Indian National Anthem

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Source: flickr.com.

"Jana Gana Mana"is the national anthem of India. Written in highly Sanskritised (Tatsama) Bengali, it is the first of five stanzas of a Brahmo hymn composed and scored by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. It was first sung in Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress on 27 December 1911. "Jana Gana Mana" was officially adopted by the Constituent Assembly as the Indian national anthem on 24 January 1950. 27 December 2011 marked the completion of 100 years of Jana Gana Mana since it was sung for the first time.

The original poem written by Rabindranath Tagore was translated into Hindi-Urdu by Abid Ali. The original Hindi version of the song Jana Gana Mana, translated by Ali and based on the poem by Tagore, was a little different. It was "Subh Sukh Chain Ki Barkha Barse, Bharat Bhaag Hai Jaaga....".

A formal rendition of the national anthem takes fifty-two seconds. A shortened version consisting of the first and last lines (and taking about 20 seconds to play) is also staged occasionally. Tagore wrote down the English translation of the song and along with Margaret Cousins (an expert in European music and wife of Irish poet James Cousins), set down the notation at Madanapalle in Andhra Pradesh, which is followed only when the song is sung in the original slow rendition style of singing. However, when the National Anthem version of the song is sung, it is often performed in the orchestral/choral adaptation made by the English composer Herbert Murrill at the behest of Nehru. An earlier poem by Tagore (Amar Sonar Bangla) was later selected as the national anthem of Bangladesh.

The following translation (edited in 1950 to replace Sindh with Sindhu as Sindh after partition was allocated to Pakistan), attributed to Tagore, is provided by the Government of India's national portal:

Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people, Dispenser of India's destiny. Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sindhu, Gujarat and Maratha, Of the Dravida, Utkala and Bengal; It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas, mingles in the music of Yamuna and Ganga and is chanted by the waves of the Indian Ocean. They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise. The saving of all people waits in thy hand, Thou dispenser of India's destiny. Victory, victory, victory to thee.

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