Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka jaya he

Bharata-bhagya-vidhata

Panjaba-Sindh-Gujarata-Maratha

Dravida-Utkala-Banga

Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga

Uchchala-jaladhi-taranga

Tava[j] Subha name jage,

Tava[j] subha asisa mage,

gahe tava[j] jaya-gatha.

Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he

Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.

Jaya he, Jaya he, Jaya he,

Jaya jaya jaya jaya he.

English translation of Jana Gana mana by Rabindranath Tagore - National Anthem Of India

Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,

the dispenser of India's destiny.

Thy name rouses the hearts of the Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat and Maratha,

of the Dravida, Orissa and Bengal.

It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas, mingles in the music of the Jamuna and Ganges

and is chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.

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.

History of Jana gana Mana

The National Anthem of India is titled "Jana Gana Mana". The song was originally composed in Bengali by India's first Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore on 11 December 1911. The parent song, 'Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata' is a Brahmo hymn that has five verses and only the first verse has been adopted as the national anthem.

If put forward succinctly, the anthem conveys the spirit of pluralism or in a more popular term the concept of 'unity in diversity', which lies at the core of India's cultural heritage. The lyrics of the song first appeared in 5 stanzas in Bengali magazine in an issue of Tatwabodhini Patrika.

The melody of the song, in raga Alhaiya Bilaval, was composed as a Brahmo Hymn by Tagore himself with possibly some help from his musician grand-nephew Dinendranath Tagore. The final form of the song before the first public performance was set on 11 December 1911.

The song was first publicly sung on the second day of the annual session of the Indian National Congress in Calcutta (now Kolkata) on 27 December 1911 by Rabindranath Tagore's niece in her school assembly.

 Then, it was followed in January 1912 at the annual event of the Adi Brahmo Samaj, However, it was largely unknown except to the readers of the Adi Brahmo Samaj journal, Tattwabodhini Patrika. The poem was published in January 1912, under the title Bharat Bhagya Bidhata in the Tatwabodhini Patrika, which was the official publication of the Brahmo Samaj with Tagore then the Editor.

In 1917, the song was again performed at the Congress conference and this time in aid of instrumental music by the Mahraja Bahadur of Nattore. Outside of Calcutta, the song was first sung by the bard himself at a session in Besant Theosophical College in Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh on 28 February 1919 when Tagore visited the college and sang the song.

 The song enthralled the college students and Margaret Cousins, then vice-principal of the college (also an expert in European music and wife of Irish poet Dr James Cousins).

Based on the notes provided by Tagore himself, the song was preserved in 1919 in Western notation at Madanapalle of Andhra Pradesh by Mrs. Margaret Cousins and her students. The whole episode was recorded by Dr. Cousins in his autobiography "We Two Together":

 In a voice surprisingly light for so large a man, he sang something like a piece of geography giving a list of countries, mountains and rivers; and in the second verse, a list of the religions in India. The refrain to the first made us pick up our ears. The refrain to the second verse made us clear our throats.

 We asked for it again and again, and before long we were singing it with gusto: Jaya hai, Jaya hai, Jaya hai, Jaya JayaJayaJaya hai (Victory, victory, victory to thee).

We had no idea who or what was to have the victory. The next day Rabindranath gave the swarams(notes) of "Jana gana" to Mrs.Cousins so that the melody should have accurate permanent record.

He also translated the song into English as 'The Morning Song of India'. Thus, Mrs. Cousins became probably the first person to transcribe and preserve Tagore's composition in Western sheet music notation at Madanapalle based on the notes provided by Tagore himself.

And soon it took its place in the "daily deciation" of the combined school and college of Besant Hall in Madanapalle and is still sung to this date. It was also here that the song was first translated into English by Tagore as "The Morning Song of India".

 1942 orchestral instrumental recording (with narrated intro) Duration: 1 minute and 41 seconds.1:41 Performed by the Radio Hamburg Chamber Orchestra as the national anthem of India on 11 September 1942 in Hamburg, Germany Problems playing this file? See media help.

The song was selected as the national anthem by Subhas Chandra Bose while he was in Germany. On the occasion of the founding meeting of the German-Indian Society on 11 September 1942 in the Hotel Atlantic in Hamburg, "Jana Gana Mana" was played for the first time by the Hamburg Radio Symphony Orchestra as the national anthem of India.

The musical notations for this interpretation of the song were prepared by B.L. Mukherjee and Ambik Majumdar.

 Before it officially became the national anthem of India in 1950, "Jana Gana Mana" was heard in the 1945 film Hamrahi.

 It was also adopted as a school song of The Doon School, Dehradun in 1935.

 On the occasion of India attaining freedom, the Indian Constituent Assembly assembled for the first time as a sovereign body at midnight on 14 August 1947; the session closed with a unanimous performance of "Jana Gana Mana".

The members of the Indian delegation to the General Assembly of the United Nations held in New York in 1947 gave a recording of "Jana Gana Mana" as the country's national anthem. The song was played by the house orchestra in front of a gathering consisting of representatives from all over the world.