny of Sanyasis (saints) in Dhaka, North Bengal, Nepal, Tarai, Dinajpur, Rangpur, and Purniya during the period from 1763 to 1780.  He decided to write a novel, Anandmath, based on the heroic deeds of these sanyasis.  In his youth, he had witnessed the unsuccessful mutiny of 1857.  Around 1870, the British rulers were trying hard to force their anthem, God Save the Queen, on Indians.  This made a deep impact on Bankimchandra's sensitive mind, and he wrote Bande Mataram in one sitting, in a mood that must be called transcendental.  He wrote the song as a prayer in which the nation 'Bharat' was described as 'The Mother'.  The song was later included in his novel Anandmath, which was published serially in his magazine Bangdarshan during 1880-1882.  The song was heavily criticized by his friends, and also by his daughter, for the words were difficult to pronounce, and the song comprised of a mixture of Bengali and Sanskrit words.  He argued that he wrote it spontaneously to express his emotions and thoughts without caring for its future.  However, like a prophet, he said, "I may not live to see its popularity, but this song will be sung by every Indian like a Ved Mantra." And that is exactly what happened after the partition of Bengal in 1905.

 

1] Beginning of the century - The song remained in the novel Anandmath until it was sung by Rabindranath Tagore at Beadon Square in the 1896 convention of the Indian National Congress.  It soon became part of a tradition after that, and even today Congress conventions, and sessions of the Loksabha and the Vidhansabha begin with the recitation of the first stanza of Bande Mataram.  In 1905, large crowd gathered at a town hall in Calcutta to protest against the partition of Bengal, and someone from the crowd shouted Bande Mataram. It became a very popular slogan overnight.  It crossed the boundaries of Bengal and spread all over the country like a flame.  Soon the British administration banned the songs and the very slogan Bande Mataram.  Given its growing popularity it is no surprise that early recording companies like Bose records and the Nicole Record company recorded it in the voice of Rabindranath Tagore, Babu Surendranath Banerjee, Satyabhushan Gupta, R N Bose and others.  Hemendra Mohan Bose released a version commercially on his label, H Bose Records, in 1907.  The police destroyed the factory, and the existing stock of records.  However a few copies of the disc survived in Belgium and Paris (where Pathe/H Bose records were pressed).  Hence we can still listen to Bande Mataram in Rabindranath's voice.  Unfortunately, he recites the song in a rather shrill, high pitched and nasal voice, and in extremely slow tempo.  This is the oldest recording available on a gramophone record.  It has now been released on CD and is available along with a book, Rabindranath Tagore: Facets of a Genius, published by All India Radio in 1999.

 

2] The Pre-independence period: Due to the British ban, the song became even more popular and an abiding source of patriotism.  The couplet Bande Mataram received the status of a Vedic Mantra, and served as a slogan for revolutionaries. 

Pandit Nehru of course gave the final verdict.  In a meeting of the Constitution Committee held on 24th January 1950, President Dr Rajendra Prasad announced that Jana Gana Mana would be the National Anthem of independent India and Vande Mataram would be the National song with same status as the Anthem.  With this decision, all efforts at providing new tunes ended and the recordings made up to that time have now become important documents and part of our cultural heritage. 

 

3] Post Independence era: In 1947, this song was included in the Hindi feature film Amar Asha (Immortal Hope).  As no gramophone record was cut and the film reels are not available, the details and the tune are lost to history.  Pannalal Ghosh set the tune in a typical Bengali folk idiom for the film Aandolan in 1951.  It is sung by Manna Dey, Parul Ghosh, Sudha Malhotra, and Shaileshkumar.  The film Anandmath was made both in Bengali and in Hindi in 1952.  The tune is still very famous and popular.  It is composed using a mixture of Ragas Malkauns and Bhairavi, and is highly inspiring.  Jana Gana Mana and Vande Mataram have five stanzas each, and generally only first stanza is sung or played.  As a result, most Indians have either forgotten, or are unaware of, the complete song.  Both the songs were recorded specially by the Gramophone Company for playing on some 800 AIR [All India Radio] stations.  It is believed that Ravi Shankar set the tune when he was a radio staff artist.  Both vocal and instrumental versions were recorded, each lasting for about 58 seconds.  This tune is very simple, and succeeds in creating a serene and solemn mood of worship of the motherland.  Every morning, all the radio stations played Vande Mataram in the vocal version immediately after the signature tune.  Later the same practice was observed on TV/Doordarshan too.  These recordings are also played in public meetings and functions, especially in the South Indian states where Hindi has not been accepted as the national language.

 

 

In 1982, Mahendra Kapoor cut one 45 rpm disc in which he has sung both the songs using a chorus.  Apart from this, no one has ventured to compose a fresh tune in the last 50 years.  It continues to be played at the opening sessions of parliament and state legislative assemblies.  Citizens are expected to stand at attention while it is sung or played in all public meetings. 

 

5] Golden Jubilee celebrations of India's Independence and Vande Mataram

 

In 1997, India celebrated its 50th year of independence.  In celebration, G Bharatbala reviving the words Vande Mataram (in Hindi "Maa Tujhe Salam") while launching A R Rahman's audio-video album.  This album contains the Bankimchandra original Bande Mataram, sung beautifully in Raga Desh Malhar with wonderful tone and color to the instrumental sound.  The song as played in the other tracks of the album has received widespread acceptance by the contemporary listening public, and its words have acquired a new currency all over India.  But the song text is different from the traditional Vande Mataram in some crucial respects.  The video shows citizens of all age groups with tricolor of different sizes in their hands, while some are shown trying to raise a huge flag lying on the ground.  Nobody seems to have followed the guidelines for flag hoisting during the shooting of the video.  The national flag, which is a symbol of the nation's prestige and pride, is used in a manner that makes it into a virtual toy or accessory.  The tune shows a Western Michael Jackson type of influence, and it has become extremely popular all over the nation and in other countries where the video has been telecast.  The composer Rahman has posed, sung and danced in Michael Jackson style for the video.  On the eve and at midnight of 14th August 1997, his group gave a live performance at India gate, dancing Vande Mataram - Ma Tujhe Salam.  The event was probably sponsored by the celebration committee of the government.

 

6] Vande Mataram at the turn of 20th century

 

Due to the massive success of this album, the same group launched another album Vande Mataram - 2 in 1999, with a music score by Ranjit Barot, son of yesteryear's famous dancer Sitaradevi.  This album includes a reissued version of Lata Mangeshkar's Vande Mataram from the 1952 film Anandmath.  The lyricist Mehboob wrote another lyric for Lata Mangeshkar (for the leading line, "Sujjalam, Suffalam, Malayyaj Sheetalam, Sasyya Shyyamalam Maataram") words easily borrowed - or marrowed? - from the sacred song of national pride.  The remainder of the lyric, as before, is different and Lataji has sung wonderfully to the same old Anandmath tune for "Maa Tujhe Salam, Maa Tujhe Pranam." The lyricist appears to have conjoined the words "Salam" and "Pranam," though there is a world of difference between the two.  In the same album Shubha Mudgal has sung the familiar Vande Mataram in a pop idiom, whereas Kausiki Chakravarty sings it like a lullaby. 

 

7] Vande Mataram in the 21st century

 

The song Vande Mataram is now 125 years old, and has now entered the 21st century.  In 1975, while celebrating its centenary, a conference was organized at Banaras in which books, monographs and proceedings devoted to the song were published.  In 2000, the Vande Mataram Shatkottar Rajat Jayanti Samiti of Pune published a Marathi book on the song.  The Society of Indian Record Collectors found over 100 recorded versions of the song and presented over 20 illustrated listening sessions to audience of various age groups in Maharashtra.

 

from : Saraswati

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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