
Weekend Video Post
On the eve of India’s 64th Independence Day, I bring you carefully chosen videos from among dozen others of the Republic of India’s national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ written by Rabindranath Tagore, and national song ‘Vande Mataram’ written by Bankimchandra Chatterji.
There are three videos for the national anthem – official lyrics, official instrumental, and one sung by Rabindranath Tagore himself on December 27, 1911.
There are two videos for the national song – official lyrics, and one from the famous hindi movie Anandamatha.
I hope you will enjoy them all. I also give you the official lyrics of our national anthem, and national song.
National Anthem of the Republic of India
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 which is followed till this day.
It is of interest that another poem by Tagore Amar Shonar Bangla is the national anthem of Bangladesh.
– From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The National Anthem of India is played or sung on various occasions. Instructions have been issued from time to time about the correct versions of the Anthem, the occasions on which these are to be played or sung, and about the need for paying respect to the anthem by observance of proper decorum on such occasions.

Rabindranath Tagore
Lyrics – Full & Short Versions
Rabindra Nath Tagore’s complete song consists of five stanzas. The composition consisting of the words and music of the first stanza is the National Anthem of India and its playing time is approximately 52 seconds. It reads as follows:
Jana gaṇa mana adhināyaka jaya he
Bhārata bhāgya vidhātā
Punjāba Sind Gujarāṭa Marāṭhā
Drāviḍa Utkala Banga
Vindhya Himāchala Yamunā Gangā
Ucchala jaladhi taranga
Tava śubha nāme jāge
Tava śubha āśiṣa māge
Gāhe tava jaya gāthā
Jana gaṇa mangala dāyaka jaya he
Bhārata bhāgya vidhāta
Jaya he jaya he jaya he
Jaya jaya jaya jaya he!
A short version consisting of the first and last lines of the National Anthem is also played on certain occasions. Playing time of the short version is about 20 seconds. It reads as follows:
Jana gaṇa mana adhināyaka jaya he
Bhārata bhāgya vidhātā
Jaya he jaya he jaya he
Jaya jaya jaya jaya he!
Translation into English
The following translation is attributed to Tagore:
Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,
Dispenser of India’s destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind,
Gujarat and Maratha,
Of the Dravida and Orissa and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of Jamuna and Ganges 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, Victory to thee.
Provided by the The National Portal of India
National Anthem of India
(Official Lyrics sung in mandatory 52 seconds)
National Anthem of India
(Official Instrumental played in mandatory 52 seconds)
National Anthem of India
(Sung by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore)
An original rendition of our sacred National Anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ by the author, Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore, himself at the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress on December 27, 1911.
National Song of the Republic of India
A commonly cited English language translation of the poem, Mother, I bow to thee!, is due to Sri Aurobindo (1909). The poem has been set to a large number of tunes. The oldest surviving audio recordings date to 1907, and there have been more than a hundred different versions recorded throughout the 20th century. In 2002, BBC World Service conducted an international poll to choose ten most famous songs of all time. Around 7000 songs were selected from all over the world. Vande Mataram, in a version by A R Rahman, was second in top 10 songs.
– From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bankimchandra Chatterji
The song Vande Mataram, was a source of inspiration to the people in their struggle for freedom. It has an equal status with Jana Gana Mana.
Rajendra Prasad, who was presiding the Constituent Assembly on January 24, 1950, made the following statement which was also adopted as the final decision on the issue:
“The composition consisting of words and music known as Jana Gana Mana is the National Anthem of India, subject to such alterations as the Government may authorise as occasion arises, and the song Vande Mataram, which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honored equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it. I hope this will satisfy members”.
Lyrics
The following is the text of first two verses adopted as national song:
Vande Mataram!
Sujalam, suphalam, malayaja shitalam,
Shasyashyamalam, Mataram!
Vande Mataram!
Shubhrajyotsna pulakitayaminim,
Phullakusumita drumadala shobhinim,
Suhasinim sumadhura bhashinim,
Sukhadam varadam, Mataram!
Vande Mataram, Vande Mataram!
Translation into English
The following translation is attributed to Sri Aurobindo:
I bow to thee, Mother,
richly-watered, richly-fruited,
cool with the winds of the south,
dark with the crops of the harvests,
The Mother!
Her nights rejoicing in the glory of the moonlight,
her lands clothed beautifully with her trees in flowering bloom,
sweet of laughter, sweet of speech,
The Mother, giver of boons, giver of bliss.
Provided by the The National Portal of India
Vande Mataram – Original Song
Vande Mataram from Hindi Movie Anandamatha
The following song was from the movie Anandamatha, which was released in 1952. It was based on the novel by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1882 of the same name, based on the Sannyasi Rebellion in the late 1700s.
This song was sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Music was given by Hemant Kumar. The movie was directed by Hemen Gupta, and starred Bharat Bhushan, Geeta Bali and Pradeep Kumar.
Home to the Indus Valley civilization and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history.
Visit our website to learn more about Indian Sites

7 Comments
National Anthem of India is sung daily before the schools start in India. This helps the children to get know about their nation and its greatness!
Hello to all, since I am really eager of reading
this web site’s post to be updated on a regular basis.
It contains good information.
Thank you for this place distinctive and clarifying concent.
Life’s two Great Questions Why me and What do I do now
here u uhv mentioned playing time for national anthem 52sec but not the playing time for nationl song Vande matram…????????????i want 2 knw that????
You are provide good Oriya people photo. I am very impressed on ur blog.
y <a href="http:// ohttp://www.odishatoday.org/” target=”_blank”>http://www.odishatoday.org/
Thanks! If you wish you may submit Travel articles about Orissa as a guest writer.
One Trackback
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kishore Joshi and Subrato Paul, Subrato Paul. Subrato Paul said: Independence Day @viikassood @CGmagia @dindianbieber @KishoreJoshi http://wp.me/pPMoR-il Your comments on blog highly appreciated […]