Bankim Chandra Chatterjee 185th Birth Anniversary: Revolutionary Genius Who Gave Us ’Vande Mataram’

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The name 'Bankim Chandra' in the Bengali language means 'the moon on the second day of the bright fortnight'. An Indian novelist, poet and a journalist, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (also Chattopadhyay) was known as the 'Emperor of Literature' (Sahitya Samrat) in the Bengali literature.

The composer of Vande Mataram, he wrote it originally in Sanskrit. The song personifies India as a mother goddess and inspired freedom fighters during the Indian Independence Movement and has a place of its own in every Indian's heart. On his 185th Birth Anniversary, let us know about his early life, career, education, achievements and the national song of India that changed the fate of this nation.

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay Birth Anniversary: Birth, Early Life, Career, Education, Achievements

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was born into an orthodox Bengali Brahmin family on 27 June 1838 to mother Durgadebi Chattopadhyaya and father Yadav Chandra Chattopadhyaya in the village of Kantalpara of the 24 Paraganas District of Bengal.

He studied in a Government Zilla school, which is now Hooghly Collegiate School in West Bengal. He got a degree in law and went to Hooghly Mohsin College and later to Presidency College in 1856. After completing his education, he joined government service and was posted as Deputy Collector in Midnapur. He retired in 1891.

He was an ardent reader and had an immense interest in Sanskrit Literature. One of Chatterjee's earliest works includes a weekly newspaper called Sangbad Prabhakar and his first Bengali romance novel was Durgeshnandini, which was published in 1865.

His most famous novel Anandamath (1882) depicts a Sannyasi (Hindu ascetic) army fighting a British force and those who are unaware, it was also the source of the song Vande Mataram. Further, he also wrote a commentary on Gita called Bhagavad Gita.

Through his literary campaign in Bengal, he stimulated the intellect of people and brought out the cultural revival of Bengal. This led to the inception of a monthly magazine called Bangadarshan in 1872. Bankim passed away on 8 April 1894 in Bengal.

About National Song Of India: 'Vande Mataram'

'Vande Mataram'- We all know that these two words transformed into a magical anthem are enough to stir the patriotic spirit of India. The song was later translated into the English language by Aurobindo Ghosh and the first publication of the translated version came out on 20 November 1909. It was first performed by World Poet Rabindranath Tagore in 1896. It was selected as the National Song of India on January 24, 1950.

The original version of this patriotic song is in the Sanskrit language, then it moves to Bengali and then again ends in Sanskrit. It shows the nation as a mother who can be protective, kind, loving and humble and yet fierce when she needs to be.

'Vande Mataram': Lyrics in Sanskrit

Vande mataram! Sujalam, suphalam, malayajasitalam Sasyashyamalam mataram! Vande mataram! Shubhra jyotsna pulakitayaminim, Phulla kusumita , drumadala- sobhinim, Suhasinim, sumadhura bhasinim Sukhadam varadam mataram!

Vande mataram Legendary Bengali writer and novelist, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote the first two verses of 'Vande Mataram' and the National Song of India shares the same status as National Anthem 'Jana Gana Mana' and was later adopted by the Constituent Assembly.

Vande Mataram: Lyrics And Meaning in English

"Mother, I bow to thee! Rich with thy hurrying streams, bright with orchard gleams, Cool with thy winds of delight, Dark fields waving Mother of might, Mother free. Glory of moonlight dreams, Over thy branches and lordly streams, Clad in thy blossoming trees, Mother, giver of ease Laughing low and sweet! Mother I kiss thy feet, Speaker sweet and low! Mother, to thee I bow."

Revolutionary turned spiritualist Aurobindo Ghosh termed it the 'Anthem of Bengal' and rendered the English translation titled 'I bow to thee, Mother' and it appeared in the weekly periodical Karmayogin on 20 November, 1909. Out of six verses, only the first two were adopted as the national song in 1950.

The power-packed patriotic verses of this song had a very strong impact on contemporary nationalists and once it was translated in English, the song was popularised among international audiences as well. Despite the complexity of the language, this song evokes the same emotion in everyone.

Set into many tunes, Vande Mataram is considered as one of the most popular songs in the world. Be it Rabindranath Tagore, Ravi Shankar, A R Rahman, prominent poets and musicians have belted out their own version of this song. Cambridge scholars recognize the song as "the greatest and most enduring gift of the Swadeshi movement"