Page 61 - Mann Ki Baat - English
P. 61
Who hath said thou art weak of despair. This song rekindled
in thy lands their spirit. At the dawn of the first
When the sword flash out in decade of the twentieth century,
the seventy million hands And the nation began to turn onto a
seventy million voices roar new path. The people found in
Thy dreadful name from this song, a life-infusing force
shore to shore? that became their enduring
With many strengths who art companion on the perilous road
mighty and stored, To thee I call
of struggle. Their unwavering faith
Mother and Lord!
in Vande Mataram never faltered.
Thou who savest, arise and
Many went to the gallows singing
save!
it. Enduring countless political
(Translation by Sri Aurobindo)
blows, Vande Mataram preserved
Regarding the reference
its inspirational energy unbroken.
to seven crore voices, it is
Times changed, circumstances
noteworthy that Bankim Chandra
changed, people changed;
Chattopadhyay had used the
even democracy evolved and
population of Bengal in 1872,
with it, mindsets shifted—yet
while the population of India at
that time was 30 crores. Vande Mataram never allowed
With this extraordinary the radiant, hopeful image of
craftsmanship of emotion, Mother India, both powerful and
language and style, Bankim affectionate, to fade. Its lasting
Chandra Chattopadhyay presence stands as a testament
touched the hearts of millions to the ideological unity of the
who had sunk into the depths Indian spirit.
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