This is interesting … and shocking ...
'Jana Gana Mana' - 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, 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 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).
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 years.
Nehru chose the present national anthem as opposed to Vande Mataram because
he thought that it would be easier for the
band to play!!!
It was an absurd reason but Today for that matter bands have advanced and
they can very well play any music. So they can as well play Vande Mataram,
which is a far better composition in praise of our Dear Motherland India .
BE PROUD TO BE INDIAN
