Bharat Desh Hamara Hai!

As we celebrate 60 years of Republic India today, memories of those days in school when we used to look forward to the celebrations have been playing on my mind. Republic Day and Independence day for me meant the programs in school, followed by a wonderful musical evening in honour of those war heroes who are awake at dawn or dusk keeping vigil for us to be able to lead a peaceful life every single day and the eternal heroes who got us the freedom we enjoy today . Me and sis were part of a group which performed in the same 😀   I still remember how we used to get ready to go, all the while running to the living room to catch up with the movie running – somehow I remember it to be Roja for most of the yrs 😛

My music teachers in school Naglakshmi and Malini deserve a special mention here for the gr8 work they used to put in training a group of about 20 of us every year to sing some wonderful patriotic songs. And every yr, come August or January, we sisters could just not wait to know which songs featured in the list that time. It was the excitement about learning new songs as much as getting to perform on such a special occasion too.

My music teachers have really played a very important role in shaping my life … well, however and whatever it is now I mean 😛   Thanks to Nagalakshmi, we had even got a chance to perform on AIR quite a few times and even on Doordarshan for I-day once. I was in Class5 then and it was a music program where each one of us represented one state in our attire and rendered a few songs. I was from Rajasthan 😀   I am still in touch with them and it feels so nice to be so after sooo many years 🙂

Malini madam is visually challenged, but she is more enthusiastic than many of us probably and always has this smile on her face … I hv never seen her brood over it or complaining.  One such year, she was telling us that she had been to a Music conference for the visually challenged, where she met 5 sisters who were from Pakistan. They had written a song on India and needless to say, that featured in our list of songs to be performed that year.  M and N composed the music for the song and we were ready to go. It was a huge hit and people were touched esp. when she told them who had penned down the same.

Now that I hv blown my own trumpet and told u this long story, I would love to share this song with all of u. When we common folks have no problem with any nation or people, what are these attacks going on for 😦 Letz all hope that better times are waiting ahead and send out a prayer for the same. Peace be to all!

भारत देश हमारा है

प्राण से बढ्कर प्यारा है ।

झ्ण्डा इस्का न्यारा है

इस्को हमने निखारा है ।

ईश्वर का वरदान है ये

बापु का अरमान है ये ।

धर्मो की पहचान है ये

हम सब का अभिमान है ये ।

नदियो की भौचार है ये

कवियो का श्रुन्गार है ये ।

भाषा का भण्डार है ये

एकता की पुकार है ये ।

वीरो की कुरुबानी है

ये अन्मोल निशानी है ।

अपनी ज़िन्दगानी है

इस देश की अमर कहानी है ।

हिन्दुस्तान आज़ाद रहे

ये धरती आबाद रहे ।

कोई ना फ़रियाद रहे

अपनी वाणी मे स्वाद रहे !

Btw, did any of get a chance to listen to Phir Mile Sur?  ‘Mile Sure Mera Tumhara’ does arouse that sense of patriotism every time we listen to it isn’t it?  I kind of liked Phir Mile Sur too [in bits and pieces] 🙂

What better way to celebrate the day than attending a wonderful music concert by Pt.Shivkumar Sharma and Ustad Zakir Hussain ‘The splendor of the Masters .. together thru the decades‘  Life has really been musical of late 😉

P.S: I did try to put the meaning in English, but somehow felt I cud nt do justice to this song. Its beauty lies in its simplicity for me and any attempt to do the same may not preserve it. Sorry 🙂

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq31OjsQ124