Monday, September 1, 2008
Jana Gana Mana... our national anthem
I am amazed that most young Indians (& I think old ones too) do not know the actual meaning of our national anthem. There has to be something seriously wrong with our education system, if this is the end result. It is also a prime example of how we attach a lot of importance (pseudo, as it actually turns out to be) to standing at attention (even in cinema halls before the movie begins) to show respect to the national anthem & virtually treating this act as some sort of a measure of our patriotism - without understanding how exactly we are praising our motherland. I challenge all you bloggers to send me the meaning (verbatim) of the entire anthem. I would of course be glad to post it here but would first like all of you to try and find it yourself.
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11 comments:
Dear Prakash!!!
I like the name "Clear Fundas" !!! So very true!!! I dont have a clue !! Please do enlighten!!!
Behram
Gr8 initiative, Good Title. Sir
I have a mail circulating widely about the meaning of our anthem, which i know would have reached u too.
But the point is whether it was written to welcome King Georg 5/6/7 it does not matter, as long as it serves the purpose of binding us together and exciting an emotion in us which could be termed as patriotism
Dear Prakash
While most of us wud know the meaning in general,it did not occure to us to know the word by word meaning.This is what typically we are.Right fr the day of schooling we have been told to remember it.No one explained its meaning.Or is it obvious.Why it is not included as one of the poems in the curriculam?Why not file the PIL?Like rotary,s 4 way test,one cud take the test of self with yr 4 fundas.I failed.
The first flaw is that it was written for King George V when he came to India in the 1930s. While that may not make it irrelevant by itself, its verbatim meaning is to praise the "ruler" of India. One doesn't exist anymore.
Actually the national anthem does not praise the nation at all. It mentions various parts of our nation, but praises the ruler who rules over them. So I fail to see the patriotism in its meaning. It just sounds relevant because it seems to encompass all the regions of India. Even in that it is outdated. Sindh is now in Pakistan, and part of Bengal (East Bengal) is now in Bangladesh.
Here is my attempt at the verbatim meaning:
"jana gana mana adhinayak jaya he bharat bhagya vidhata"
Hail the ruler of the people and the mind/though, who controls Bharat's destiny
"punjab sindh gujarat maratha dravida utkal vanga"
(the Bharat which comprises of) Punjab, Sindh (now in Pak), Gujarat, Maratha regions, Dravida (south India), utkal (not sure which one), Bengal
"Vindhya himachal yamuna ganga uchchal jaladhi taranga"
(the Bharat which has) the Vindhya mountains, Himachal, and the constant flow of water of (rivers) yamuna and ganga
"tava shubh name jaage, tava shubh ashish maage"
May your revered name spread, may your prosperity grow
"gaaye tava jaya gatha"
As we sing the saga of your victory
"jana gana mangal daayak jaya he bharat bhagya vidhata"
Hail the controller of Bharat's destiny who spreads happiness/prosperity amongst the people"
"Jaya he,jaya he..."
Hail thee, hail thee!
More difficult is the meaning of Vande mataram because it is in Sanskrit. However it is also the more relevant one.
My guess is that due to historic reasons (respecting Rabindranath Tagore) our national anthem was chosen to be jana gana mana. Also it has more "mass appeal" than vande mataram because it is easier to memorize.
"The Star Spangled banner"--USA's anthem, is an example of what happens when you make the anthem too difficult to sing. Not everybody can sing it (you have to be a good singer with a high range to sing it correctly, or so I'm told) and so it is confined to trained singers at football games!
Let alone the common man, even the very BJP leaders that tried to impose it onto others cannot sing it properly!
Very true, Prakash. Knowing the meaning of what we sing, especially one's national anthem, is important. Many of us are not even aware of our ignorance (on things unimaginably more), and your present post does well on this count. We await the next one to help remove the ignorance.
Hardly any of us would know the meaning of the vedic mantras, even the popular ones like the Gayatri and Mahamritunjaya. Yet it is said that mere listening to them provides unique benefits. In case of our national anthem, its words have clear relevance to our motherland with respectful undertones. Mere observance of silence and standing at attention arouses inner feelings of patriotism and greatness. Alas, I miss the national anthems that were played in cinema halls before each show, decades ago. We get to hear it only twice a year now.
The history of this National Anthem dates back to 1905 when the division of Bengal was declared leading to widespread unrest in Bengal. Moreover about 1000 people died out of this unrest forcing King George 5 to come to India on a visit to bengal to roll back the division of Bengal which he did. Eventually again it got divided in 1947. It therefore in the honour of King George 5 that the national anthem was written so as to charm him. Jana Gana Mana means all the people along with their souls praise and bless you as being the god of India in the form of you O king. Across Punjab, Sindh (Undivided India), Gujarat, Maratha, Dravida (Karnataka), Utkal Vindhya, himachal, across the plains of Ganga and Yamuna, the message and the waves of joy are flooding the atmosphere. We therefore seek your name and blessings and therefore sing to your well being and pray to you.
In the outset of many mails being circulated and things talked about here also about the "Jana Gana Mana" being written for the king who was to visit India. My common sense doesnt allow me to believe in that stuff because firstly the if we buy the fact then i guess the meaning/interpretation talks more about the nation than the so called ruler, and if we go by what the english people were, they would have hated it to the core for the kind of treatment they had been giving us and what kind of people they thought they were. For an anthem to be written for the king, they would need 90% mention of the king and may be 5% of the country, but in our case its totally inverse. So I guess I would disagree on that fact that these set of lines were written for the king. As we are talking about Clear Fundas...there can be no clearer meaning of the anthem than what has been told to us here. Real example of how a blog shoudl be as per its name...CLEAR FUNDA!!
We as so called responsible citizens of India should really understand what we really need to be in order to be even become eligible to be called "Responsible". People talk about big things...but I guess all our efforts would remain incomplete if we fail to recognise its basic criteria. I mean people dont even know the meaning of what they say, follow or do and just blindly do it, thats why they say that our country is so prone to falling to others because we make our own enemies in the name of all these things, and others took undue advantage of us, like the English people did. Its rather a thing to feel guilty that a set of people and a country of a size of one of our states, comes and rules us and continued to do it for a period more than a century.
People should realise that our National Anthem is one set of lines which consists of every and I say every part of our country, I guess that covers everyone and thats what Really India is all about!! An Example of secularism and Democracy.
The People!! The Republic!! and Our Minds!! this is what all JANA GANA MANA is all about and should be as clear as possible. All for one nation and ONE Nation for ALL!!
In all the hoch poch of the working culture and time bars and Virtual world existances and out of the heavy routines that we are always in, whenever we hear or say the National Anthem, there is always a strange feeling in our minds, goosebumps, face upright. This is that feelign which many people dont realise what it is but they sure feel it!! Everyone of us does. Whether it is in our School annual functions, the 26th or 15th or even at the beginning of a movie in a swanky multiplex. What brings us all together is nothing but only this feeling of being one!! Thats why it is called " NATIONAL ANTHEM"...it is called "JANA GANA MANA"....All for one ONE for all!! "Jaya he"!!
JAYA HIND!!
Good thoughts sir !
Can we start discussing economics, and how can we contribute to indias growth to as economic superpower because this would lead india futhuer.....!
Sir with ur knowledge on subject and the student community u cater dont u think we can add value to india's growth in that areana....?
Jana Gana Mana was a poem written by RN Tagore. He didn't write the national anthem as many of you would think. He wrote it - and context behind whay he wrote it is immaterial.
It was the Indian government's choice to pick this poem as its national anthem.
Was Tagore's permission asked? Highly unlikely! Is his family given a royalty for the use of it? Don't even mention it.
And then there are some clowns who want the term like "Sindh" deleted from the anthem as it is now in Pakistan. Ek to fokat mein kisee ka gaana liye ho - upar se usme me bhi modifications chahiye.
What else can you expect from the land of Himesh Reshammiyas.
Utkal refers to the state of Orissa.
The national anthem put into action here through an academy of mute blessed kids!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk02qPlnS2E
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