Some facts about "Jana Gana Mana" - Our National Anthem
Just a thought for the National Anthem! How well do you know 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, I didn't.
To begin with, India's national anthem, Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka, was written by Rabindranath Tagore in honor of King George V and the Queen of England when they visited India in 1919. To honor 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, sincethey 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 name 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 travelers 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).
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).
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 years.
2 comments:
History is being misinterpreted.
Tagore, has written this poem addressing God. But this poem was sung during the visit of King George V to India in 1911.
See the following link for the clear picture of history.
http://www.cs.brockport.edu/~smitra/janaganamana.html
Excerpts from the history.
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"The mythology surrounds the 1911 visit to India by King George V. To commemorate the occasion, the Indian National Congress (INC) approached Tagore for a poem of welcome. As Yeats (his Irish admirer of many years) recalled later, Tagore was deeply troubled by the assignment. Early one morning, he composed a very beautiful poem and handed it over to his colleagues. He suggested that it was a poem addressed to God, and that they should give it to the Congress people."
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Please don't forward this message to anyone. Many people will not try to see things in detail or explore.
We respect National Anthem.
"The mythology surrounds the 1911 visit to India by King George V. To commemorate the occasion, the Indian National Congress (INC) approached Tagore for a poem of welcome." states that INC Leader asked tagore to write a poem to welcome and honour the king.Tagore wrote the poem for GOD and given to congress people. In this context it means that Tagore portrayed the King as God and he given this poem to honour the king.
This post is actually not telling any bad things about National Anthem or Tagore.I and everyone will respect their mother country.Here I didn't mention anywhere that this song is bad.
We should understand things that we are doing. That's sixth sense.
(Anlazyse to realize things).
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