The Quint: Why ‘Vande Mataram’ Lost the Race to ‘Jana Gana Mana’
- 5 years ago
"Vande Mataram Sujala sufala malayaja-shitalaam Shashya-shyaamala mataram."
These words that instil a sense of patriotism were penned by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1875 as an ode to Mother India.
Vande Mataram was a part of his novel named Anandamath, a Bengali fiction that showed the Sanyasi army fighting the British soldiers, which was published in 1882.
On the death anniversary of Chatterjee, the Bengali writer, The Quint brings you all that you need to know about the origin of our national song.
Two years after Chatterjee’s death in 1896, Rabindranath Tagore recited the poem for the first time at the Indian National Congress’ annual convention in Kolkata.
But the version sung by Tagore is not what we hear today – over the decades leading vocalists like Omkarnath Thakur and Master Krishnarao recomposed the song using varying tunes, beats and instruments.
Video: The Quint
These words that instil a sense of patriotism were penned by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1875 as an ode to Mother India.
Vande Mataram was a part of his novel named Anandamath, a Bengali fiction that showed the Sanyasi army fighting the British soldiers, which was published in 1882.
On the death anniversary of Chatterjee, the Bengali writer, The Quint brings you all that you need to know about the origin of our national song.
Two years after Chatterjee’s death in 1896, Rabindranath Tagore recited the poem for the first time at the Indian National Congress’ annual convention in Kolkata.
But the version sung by Tagore is not what we hear today – over the decades leading vocalists like Omkarnath Thakur and Master Krishnarao recomposed the song using varying tunes, beats and instruments.
Video: The Quint