[This is
a follow-up to my 2003 article in defense of Rabindranath Tagore's Jana Gana
Mana Adhinayaka as an homage to his Motherland (Tagore and Jana Gana Mana,
Countercurrents- Click Here. For a more extended discussion, see click here). This is Part II of the same, beginning with
my translation of this phenomenal poem in its entirety. Also, for one and all, here is a most soulful
rendition of JGM from the usually unfamiliar Stanza 2 onwards by a gathering of
some of (currently) Bengal's most accomplished musicians, headlined by Kabir
Suman (erstwhile Suman Chatterjee)- Click Here
Monish
R Chatterjee. ]
Tagore photo from Nobel Prize archive
(Image by The Nobel Prize webpage biography of Tagore) Details DMCA
Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka-
(The original Homage to the Motherland with unrevealed remnants)
Rabindranath Tagore
Translation  © Monish R Chatterjee 2020
Ruler
of the minds of the people, Hail to Thee
Sovereign of Bharata's
Destiny!
From
the Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat and Maratha
From
the Dravida, Utkala and Banga-
From
the Vindhyas, Himachala, Yamuna and Ganga
In
ecstasy rise the surging waves -
With your auspicious name they
awaken
It is your benediction they seek, beholden
Their voices, in unison, sing to
your triumphant glory!
Granter
of beneficence to the people, Hail to Thee
Sovereign of Bharata's
Destiny!
Hail to Thee! Hail to Thee! Hail to Thee!
Ceaseless has
your summons proceeded
Your all-embracing call heard far
and wide
Hindu,
Buddhist, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Mussalman and Christian
East
and West, all assembled by your resplendent throne
Stringing
together a grand garland of universal love.
Grantor
of Unity amid myriad Diversity, Hail to Thee
Sovereign of Bharata's
Destiny!
Hail to Thee! Hail to Thee! Hail to Thee!
Declines
and resurrections strewn across perilous pathways
Even as tangled travelers rush
across the ages-
O Eternal
Commander, night and day the trails resound
With
the reassuring rumble of your chariot-wheels.
In
the midst of the greatest turmoil, has arisen the celestial
Siren
of your victory-conch, O Deliverer from peril and fear.
Eternal
guide of the people through time, Hail to Thee
Sovereign of Bharata's
Destiny!
Hail to Thee! Hail to Thee! Hail to Thee!
Comatose, sunken
in the deepest impenetrable darkness, supine
Lay Bharata; through the gravest
times your tender gaze
Remained
awake and vigilant, safeguarding this blessed land.
Through
our worst nightmares and spells of terror, you offered
Safety
and refuge in your lap, O infinitely loving Mother!
Rescuer
from every suffering of the people, Hail to Thee
Sovereign of Bharata's
Destiny!
Hail to Thee! Hail to Thee! Hail to Thee!
At long last,
the Night was dispelled by Dawn, the Sun arose
Atop the mountains to the East; the
skies filled with
Birdsongs,
the air with gentle breezes, pouring fresh new life.
Touched
by your compassionate radiance, Bharata awoke
From
her slumber, head bowed to your hallowed feet.
Hail,
Hail, Hail to Thee, O Monarch of Monarchs
Sovereign of Bharata's
Destiny!
Hail to Thee! Hail to Thee! Hail to Thee!
Commentary:
More
than 15 years ago, I wrote an article in defense of Rabindranath Tagore (RNT) and
the context of his having written the heart-stirring homage, Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka Jaya He (JGM)
to his Motherland, long before it was ever considered the National Anthem of
independent India (Tagore had left the mortal world in 1941, 6 years before the
terribly fractured independence arrived at India's door.) At least a decade prior to that, I had been
approached by an older friend and mentor asking that I examine the history of
JGM and put together a spirited defense of a lasting work (out of an
uncountable number of priceless literary and philosophical gems he has left
behind for all of humanity) by Tagore, pitted against needless slurs, almost
always stemming from ignorance and poor judgment.
That
essay (written in 2000; published at Countercurrents.org in 2003) has since
generated much conversation across the Net, and in perusing these, which
include many that are positive and regenerative, sometimes used to further
bolster the noble work by Tagore in adoration of Bharat Mata (whom he labels Bharata Bhagya Vidhata), and yet others
that continue the dishonorable smearing of a work by one of humanity's greatest
representatives across all time (I maintain time and again, that millennia from
now, if humanity has not wiped itself out, Tagore's name will persist as one of
the greatest emblems of the very highest in human evolution, and his presence
into the farthest past and the unrealized future with equal visionary outreach
at all levels of creativity, will resound well past the immediacy of many
(often deserving) temporal heroes).
In these 15 years, I have learned a great deal more about JGM, and have often felt impelled to add to my defense of JGM and Tagore. And now, as India's stridently fundamentalist government and it intolerant minions are set on the path to undoing India's glorious traditions of tolerance and inclusiveness, I am hearing fresh new rumblings, now bolstered further by sectarian, hate-based, bigoted political figures, regarding JGM and even a move towards its replacement.
India (and Bengal) should be rightly proud that we can call RNT one of our own, and he wanted nothing more than that (I could go indefinitely on this topic alone). Stacked against national anthems of many a nation, I think India's, by the beneficent, visionary mind of RNT, stands tall, proud and supremely uplifting. However, I feel the time has arrived for me to take up the defense once again, now more than ever. I would fervently hope that Indians, whose collective judgment I have always admired, will stand with me in defense of JGM and against any slanderous effort to replace this national treasure for purely sectarian reasons.
Several decades ago, when I would not have imagined that JGM could even be a subject of controversy, I recall listening to more than one musician (in formal or informal settings), often non-Bengali, sing JGM in its fuller version with utmost devotion. I had then not imagined that it may one day become crucial that this complete version be brought before my countrymen so they would see Tagore's creation in its fullness, and thereby abolish the slanderous association with the King of England. Hence, I have decided to present here a complete and full translation of JGM in its entirety, hoping that it will lay the matter to rest once and for all. Below are some of my interpretive comments relative to each stanza past the very first, which forms the National Anthem. It should become clear that Tagore's sight is upon the sweep of India's history, her triumphs and losses, her rise and fall, and how her "Compassionate Mother' has guided and protected her through the ages.
Stanza
2:
This
stanza is a paean to India's timeless dedication to Diversity as a
civilizational code- perhaps even to this day unique in the entire world. Tagore cites not only the practitioners of
several religions, but also the assimilation of East and West (a view and
campaign towards Universalism which became central to his life and work) in
this magical land which has survived so much onslaught of divisiveness through
its history. Looking back, this would
actually give us the assurance that Bharata will surely survive and outlive the
current onslaught of narrow domestic walls (Tagore's words) and bigoted
hate-mongering.
Stanza
3
In
recalling Bharata's great declines and resurrections, Tagore no doubt remembers
the various mythological and real wars in her history, from those of the
Mahabharata and Ramayana, to perhaps those with the Greeks and multitudes of
invaders down the centuries. The
reference to the chariot wheels of the Commander is no doubt an echo of the
immortal image of the greatest Sarathi
(charioteer) of all--Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Note also the reference to the divine conch
during Bharata's battles--another reference to Krishna's conch shell--the Panchajanya ("that intended for the
Five"). As the poem establishes without ambiguity, the Charioteer and Commander
in this homage is the Divine Mother of Bharata to whom he offers his
salutations.
Stanza
4
Within
the history of Bharata, we find innumerable times of great catastrophes--mahamaris (lethal epidemics), manwantvaras/famines and natural
calamities. Tagore offers worship to the
Motherland (Tagore addresses her as Snehamayi
Mata--compassionate Mother, Desh Janani, Bharat Mata, Desh Matrika--there
is simply no room here for remotely invoking an imperial ruler for his tribute)
by recalling how the blessed Motherland offered solace and refuge to all her
children in her verdant lap, in her reassuring sanctuary of comfort in times of
great suffering and turmoil.
Stanza
5
In
the final stanza, Tagore proffers a time of the reawakening of a great
civilization into the new age--characterized by the end of Bharata's stupor,
energized by sweet birdsongs and gentle breezes. He compares Bharat Mata's compassion as the
warm radiance of the Sun at dawn, which awakens a long-supine land, long
suffering under colonial oppression.
All Indians must feel solidarity with Tagore's message and his moving words of homage to their Motherland--much as they historically have in response to Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's Vande Mataram (which became the rallying call to action during India's last major struggle against colonial occupation). Tagore's vision is even more secular and non-denominational in spirit, yet he most ingeniously sculpts the first stanza into a stylized near-Sanskrit form thst the entire nation may identify with, as Bankim had done long before him. I can think of no other work, by a more worthy son of Bharat Mata, than this phenomenal homage.
Monish
R Chatterjee  ©
2020
December
25, 2020
(Article changed on December 30, 2020 at 05:17)
