9. Bande Mataram . . .
Mother, I bow to Thee . . .This was the original national anthem of India, and the source of profound inspiration in the long struggle for India's independence.
The lines of the song were written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, the greatest novelist of Bengal and one of her men of supreme genius. In one of his greatest novels, Ananda Math, we find the lines as a song.
No Indian will forget the role that this national song, Bande Mataram, played in the patriotic feeling of the Indian people. It served a Divine purpose in energising them in their long struggle for freedom. High into the sky rose its flames of incantation from the burning hearts of the patriots.
Many different tunes were put to this song over the years. The present one was composed by a great musician of India, Dilip Kumar Roy.
