NEW:IS THE EDUCATION SYSTEM DOING IT RIGHT?

DO WE REALLY KNOW OUR NATIONAL ANTHEM?

Every Indian is familiar with ‘Jana Gana Mana’-the national anthem of the country of India. But does anybody really, truly know it?

“Yes, of course!”

This will be the response of almost all Indians if I ever happen to ask this question from each one of you. But I ask you to give it a second thought.

Carefully read and analyse the following statements of the grand-old anthem of the country of India:

जन गण मन अधिनायक जय हे
भारत भाग्यविधाता
पंजाब सिन्धु गुजरात मराठा
द्राविड़ उत्कल बंगा
विन्ध्य हिमाचल यमुना गंगा
उच्छल जलधि तरंगा
तव शुभ नामे जागे
तव शुभ आशीष मागे
गाहे तव जयगाथा

जन गण मंगलदायक जय हे
भारत भाग्यविधाता
जय हे, जय हे, जय हे
जय जय जय जय हे!

Now, I request you to do another thing for me. Translate the simple anthem in a simple and understandable language, preferably in English or Hindi. State the meaning and significance of these words. Can you do it?

Well, I’m sure most of you weren’t successful in translating the entire song. And for those of you who were able to give an ENTIRE, WORD-TO-WORD AND MEANINGFUL TRANSLATION of this anthem, well, this article is not for you.

National anthems are played on national holidays and festivals, and have also come to be closely connected with political, social and sporting events. In some countries like India, the national anthem is played to students each day at the start of school as an exercise in patriotism. A little baby is conditioned to parrot out the national anthem from his/her very first day of school. This conditioning is continuously done for the next 12 years till the music as well as the lyrics of the national anthem gets permanently stored in every citizen’s brain cells for a lifetime. In other countries the anthem may be played in a theatre before a play or in a cinema before a movie. Many radio and television stations have adopted this and play the national anthem when they sign on in the morning and again when they sign off at night.

Now, I’m not saying that there is something wrong with this age-old tradition of singing the national anthem. In fact, this is a truly magnificent and a perfectly appropriate practice. This collective system of chanting the anthem of  our respective countries is very special, as it allows every human being on this Earth to exercise patriotism for his/her own country, and grants him/her the equal right and opportunity to do so.

But, there is something all of us have to understand:

WHY are people continuously encouraged to sing the national anthem throughout their entire life? WHY a school-going child has to spend an extra few minutes to remember the words that symbolize his/her nation,every single morning? WHY, JUST WHY?

These could be the possible reasons:

1)    The national anthem creates a sense of pride and common identity among the citizens of the country.

2)    It is a reminder of significant national/cultural/patriotic events.

3)    It helps people to realize the greatness of their nation.

4)    It helps to instill the feeling of nationality in them.

5)    It helps to unite them.

But, let me ask you an obvious question.

 HOW ARE ANY OF THE ABOVE MENTIONED GOALS BEING ACHIEVED IF NOBODY KNOWS THE TRUE MEANING, VALUE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NATIONAL ANTHEM?

I believe that they are not being achieved on a large scale. The true reasons and the sole purposes of the very existence of our national anthem are unfortunately, not paid attention to.

Before I suggest a solution, I want you to once go through the translation and meaning of the Indian national anthem carefully:

जन गण मन अधिनायक जय हे

पंजाब सिन्धु गुजरात मराठा
द्राविड़ उत्कल बंगा
विन्ध्य हिमाचल यमुना गंगा
उच्छल जलधि तरंगा
तव शुभ नामे जागे
तव शुभ आशीष मागे
गाहे तव जयगाथा

जन गण मंगलदायक जय हे
भारत भाग्यविधाता
जय हे, जय हे, जय हे
जय जय जय जय हे!

TRANSLATION:

Thou are the ruler of the minds of all people,
Dispenser of India's destiny.

Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sindhu, Gujarat and Maratha,
Of the Dravida, Utkala and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of Yamuna and Ganga and is
chanted by the waves of the Indian Ocean.
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.

GLOSSARY:

जन गण (Jana gaṇa) : जन refers to ‘people’ while गण refers to a ‘multitude’. जन गण refers to a multitude of people i.e. all people of the country of India.

मन (Mana): This term has multiple meanings like the mind, heart, soul, imagination, subject or introspection. But over here, it refers to the human mind.

अधिनायक (Adhi nayaka) : Leader/ruler.

जय हे( Jaya hai): जय refers to ‘victory’. The term ‘जय हे’ is a typical Indian phrase of praise which is used to wish victory to someone.

भारत भाग्यविधाता (Bhaarat bhaagya vidhaata) : भारत refers to India. भाग्यविधाता refers to dispenser of destiny. भारत भाग्यविधाता refers to the Dispenser of India's destiny.

पंजाब (Punjab), सिन्धु (Sindhu), गुजरात (Gujarat), मराठा (Maratha or Maharashtra), द्राविड़ (Dravida/South India), उत्कल (Utkala/Odisha), बंगा(Bengal): Regions of India.

विन्ध्य (Vindhyas), हिमाचल(Himachal/Himalayas): Mountain ranges of India.

यमुना(Yamuna), गंगा (Ganga): Sacred rivers of India.

उच्छल (Uchhala): The way in which high waves rise upwards.

जलधि(Jaladhi): Ocean. Refers to the Indian Ocean.

तरंगा (Taranga): Waves.

तव( Tava): Yours(or Thy).

 शुभ (Shubh): Good(Refers to the goodness of praise and blessings).

 नामे (Name): Name-Which refers to respect in this context.

 जागे(Jaage): Awake.

आशीष (Aashish): Blessings.

मागे(Maange): To seek.

गाहे (Gaahe): To sing.

जयगाथा(Jaya Gaatha): Song of praise.

मंगलदायक (Mangal da yak): One who offers happiness/saving/salvation.

Now, let us move forward to the solution.

THE SOLUTION-LIES IN THE INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM

Let me just tell you this. Not being fully aware of the true meaning, value and significance of the Indian National Anthem is NOT completely our fault. There can be multiple reasons for this kind of situation, and, there can be multiple solutions. But the biggest and simplest solution, I believe, lies in the Indian Education system. The type of conditioning given to us in school emphasizes more on reciting the national anthem rather than defining it. This type of conditioning gets so deeply rooted into our subconscious mind that every time we hear the national anthem being played, we feel the compulsive urge to sing along without getting deep into its meaning, value and significance. So what's happening? 

The music as well as the lyrics of the national anthem gets permanently stored in every citizen’s brain cells for a lifetime-but NOT its meaning.

Another thing that I have noticed is that a large number of people make mistakes while reciting the anthem. For instance, some people pronounce the line ‘गाहे तव जयगाथा’ as ‘गाहे सव जयगाथा’  or ‘गाहे सब जयगाथा’ . This mistake can be fixed if people are made to know what they are singing.

For so many ages, we have been tested on enormous amounts of poems in literature as a part of our curriculum-which a student of every grade and level has to learn.  So why can’t our national anthem be included in our syllabus? Why can’t students be made to learn the anthem on an elementary level? I think if students between class 1 and 5 can be taught about the various other national symbols of the country in G.K, and can be made to sing their national anthem first thing in the morning, they can also be taught how to define it.

                                                                           -Thank You.
Copyright © Upasana Goyal 2014