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Jana Gana Mana is the national anthem of India. Written in highly Sanskritized (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 at the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress on 27 December 1911. It was originally called Morning Song of India. Jana Gana Mana was officially adopted by the Constituent Assembly as the Indian National Anthem on January 24, 1950. 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) and set down the notation at Madanapalle, which is followed till this day.It is of interest that another poem by Tagore (Amar Shonar Bangla) is the national anthem of Bangladesh.

 

Rabindranath Tagore translated Jana Gana Mana from Bengali to English and also set it to music in our town Madanapalle.

 

Please click here to see the transcript

Though the Bengali song was written in 1911, it was largely unknown except to the readers of the Brahmo Samaj journal, "Tatva Bodha Prakasika", of which Tagore was the editor.

 

During 1918-19, Tagore accepted an invitation from his friend and Irish poet James H. Cousins, the former Principal of our College to spend a few days in the College Campus. On the evening of February 28, he joined a gathering of students and upon Cousins' request, sang the Jana Gana Mana in Bengali. In the days that followed, enchanted by the dreamy hills of Madanapalle, Tagore wrote down the English translation of the song and along with Cousins' wife, Mrs. Margaret Cousins (an expert in Western music), set down the notation which is followed till this day.

 

Today, in the library of our College the framed photocopy of English translation is displayed. Cottage where Tagore stayed from 25-02-1919 to 02-03-1919 and translated the present National Anthem into English is located in the premises of our College.

 

Code of conduct:

 

There are few set rules about reciting "Jana Gana Mana" which includes not singing it under any cover or under any imperfect state of mind. Not doing so is to show disrespect to the national anthem. Rule related to not singing Jana Gana Mana under any cover corresponds to the freedom of yourself and hence of your country while the other rule just of mind may lead in incorrect recitations which is again a disregard to our country.

 

Celebrating Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore:

 

On 27-12-2010 the Day of beginning of the Year Long Centenary celebrations of the writing of Janagana Mana by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore was celebrated in Besant Hall of the College.

 

But, the College felt that it would be ideal to celebrate the culmination on 24th January 2012 to coincide it with 62 years of adoption of Janagana Mana as the National Anthem of our Country, completion of 100 years of writing of Janagana Mana, and the completion of 150th Birth Anniversary of Gurudev Tagore, On that occasion Sri. N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, the Honourable Chief Minister of AP and his Cabinet colleagues : Sri. N. Raghuveera Reddy, Smt. Galla Aruna Kumari, Sri. Sai Pratap, Honourable MP and the members of Legislative Assembly had participated in the function and made it a grand success. Further the function was graced by Sri. K. Chiranjeevi, the matinee idol and the Honourable Minister for Tourism and Sri. M. Venkaiah Naidu, the Honourable MP. The college ground was thronged with School children and College students. It was a grand occasion marked by patriotic fervor. All the children recited our National Anthem several times to make an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records.

 

A word of thanks to Sri. C. Narasimha Reddy, BJP Leader and former Chairman of our College Students Union for extending whole hearted support and facilitating the College to invite the dignitaries. Further, the College thanks the Leaders of Student Unions affiliated to various political parties for extending their cooperation. Thanks are also due to the staff of all the Government Departments like Revenue, Roads and Buildings, Municipality and Police etc.,

 

Sri. N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, the Honourable Chief Minister of AP had declared open the bust of Gurudev Tagore installed just in front of the Tagore Cottage and at the meeting announced a grant of Rs. 6 crore for Tagore Auditorium, Tagore Cottage Renovation, Library, Museum, Reading Room and Meditation Hall. Construction of Compound Wall to protect the property of the College was also included in the above grant.

 

Further the function became successful with the unstinted co-operation of the members of teaching and non-teaching staff of the College, Management and Members of staff of other Educational Institutions in the town.