Facts about "Jana Gana Mana" - Just a thought for the National Anthem;
Just how well informed are you about it ?
I have always wondered who is the "adhinayak" and "bharat
bhagya vidhata", whose praise we are singing. I thought might be
Motherland India. Our current National Anthem "Jana Gana Mana" is sung throughout
the country. Did you know the following about our national anthem, at least I did not.
To begin with, India's national anthem, "Jana Gana Mana
Adhinayaka", was
written by Rabindranath Tagore in honour of King George V
and the Queen of England when they visited India in 1919. To honour their visit Pandit Motilal Nehru had the five
stanzas included,
which are in praise of the King and Queen. (And most of us
think it is in the praise of our great motherland !)
In the original Bengali verses, only those provinces that
were under British rule, i.e. Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat, Maratha etc. were
mentioned. None of
the princely states were recognized which are integral
parts of India now
: Kashmir, Rajasthan, Andhra, Mysore or Kerala. Neither the
Indian Ocean nor the Arabian Sea was included, since they were directly
under Portuguese rule at that time.
The "Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka" implies that King George V is
the lord of the masses and "Bharata Bhagya Vidhata" is "the bestower of
good fortune".
Following is a translation of the five stanzas that
glorify the King :
First stanza :
(Indian) People wake up remembering your good
name and ask for your blessings and they sing your glories. ("Tava
shubha naame jaage; tava shubha aashish maage, gaaye tava jaya
gaatha")
Second stanza :
Around your throne people of all religions
come and give their love and anxiously wait to hear your kind
words.
Third stanza :
Praise to the King for being the charioteer,
for leading the ancient travellers beyond misery.
Fourth stanza :
Drowned in the deep ignorance and suffering,
poverty-stricken, unconscious country. Waiting for the wink
of your eye and your mother's (the Queen's) true protection.
Fifth stanza :
In your compassionate plans, the sleeping
Bharat (India) will
wake up. We bow down to your feet O' Queen, and glory to
Rajeshwara (the King).
This whole poem does not indicate any love for the
Motherland but depicts a bleak picture. When you sing "Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka",
whom are you glorifying? Certainly not the Motherland. Is it God? The
poem does not indicate that. It is time now to understand the original purpose and the
implication of this, rather than blindly sing as has been done the past
fifty plus years.
Supposedly, Nehru chose the present national anthem as opposed to "Vande
Mataram" because
he thought that it would be easier for the band to play ! |
