Check out the article in Times of India- Chennai Times
Sing it with pride!
CTfinds out what makes our national anthem so popular in and outside India
IT was a proud moment for India when our national anthem, Jana Gana Mana,
was declared the best national anthem in the world by UNESCO. Be it in a movie
theatre or during national events, this song unites one and all as we stand up
to pay our respects to the country. Music composer and singer AR Rahman brought
out his version of the national anthem, while a production house released a CD
of national songs recently. What makes this song so popular even today?
“It has a soul-stirring tune,” says music composer
Vishal of the Vishal-Shekhar duo. “Forget about it being the national anthem,
even the lyrics and the composition of the song are very touching. It has
strong values attached to it. The song encompasses our diverse culture and
everyone can relate to it,” he says.
Singer Raageshwari says the song is a masterpiece. “It mentions all the
regions and the rivers. It brings out the national spirit beautifully,” she
says. “The best thing about the song is that the tune is so melodious that even
if you don’t understand the words, it tugs at your heart strings. The song
doesn’t need any orchestration and can do well with just vocals,” says
Raageshwari. She points out that people from o t h e r countries also love this
song. “I’ve sung the national anthem at many places outside India and it’s been
received well. My friends from other countries who’re into hip hop and rock
also love our national anthem because of its melody. It’s a very emotional
song,” she says.
Singer Naresh Iyer agrees. “The music and the lyrics have a mass appeal,
which is the reason it’s so popular. The composition is also great,” he says.
And although the song is outstanding, does the youth of today relate to our
national anthem? “Definitely,” says Vishal, adding, “At school,
many of us sing this song without understanding the meaning, but since the tune
is so melodious, we remember it.” Raageshwari feels that an audio-visual
presentation of this song will make the youth relate to it more. “An
audio-visual showing the common man as the hero will definitely make the youth
feel more patriotic and take pride in our song. The problem is that we’re very
restrictive in our ways of showing national pride. We can’t wear T-shirts or
carry bags that have our national flag on them. So an audio-visual would
definitely work,” she says.
Naresh feels it all depends on the lessons imbibed by the youth today.
“It’s very good that we play Jana Gana Mana in movie theatres. But it depends
on the teaching given to this generation and the future generations. We have to
make sure that we cultivate the national spirit in our generations to come,”
Naresh says.
Yuva
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