It was a hymn (song) which brought together, all the people from Afghanistan to Myanmar and Kashmir to Trincomalee, shedding their selfishness to work for a common cause that is breaking the shackles of their mother – free their motherland.
It was the Mantra on the lips of the freedom fighters who offered themselves as ahuti (sacrificial objects) in the yagnakunda (holy fire) or at the altar of the national service.
It is a mantra of just two simple words which can be uttered by anybody without any training or linguistic proficiency. Yet, it is a power packed capsule which is a remedy to wake us up from slumber of slavery or ignorance and energizing us to live for a higher cause. Yes, it is Vande Mataram which means ‘ Mother, I bow thee’ or ‘ I worship you, Mother’.
It was written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee who served as Deputy Magistrate in Jessore and various other places in Eastern part of the country. He had literary proficiency in Sanskrit and Bengali which enabled him to author many poems and novels. He was considered as the father of literary renaissance in Bengal.
Once, he was travelling from Jessore ( in present day Bangladesh) to Kolkata. As the train was moving in Barakah valley, he was captivated by the scenic beauty of the land and his poetic mind gave birth to this song. The exact date when he penned this poem is not known. It is estimated to be between 1872 and 1875. However, it was included in his magnum opus Ananda Math, novel published on November 7, 1875, the same is considered as the birth date of the song.
It [Vande Mataram] was adopted as a National Song at the Varanasi session of the All-India Congress Committee on September 7, 1905. Hence, this day is celebrated as Vande Mataram day by the nationalists. However, due to the appeasement policy followed by Indian National Congress, the song was truncated to two stanzas which only continues as the official version of the Government of India.
The song originally written in Sanskrit has 6 stanzas of various meters. The song describes the beauty of the fertile prosperous land which could be done by any poet. However, where Bankim Chandra excels others is his approach to this country as living and vibrating Mother, Goddess Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi- embodiment of power, wealth and knowledge. For him Bharata Mata is just not a piece of land.
Thus, his description of Bharata Mata, made everyone to consider themselves as the sons and daughters of a common beloved mother and to sink the differences of caste, creed, economic status and join the freedom struggle.
In Tamil, Mahakavi Bharati has rendered two versions of Vande Mataram. First one was a verbatim translation and the second one was his free translation rendering the essence and spirit of the song.
