Anupama Nair
In the last part, I spoke about the concept of Bharat and Bharat Mata. It continues.
During the Swadeshi movement and the agitation to withdraw the ‘1905 partition of Bengal’, the idea of India and Bengal as a mother goddess was used widely in the popular realm. Vande Mataram, (praise the Mother), was the popular anthem of the time. Bharat Mata was painted by the great painter, Abayindranath Tagore in 1905. “It represented an archaic spiritual essence, a transcendental idea of Universe as well as expressing Universal Hinduism and nationhood”. He portrayed Bharat Mata as a “four-armed Hindu goddess wearing saffron-colored robes, holding the manuscripts, sheaves of rice, a mala, and a white cloth”.
Eric Hobswam a historian gave other examples of female personifications of nations, such as in Mexico's ‘Virgin of Guadalupe’ and Catalonia's ‘Virgin of Montserrat’. These “holy icons”, imagined the nation visually and emotionally helping forge a sense of unity. During the Roman Empire, the province of Briton was visualized as ‘Britannia’, with a “woman wearing a Roman Helmet, carrying a trident in her hand”. At the time of the French Revolution, there was an idea of a “lady of liberty called as Marianne”. During the time of the American War of Independence, there was an image of “Lady Columbia”, which later became “Statue of Liberty”, built in 1920.
Then arose a view that Vande Mataram can never be the National Anthem of India. However, other streams of political thought in India at the time disagreed with this and strove to reclaim the Bankim Chandra’s tradition of “blending the nation with Hindu divinity”. Chief amongst them was Veer Savarkar, who, like Aurobindo Ghosh, had once believed in a violent struggle. Just like Ghosh, Savarkar had been sent to prison by the British and had emerged a changed man.
In his book, “Hindutva”, Savarkar drew a nationalism based on religious identity. “Charging the Indian landmass with sacredness, Savarkar's definition of nationality was based on whichever religious groups had their places of worship in the Subcontinent. Since then, we have started cultivating and using Bankim Chandra’s idea of Bharat Mata.
Bharat Mata has also been installed as a goddess in the traditional precincts of a Hindu temple during British rule. There was a Bharat Mata temple built-in 1936 whose “installed deity is a large map of the British Indian Empire”. Since the concept of Bharat Mata was first created in British India, the map of undivided Bharat is used. “Hindutva versions of Bharat Mata have her and her leonine mount floating above a map that almost always includes Pakistan and Bangladesh”. There are Bharat Mata temples in the Daulatabad Fort in Maharashtra as well as one in Haridwar, inaugurated by Indira Gandhi in 1983. There is a temple located in Calcutta and Bharat Mata (the Mother Land) is portrayed through the image of “Jagattarini Durga”. We can also see a Bharat Mata Temple in Kanya Kumari. Ramayana Mandir is inside the Bharat Mata Temple and it showcases the Valmiki Ramayana. So, Bharat Mata for me is a goddess which represents my country Bharat and she is my mother.
These is the lyrics of Vande Mataram, may it inspire nationalism in all true children of India.
“Vande Mataram, Vande Mataram
Sujalam suphalam malayajasitalam
Sasyashyamalam mataram
Vande Mataram
Shubhra Jyotsna, pulakita yaminim
Phulla kusumita, Drumadalasobhinim
Suhasinim, Sumadhura bhasinim
Sukhadam varadam mataram
Vande Mataram”
If you feel the song is in Devbasha, and you can’t understand, I will translate it for you.
“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 of freedom.
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.”
Singing this song, again and again, inspires patriotism and love for Bharat Mata. Vande Mataram and Bharat Mata ki Jai to all Indians.
Bharat Ma I love you
Bharat Ma I love you
Bharat mata ki jai
Bharat mata ki jai
Bharat mata ki jai
Bharat mata ki jai
Bharat ma ki jai
Bharat ma ki jai
Bharat ma ki jai
Bharat ma ki jai
Vandemataram from New Zealand.
Vandemataram from New Zealand.