INTERNATIONAL: National Anthem is played again in Germany

FROM THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

NEWS SHARED BY AARDEE

Hamburg, Nov 14 History revisited Hamburg when the Indian national anthem was played on Thursday night in the German city, where it was first composed 66 years ago. Way back in 1942 during an event at the Hotel Atlantic here, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose chose a poem penned by Rabindranath Tagore as the national anthem of ‘free India’ centre, the predecessor of Azad Hind Fauj that he set up a year later in Singapore.

The venue was treated to the same musical rendering when Surya Kumar Bose, grand nephew of Netaji settled in Hamburg, played the tape of Tagore’s poem before a group of journalists who are here for “India Week” being organised by Hamburg city government. Engaged in IT business with operations in Hamburg and Kolkata, Bose had come to possess the copy of the original tape of the anthem recorded by a close associate of Netaji. “Not many people know how the national anthem was born,” Bose said. Going down the memory lane, he recollected a programme broadcast by the All India Radio on the occasion of 83rd birth anniversary of Subhas Chandra Bose in January 1980 called National Anthem Born in Exile. It said an organisation called Indo-German Association was founded at the Hotel Atlantic in Hamburg on September 11, 1942, on the initiative of Netaji. Among those present on the occasion were Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Mayor of Hamburg, representatives of German government and others. On the occasion, the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Hamburg played the national anthems of Germany and Free-India Centre, which was given proper recognition by countries like Germany and Italy.

The Centre had a flag of its own but it did not had a national anthem. Netaji discussed several options and decided on Jana Gana Mana as the national anthem of the Free India. It was Ambik Majumdar who adapted the notations to this song written by Rabindra Nath Tagore and orchestra conductor was a German named Eigel Kruettge.