A Tribute Brought From The Old Pages Of Tagore

Bharat Mata, painting by Rabindranath Tagore, who was the principal artist of the Bengal school and the first major exponent of swadeshi values in Indian art.




B ankim Chandra composed the song Vande Mataram in an inspired moment. Rabindranath Tagore sang it by setting a glorious tune to it and it was left to the genius of Shri Aurobindo to interpret the deeper meaning of the song out of which India received the philosophy of new Nationalism. He did this in English.

An hour before Jawarhar Nehru made his famous speech “ Tryst with destiny…” on the night of 14-15 August, 1947, Vande Mataram had been sung by Smt Sucheta Kripalani at 11pm at The Constituent Assembly to whom power was to be transferred. This was followed by Pandit Nehru's “ Tryst with destiny…” at the stroke of the midnight hour.

India was now free.



The o riginal Bengali version of Vande Mataram

Vande maataraM
sujalaaM suphalaaM malayaja shiitalaaM
SasyashyaamalaaM maataram ||

Shubhrajyotsnaa pulakitayaaminiiM
pullakusumita drumadala shobhiniiM
suhaasiniiM sumadhura bhaashhiNiiM
sukhadaaM varadaaM maataraM ||

Koti koti kantha kalakalaninaada karaale
koti koti bhujai.rdhR^itakharakaravaale
abalaa keno maa eto bale
bahubaladhaariNiiM namaami taariNiiM
ripudalavaariNiiM maataraM ||

Tumi vidyaa tumi dharma
tumi hR^idi tumi marma
tvaM hi praaNaaH shariire

Baahute tumi maa shakti
hR^idaye tumi maa bhakti
tomaara i pratimaa gaDi
mandire mandire ||

TvaM hi durgaa dashapraharaNadhaariNii
kamalaa kamaladala vihaariNii
vaaNii vidyaadaayinii namaami tvaaM
Namaami kamalaaM amalaaM atulaaM
SujalaaM suphalaaM maataraM ||

ShyaamalaaM saralaaM susmitaaM bhuushhitaaM
DharaNiiM bharaNiiM maataraM |"


And the English translation by Shree Aurobindo

Mother, I bow to thee!
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
bright with orchard gleams,
Cool with thy winds of delight,
Dark fields waving Mother of might,
Mother free.
Glory of moonlight dreams,
Over thy branches and lordly streams,
Clad in thy blossoming trees,
Mother, giver of ease
Laughing low and sweet!
Mother I kiss thy feet,
Speaker sweet and low!
Mother, to thee I bow.
Who hath said thou art weak in thy lands
When the sword flesh out in the seventy million hands
And seventy million voices roar
Thy dreadful name from shore to shore?
With many strengths who art mighty and stored,
To thee I call Mother and Lord!
Though who savest, arise and save!
To her I cry who ever her foeman drove
Back from plain and Sea
And shook herself free.

Thou art wisdom, thou art law,
Thou art heart, our soul, our breath
Though art love divine, the awe
In our hearts that conquers death.
Thine the strength that nervs the arm,
Thine the beauty, thine the charm.
Every image made divine
In our temples is but thine.

Thou art Durga, Lady and Queen,
With her hands that strike and her
swords of sheen,
Thou art Lakshmi lotus-throned,
And the Muse a hundred-toned,
Pure and perfect without peer,
Mother lend thine ear,
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleems,
Dark of hue O candid-fair
In thy soul, with jewelled hair
And thy glorious smile divine,
Lovilest of all earthly lands,
Showering wealth from well-stored hands!
Mother, mother mine!
Mother sweet, I bow to thee,
Mother great and free!

A TRIBUTE FROM THE OLD PAGES BROUGHT TO YOU BY SUNKAN</SPAN>

 

thanku shanthi,
i am happy if ur kid gets to see the pic, previously when we had only radio this is the first song coming up , vande maatharam, and so soothing you know the programme is starting but now we hardly have the same enthusiasm and many such heritage get lost...sunkan

 

thanku TDU,
for dropping in, yes i know these songs we have heard daily as young but i dont think i can vouch for my grandchildren if they come by they would know...regards sunkan

 

thanku pushpa,
been hunting from yesterday for the original vande matharam, which was the opening song those days, but plenty of latest latha, and A R Rehman doing the rounds...it is so nice to hear we could kindle the old memories love sunkan