In a first for Indian sport at the international level, the national song Vande Mataram, which is penned by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, was played after the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, ahead of India's opening T20 International against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday.
As per a directive from the Union Home Ministry, all six stanzas of Vande Mataram were played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Together, the national anthem (52 seconds) and the national song (3 minutes and 10 seconds) took up a combined four minutes and two seconds before the start of play.
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The Ministry of Home Affairs issued guidelines on February 6, governing the rendition of Vande Mataram as part of the 150th-anniversary commemorations of the national song. The guidelines prescribe an official rendition of Vande Mataram lasting 3 minutes and 10 seconds, with everyone present required to stand at attention while the song is being played.
They also sanction the rendition of the complete six-stanza version at formal government functions attended by the President or Governors, both before and after presidential addresses broadcast on radio and television, when the National Flag is brought out during parades, and on other similar occasions.
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The first two stanzas of Vande Mataram were adopted as the national song by the Indian National Congress in 1937, while the Constituent Assembly of India formally recognised it as the National Song in 1950.
It would be fascinating to know if both the national anthem and national song would be sung at the next ICC tournaments, as this is the first time they have been performed in a sporting stadium.
(With PTI Inputs)
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