Academy Theatre Archive

Unfolding the Immortal Tale: Glorious One Hundred and Fifty Years
Amarendranath Dutta (1876-1916)

This man lived for only forty years…yet he survives to this day…

There are few instances in human history where a man or a woman has had a short lifespan on this earth, yet who continues to wield the same degree of adoration or adulation across the span of several centuries. They make a highly fascinating study as to how they could have reached the position they ultimately did, without the benefit of having many years in their dispensation. This brings me to the tale of the fascinating life of Amarendranath Dutta.

Amarendranath, who was fondly referred to as Amar by one and all, had a hilarious nickname. He was called ‘Kalu’ by family and friends, probably referring to his comparatively dark complexion among all in the family. In the large joint families of the times, such names were quite common and nobody thought anything about body shaming then. So, as it happened, Kalu was born into the famous Dutta family of Chorbagan in Calcutta, a prominent Brahmo family, having close friendly ties with the Tagores of Jorasanko. When he was born in his maternal grandparents house on 1st April, 1876, at that very moment was being staged ‘Sadhabar Ekadashi’ in his paternal home. He was always very vocal about the moment, “I was born in Theatre-Lagna…so, is it so unusual that I would be involved with theatre?” In the very year that Amar was born, the British passed ‘The Dramatic Performances Control Act 1876’, to curb the exhibition of ‘Swadeshi’ sentiments on the theatre stage.

As Kalu was growing up, his life was being inadvertently drawn to the tumult of the burgeoning theatre culture in Bengal. In front of his home was being constructed Star Theatre, Binodini’s dream was gradually taking shape. He later reminisced about those times:

After school got over and I returned home, I changed my clothes and secretly used to stand near the new building being constructed and watch it with great curiosity. While standing there, I used to become so engrossed that I began to believe that I had a soul connection with this building, spanning across several past lives. I used to run to this building whenever I could manage.

He was not yet twenty-one when Amar threw himself into theatre, ignoring the disagreement with his family and putting an end to his formal educational pursuits. He faced tremendous financial constraints as a result of this, yet did not give up.

Girish Chandra was ruling the Bengali stage then. Ramakrishna Paramahansa’s disciple was then middle-aged and was a Writer-Producer-Director, all rolled into one. In his mind Amar welcomed him as his guru, “Nearly all the actors and actresses have been tutored by Girish Chandra. I am just one of them.”

The devotion stayed intact even after his guru was no more. On 23rd March, 1915, was arranged a special performance of ‘The Sign of the Cross’ by Star Theatre. This play was initially staged by Amarendranath Dutta’s Classic Theatre, adapted by Bhupendranath Banerjee from an English play by Wilson Barrett, famous for its strikingly colourful production. This time round it was staged to aid the construction of ‘Girish Smriti Bhawan’ at Belur Math. Amrita Bazar Patrika advertisement on 23rd March, 1915, announces:

Special Performance! To aid the completion of the building—already under construction within the holy compounds of ‘Baloor Maut’ to commemorate the memory of the great Apostle and Dramatist Late Babu Girish Chandra Ghosh! The naturally beautiful hands of our kind religious magnanimous and liberal countrymen will, we think be lavish in an occasion like this!

This brings us to the element of controversy regarding the dispute between Girish and Amar, during the former’s lifetime. Sudhindranath Dutta, the famous Bengali poet at the beginning of the twentieth century and the nephew of Amarendranath writes:

…he had proved once and for all that Giris Chandra Ghose, the acknowledged father of the modern Bengali stage held no monopoly of the theatre, even writing his own pieces when, in a desperate attempt to halt his successful competition, he had been denied permission to perform the latter’s works…uncle Amar lacked even the elementary decency of pretending to respect Giris Ghose who after all was his Guru, though he only learnt from the Master how to keep in step with the worst streetwalkers.

Bankim Chandra’s ‘Sitaram’ was staged simultaneously at the Minerva and Classic Theatre, where the hero Sitaram was played by Girish and Amar respectively. Amar publicised his play in a novel manner:

অশ্বপৃষ্ঠে সীতারাম কি অপুর্ব শোভা !
ছুটে যেন রুধিবারে গিরিশ-প্রতিভা !
নটগুরু সনে রণ
দম্ভে করে আস্ফালন
ক্লাসিকের সীতারাম বলদৃপ্ত যুবাI

Roughly translated it would read thus:

Sitaram on horseback is such a magnificent sight!
The horse is as if in a gallop to stop the talented Girish
It is as if a war with the Guru of Theatre
He is full of pride
The Sitaram of Classic is full of the strength of youth.

It is as if an echo of W.B. Yeats—Let us learn construction from the masters, and dialogue from ourselves.

Long after, dramatist Aparesh Chandra Mukhopadhyay was to remark:

Whatever Amarendranath may have done to attract attention, whatever he actually did for the development of the theatre, is unparalleled. He increased the salary of the actors and actresses, appreciated talent, increased viewership, advertised with aplomb. Amarendranath transformed the theatre into a pan-Indian recreational hub. He as if demolished the reign of bureaucracy in theatre and brought in democracy.

Amar conducted various experiments in his plays. One such novel experiment was the introduction of the play within play. In his satire ‘Theatre’ he inducted a scene from Michael Madhusudan Dutt’s ‘Meghnad Vadh Kavya’. That was the first time it was done. Seven decades later, in 1971, Utpal Dutt paid homage to him by introducing a scene from his play in ‘Tiner Talowar’, along with songs used in his plays, one of which goes thus:

ছেড়ে কলকেতা বন হব পগারপার।
পুঁজিপাটা চুলোয় গেল পেট চালান ভার।।…

Translated it would mean:

I would like to flee from Kolkata which has become like a wild forest
I do not have finances and it has become rather difficult to survive.

As time progressed, Amar also tried his hand in making bioscopes, which had newly arrived then. His companion in this endeavour was Hiralal Sen. Whether in ‘Alibaba’ or ‘Bhromor’ or ‘Sitaram’, his creative urge lit up the silver screen of the silent era. An advertisement in ‘The Bengalee’ on 8th December, 1900, states:

The Classic Theatre…through the modern invention of the Bioscope which, as could be easily imagined, has added to the attractions of this popular house of amusement.

Amar was also a pioneer in the use of the newly arrived gramophone records, the ‘rotating disc’ which fascinated the entire mass. The tune of ‘Alibaba’ from Classic Theatre began to be played in homes across Calcutta. Amarendra’s voice rang out from the gramophone, either playing parts from his plays or singing songs from them. Accompanying in the tabla was a young Prasanna Kumar Biswas, hiding behind this pseudonym was the famous Sarod player of the future, Ustad Alauddin Khan. But, that is a different tale altogether…

Amar played a great role in popularising Rabindranath’s early works too. In order to attract the educated elite class to his theatre, he began to gift various collections of books. He bought many copies of Rabindranath’s ‘Golpo’ (published in 1900) and for the convenience of distribution, the publisher Majumder Agency or Majumder Library created several volumes out of the nine hundred pages book, along with different covers. The volumes were titled ‘Rabindranather Golpo Guchcha’ (A Collection of Short Stories by Rabindranath). Another novel feature was that on the covers were printed the title of the short stories included in that particular volume, instead of the traditional way of numbering the volumes or creating a page of ‘Contents’ inside.

He did not stop here…

To popularise theatre and raise consciousness about it, Amar began to publish magazines. In 1895, was published ‘Sourav’, edited by Girish Chandra Ghosh. The writers were mostly people associated with theatre. But, they tried to traverse every genre of literature—stories, poems, articles, novels. Several years later, on 1st March, 1901, he started publishing the weekly ‘Rangalay’. In August 1910, he brought out ‘Natya Mandir’, for which Girish Chandra again wrote an article. In July 1914, he brought out the illustrated magazine ‘Theatre’. Needless to say, though his endeavours of publishing magazines were each shortlived, yet he managed to create a permanent impression on his targeted readers or audience for that matter. ‘Theatre’ especially was printed in thousands and copies distributed free of cost in Calcutta and outskirts, with many people even arriving at the theatre itself to procure a copy. It became a huge success, but publication had to be stopped due to the beginning of the First World War.

Sudhindranath Dutta writes about his uncle:

…uncle Amar’s unconcern with conscious experiment and pure expression did not prevent him from writing critically about his profession; and, in the journal he founded and edited for the purpose, he published an autobiographical novel…His intellectual accomplishments presuppose wide reading in his own as well as in general subjects; and I cannot imagine how he found time for all this.

Amar lived for only forty years— he passed away on 6th January, 1916. Most of his life was surrounded by the magical web of the theatre world. He lived a simple, straightforward, yet a very rebellious life which was hard to digest for many. As Utpal Dutt had remarked:

All those people who refused to conform to the rules of the leprosy-ridden belief of the society, were rewarded by insults. …they were uncontrollable…they were addicted to creative pursuits…it is through their talents that was created the Bengali theatre, which became the mirror of the society, the spokesman of rebellion. They are our titanic precursors.

His nephew Sudhindranath presents a similar picture of his very unconventional life:

No wonder that he would already have consumed a considerable quantity of neat brandy to keep himself going; and at five would begin his evening duties on and off the stage…remained a misguided conformist whose bad habits turned into vice through subconscious self-condemnation. Thus, having lost all his capital in one incompetent attempt to run a theatre, he made his financial distress hopelessly acute by indiscriminate borrowing; he refused to legalize his life-long liaison with the woman he loved, because she happened to be the unacknowledged daughter of a circus proprietor; and, as the consequence of such frustrations, he passed from his juvenile pleasure in intoxicants to become a slave to o***m.

Source:
• Bangalir Gaan Thekey Theatre er Jhanjh: Devajit Bandyopadhyay; Dhrubapada Prakashani, 2024
• Rangaloye Amarendranath: Ramapati Dutta, ed. Devajit Bandyopadhyay; Deys Publication

Girish Chandra Ghosh
[28 February, 1844 - 8 February, 1912]

The immortal treasure trove of Bangla theatre

Dr. Devajit Bandyopadhyay

About forty five years ago Girishchandra appeared in the inimitable role of Nimchand in Dinobandhu’s Sadhabar Ekadasi and when he awoke the next morning he found himself an actor.
[‘Bengalee’ after the demise of Girish Chandra on 8th February, 1912]

The allure of the phenomenon called Girish Chandra refuses to fade even after centuries since the passing of his many splendoured lifetime. He heralded the dawn of modern Bangla theatre, the harbinger of modernity in an age of changing reality in a colonial era new world.

19th Century…the sixth decade…

Girish Chandra’s father had just passed away and it is documented that the passing of his father resulted in a major shift in his life. The absence of his father at the beginning of his youth somewhat disoriented his character in the common social parlance. Girish started drinking heavily, along with other extravagances involved. He became the leader of a team of boys who became known as ‘bowatey’ (বওয়াটে) a colloquial pronunciation of the Bangla word ‘bokhatey’ (বখাটে), which in derogatory term could mean a person who loafs around. But though the social honchos looked upon them as such, the revolutionary group of boys were only challenging contemporary societal norms. They punished pretentious sannyasis who cheated people, performed the last rites of people whose family did not have the means to do so, collected ‘chanda’ for the treatment of sick people in the neighbourhood who could not afford it themselves. But despite all the good work Girish Chandra did, he did not receive praise for it and was nevertheless referred to as ‘bowatey’ by everyone who knew him. Despite these obstacles, the irrepressible urge for engaging in theatre propelled Girish forward.

Girish Chandra did not have the means to open a theatre group. His neighbour Nagendranath Bandyopadhyay had created a concert group in his home. Girish used to visit it sometimes. At that time, the modern theatre and the traditional jatra were competing for prominence. The cost of producing a jatra play was lesser than that of producing a theatre play. Girish, Nagendra, Dharmadas Sur, Radhamadhab Kar (brother of Dr. Radha Gobinda Kar, after whom is named the R.G. Kar Hospital in Kolkata) and a few other friends opened a ‘Jatra Dal’ in 1867 at Bagbazar in Calcutta. Madhusudan Dutt’s ‘Sharmistha’ was chosen as the first production. It was decided to include some songs not included in the original writing by Dutt. The famous musician Priyamadhab Basumallick was approached, but nothing was achieved despite many visits to him. The irritated Girish Chandra decided to take things into his own hands. He told his friend Umesh Chandra Chowdhury, “Come, let’s compose the songs ourselves as best as we can.” Thus was composed the songs which made the play so remarkable.

1868…The night of Durga Saptami…

Not Jatra this time, Bagbazar Amateur Theatre staged a play under Girish Chandra’s direction, which was the social satire ‘Sadhabar Ekadashi’ by Dinabandhu Mitra. The hero of this satire was Nimchand, the classic character of a drunkard in the annals of Bengali literature. Girish Chandra’s debut on the stage was as Nimchand:

কী বোল বলিলে বাবা বল আরবার,
মৃতদেহে হল মম প্রাণের সঞ্চার।
মাতালের মান তুমি গণিকার গতি,
সধবার একাদশী তুমি যার পতি।।
[Roughly translated it would mean:
Please say again what you said just now
It is as if life has returned to my lifeless body
You are the honour of drunkards and the saviour of nautch girls
Those non-widowed girls perform the ekadashi whose husband you happen to be]

His stage presence was as if a ‘Veni Vidi Vici’, he came, he performed and he conquered. Girish’s Nimchand was unparalleled and inimitable, which ‘Bengalee’ was to reminisce after his demise.

Girish used his natural talent to write songs in an easy and approachable manner. He writes about his use of songs in Jatra and Theatre:

I am not saying that theatre should contain numerous songs like the Jatra in which songs are used after nearly every dialogue. We do not want to destroy whatever was there before, we only want to bring some alterations to it according to the needs of the changing times.

Girish Chandra’s words echo the self-realisation of the internationally acclaimed music composer Frederick Chopin:

In order to be a great composer, one needs an enormous amount of knowledge, which…one does not acquire from listening only to other people’s work, but even more from listening to one’s own.

The greats of Bengali literature became the favourite hunting ground of Girish and he began practising his multiple skills as a writer, composer and director on theatrical versions of Bankim Chandra’s novels, the poems of Madhusudan-Nabin Chandra, among others. His own composition of songs for Madhusudan’s epic poem ‘Meghnad Vadh Kavya’, won wide acclaim.

Girish Chandra received training in music from Benimadhab Adhikari, commonly known as Beni Ustad. Benimadhab had initially learnt music from his father and then from Ustad Ahmed Khan and eventually emerged as a highly praised singer. Narendranath Dutta (later Swami Vivekananda) and his cousin Amritalal or Habu also learnt music from him. Benimadhab composed the music for several plays of Girish too. Apart from him, there were others who set tune to Girish Chandra’s lyrics—Madan Mohan Barman, Ramtaran Sanyal, Debkantha Bagchi, Janaki Nath Basu, Amritalal Dutta, Purna Chandra Ghosh, Sashi Bhusan Karmakar, Tarapada Roy. All of them were trained classical singers. The staging of the songs involved the special stamp of the artist in Girish Chandra. He also began to write original theatre plays, at first under the pseudonym Mukutacharan Mitra, for the play ‘Agamani’. The director in him became more prominent as he involved himself in more and more original creative productions.

The rise of Girish Chandra presents an interesting study in contemporary socio-cultural perspectives. As Girish rose, Jyotirindra Tagore decided to recede. Jyoti confesses:

When Girish Babu started writing plays for theatre, we started receding slowly. In no time his immeasurable talent gained prominence over the theatrical scenario in Bengal. I considered it better to leave the writing of new theatrical plays to the person more talented than me and searched for new avenues to serve literature.

Girish Chandra ushered in a new age on the Bangla stage in the amalgamation of Jatra-Kathakata-Panchali, the strife in society, the philosophy surrounding the various beliefs regarding good-evil, religious-irreligious or other pertinent topics, along with a blending of Shakespearean theatrical manifestations. He expressed his thoughts to the writer Hemendra Kumar Roy:

It is important to gain experience regarding the practicalities surrounding your life. I never attempted to write basic plays thirty years ago. I believe one should not write basic plays unless one has sufficient experience of life and reality.

Tragedy struck Girish’s life again and again, as he lost his loved ones. His tragic life found expression in the play ‘Bilwa Mangal’. Along with it was added his reverence for his guru Ramakrishna Paramahansa and his teachings about the love for the country and its people and the religious feeling intertwined in the very fabric of society:

The audience held their breath as often as Billamangal…gave expressions to the working of his heart. The songs of the Pagalini were simple and charming and she well sustained her mystic character to the text.
[The Statesman, 18 June, 1886]

Sarada Charan Mitra, who had become a great fan of Girish after his characterisation of Nimchand, gifted him Edwin Arnold’s ‘Light of Asia’ and requested him to write a play on the life of Buddha. Girish wrote his ‘Buddhadeb Charit’ as a fine mixture of ancient Puranas and modern characterisation. Arnold describes his experience of viewing it himself in ‘India Revisited’:

The stage appliances were deficient to a point incredible for a London manager…there was a refinement and imaginativeness in the acting, as well as an artistic scene entirely remarkable and the female performers proved quite as good as the males.

The theme music for this play became so popular that it also began to be sang outside by Benimadhab and Girish’s gurubhai Narendranath (Swami Vivekananda):

জুড়াইতে চাই, কোথায় জুড়াই!
কোথা হতে আসি, কোথা ভেসে যাই!
ফিরে-ফিরে আসি, কত কাঁদি হাসি
কোথা যাই সদা, ভাবিগো তাই।।

[Juraite chai, kothay jurai!
Kotha hotey ashi, kotha bhesey jai!
Firey firey ashi, koto kandi hansi
Kotha jai shoda, bhabi go tai…]

Shri Chaitanya’s life inspired Girish to write the magnum opus ‘Chaitanya-Leela’ and Nati Binodini emerged into national consciousness and merged into immortality. Girish Chandra, inspired by Sri Ramakrishna made theatre the vessel of ‘Lok Shiksha’. Girish lived in rapidly changing times when society, family dynamics and the economic structure was changing. An advertisement for the play ‘Prafulla’ read as:
The fatal power of brandy bottle

Girish Chandra lived his life as unapologetic as the advertisement of his play. The story (actually a fact) goes like this…Girish was returning home one morning, sober after a night of heavy drinking. As he was about to enter through the gate, a voice called him from behind, ”Girish! Girish!”
Girish looked behind and saw a man beckoning to him whom he did not recognise, “Yes?”
The man looked surprised, “Don’t you recognise me? Every night we drink together at Kashi Mitra Ghat till the wee hours of the morning…”
“Is it?” Girish replied. Then he answered imperiously, “Actually you see, when I’m drunk I’m a drunkard, otherwise I’m THE Girish Ghosh. Who are you?”

[Source: Bangalir Gaan Thekey Theatre er Jhanjh: Devajit Bandyopadhyay; Dhrubapada Prakashani, 2024]

Towards Independence and the Republic

Dr. Devajit Bandyopadhyay

1947

On 23rd August, Gandhiji observed while in his stay in Calcutta, on a peace mission in the wake of the post-independence vicious communal riots:

Bande Mataram [Hail Mother]…this was no religious cry. It was a purely political cry. The Congress had to examine it. A reference was made to Gurudev about it. And both Hindu and Muslim members of the Congress Working Committee had to come to the conclusion that its opening lines were free from any objection…It was to be remembered that it was the cry that that had fired political freedom with that cry on their lips. …It should never be a chant to insult or offend the Muslims.
[Mahatma (VIII), D.G. Tendulkar]

In the newly independent India was released the Hindi film by Sunrise Pictures ‘Amar Asha’, directed by V.M. Vyas. The music director was Shanti Kumar Desai and the song ‘Bande Mataram’ appeared in a scene, sung in chorus.

On 29th August, at Gandhiji’s prayer meet in Calcutta, was sung in chorus ‘Bande Mataram’ and it was not a political meet. In that meeting was present, along with many contemporary Muslim leaders, Shahid Suhrawarrdy. They all stood up and paid respect to the national song. Gandhiji though remained seated because he had a different idea. According to his biographer:

He (Gandhiji) himself purposely kept seated, because he has learnt that the Indian culture did not require standing as a mark of respect when any national song or Bhajan was sung. It was an unnecessary importation from the west.
[Mahatma (VIII), D.G. Tendulkar]

Gandhiji also expressed the view:

There should be one universal notation for ‘Vande Mataram’ if it was to stir millions; it must be sung by millions in one tune and one mode.
[Mahatma (VIII), D.G. Tendulkar]

14 August
As midnight struck…

At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation long suppressed finds utterance.
[Jawaharlal Nehru, 14 Aug 1947]

A few decades earlier…

1913

In September, the recent Nobel-awardee Rabindranath, sang ‘Bande Mataram’ after the award ceremony was over:

‘Before Tagore left for India’, writes Rothenstein, ‘Yeats and I arranged a small dinner in his honour. After dinner we asked Tagore to sing Bande Mataram, the nationalist song. He hummed the tune but after the first few words broke down; he could not remember the rest…’
[Rabindranath Tagore: A Biography, Krishna Kripalani]

1915

On 27th April, in Madras, a sabha in which Gandhiji (he was not yet known as ‘Mahatma’) was due to give a lecture, started with the song ‘Bande Mataram’. After listening to it, Gandhiji expressed in his lecture:

You have sung that beautiful national song, on hearing which all of us sprang to our feet. The poet has lavished all the adjectives we possibly could to describe Mother India…
It is for you and me to make good the claim that the poet has advanced on behalf of his Motherland.
[‘M.K. Gandhi’s speech at YMCA Madras’, Collected works of Mahatma Gandhi, Govt. of India]

1917

The Congress Session is held at Calcutta, presided over by Annie Besant. Amala Das sings ‘Bande Mataram’ in Rabindranath’s tune.

1920

The First World War had ended and the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre had happened the year before.

In 1920, September, Punjab Kesari Lala Lajpat Rai presided over a special Congress session at Calcutta. In it, many of us participated in the chorus of ‘Bande Mataram’, led by Sarala Devi Chaudhurani. It was the first time I sang in any Congress congregation…this was the session in which Mahatma Gandhi proposed non-cooperation…after that we started spinning the Charkha and wearing the Khaddar.
[Smritir Kheya, Sahana Devi]

Among the artists present there was Harendra Nath Dutta, a music-disciple of Jyotirindranath Tagore. Like Sahana Devi, it was also the first time for him.

1922

Harendranath recorded the song two years later, in September 1922. His Master’s Voice released a record in which Harendra Nath Dutta (Amateur) sang Bande Materam in Rabindranath’s tune.

Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar was always an ardent supporter of India’s struggle for independence and participated in it. He was present in nearly every Congress session and regaled all those present with his songs. In 1922, in the Gaya Congress session, he sang ‘Bande Mataram’ and the Congress President Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das praised it profusely. In Anandabazar Patrika on 13th March, 1922, on the day of Doljatra, at the very top of the editorial page was printed ‘Bande Mataram’. It contained a report on Paluskar’s performance in the Gaya session:

Accompanied by the sarangi and tanpura, the Hindusthani national song was sung by the famous singer from Bombay, Vishnu Digambar Paluskar. We had not often heard such sweet but a deeply masculine rendering. Everyone present was mesmerised. His rendering of the national song in Dhrupad-Chautal reminded one of Swami Vivekananda, who was in favour of renouncing Khayal-Tappa for the thunderous Dhrupad, which he wanted to import to Bengal. Srijukta Paluskar Mahasay was as if endeavouring to inspire the latent masculine trait of the country by the militant flavour of this song, which is a cause for hope.

Just a year before…in 1921

In the Congress session, Paluskar sang ‘Bande Mataram, in Raga Kafi. It was in this session that the independence movement got a new impetus by the appearance of Gandjiji :

In 1921, Gandhiji invited the leaders of the Khilafat Movement to join the non-violent movement. That transformed the independence movement into a joint struggle by the Hindus and Muslims. As a result, the victory-cry of ‘Bande Mataram’ was joined by ‘Allah-ho-Akbar’.
[Bande Mataram, Jagadish Bhattacharya]

1923

Kazi Nazrul Islam used ‘Bande Mataram’ in his play. He was then in jail on charges of treason. On 18th June, he was transferred from Hooghly jail to Berhampore jail. The play was written in Berhampore jail for the inmates, for the upcoming Durga Puja festival.

Nazrul used ‘Bande Mataram’ again one and a half decades later, in 1938. But this time it was for films. It was for ‘Gora’, based on Tagore’s novel.

1935

The British passed the Government of India Act in August, which introduced major constitutional reforms such as provincial autonomy. The significance of ‘Bande Mataram’ was enumerated as this juncture:

ON JULY 21 the first business session of the Bombay Assembly was opened with the singing of Vande Mataram. The purport of the song has thus become a matter of general interest, and those who are still unacquainted with it may perhaps be reminded that some two and a half years ago Mr. R.D. (later Sir Robert) Bell, the then Home Member, was able to assure the Legislative Council that “the song Vande Mataram was entirely unobjectionable from the moral or political point of view.” …
The achievement of Bankim Chandra Chatterji should have a great appeal for Indians. An ardent nationalist, he did for one of their own vernaculars exactly what Roger Ascham had done for the English 300 years before. …
[‘Vande Mataram’, C.B. Cockaine, The Times of India, 30 July 1937]

1937

On 26th October, on the eve of the Congress Working Committee Meeting in Calcutta, Tagore was invited to give his opinion on the matter. Subhas Chandra was requested to mediate in this situation by Jawaharlal Nehru. In a frank letter to his colleague Subhas Chandra, Nehru confesses:

I have managed to get an English translation of Anandamath and I am reading it at present to get the background of the song.
…I do not understand it [Vande Mataram] without the help of a dictionary…discuss the Vande Mataram song with Dr. Tagore.]
[The Paradoxes of Partition: Collection of Documents, S.A.I. Tirmizi (Ed.)]

Subhas Chandra had pre-empted Jawaharlal by already writing a letter to Tagore four days before receiving the letter from him:

Most Respectully,
I do not consider it right to disturb you at this state of your health, but I’m being forced to write to you because I need your advice on an urgent matter. … the song ‘Bande Mataram’ is being discussed in Congress circles. It will be discussed in the Congress Working Committee Meeting on 26th. Maybe this committee will reject it. I do not know your opinion regarding it and hence write this letter to you to know it. …I write this letter to you on the request of many friends from Bengal and outside. …
If you opine that the present prestige of ‘Bande Mataram’ is to be preserved, then it would be a good gesture if you write to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi about it. You surely know how much Mahatmaji values your words.
[‘Rabindra Bhabane Raksh*to Patra’ (Letters Preserved at the Rabindra Bhavan), Bande Mataram, Jagadish Bhattacharya]

Alongside Rabindranath, Subhas Chandra also wanted to know the opinion of Jagadish Chandra regarding the matter. Jagadish Chandra wrote:

Can we differentiate between our motherland and the mother who has given birth to us? Our growth have been nurtured by them. The name of our motherland rises spontaneously from our heart and spread to the whole of Bharatvarsha because it touches the innermost chords of our soul.
[Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose, Charu Chandra Bhattacharya]

On 25th October, the day before the meeting, Jawaharlal wanted the opinion of Rabindranath regarding the matter. Tagore answered:

An unfortunate controversy is raging round the question of suitability of ‘Bande Mataram’ as national song. …To me the spirit of tenderness and devotion expressed in its first portion, the emphasis it gave to beautiful and beneficient aspects of our motherland made special appeal so much so that I found no difficulty in dissociating it from the rest of the poem…
[Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore, Amrita Bazar Patrika, 2 November 1937]

The Congress Working Committee heeded to the advice of Rabindranath and decide to adopt only the first two stanzas of the song to be sung at various meetings. Jawaharlal himself wrote the Resolution of the meeting:

…Taking all things into consideration therefore the Committee recommend that wherever the Bande Mataram is sung at national gatherings only the first two stanzas should be sung…
[Jawaharlal Nehru’s note (undated), All India Congress Committee Papers, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library]

1938

Sati Devi and Kanak Das were invited to sing ‘Bande Mataram’ at the Haripura Congress :

These artistes were invited to sing VANDE MATARAM at the Congress Session at Haripura. These are the artistes who made the Vande Mataram record in Bengali…Smt. Sati Devi is often referred to as a nightingale in her own part of the country.
[‘The Phonograph in India’, G.N. Joshi]

1947

On the eve of independence, the first Parliament session of the sovereign nation began by a timeless rendering of ‘Bande Mataram’ by Pandit Omkarnath Thakur, which was broadcast across the country by Akashvani and which has been archived:

Recorded on the eve of India’s Independence 1947. … A selection of timeless items from the Akashvani Archives of melodious renderings by legends of Indian music traditions.
[Akashvani presents The Eternal Tradition of Indian Music, Pandit Omkarnath Thakur]

This was followed by Jawaharlal’s speech embodying the spirit of a newly independent nation:

Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge…
[Jawaharlal Nehru, 14 August 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru (1), Sarvepalli Gopal (Ed.)]

15th August, 1947

The tricolour flew atop the Lal Quila in Delhi. Hirabai Barodekar sang ‘Bande Mataram’ in this emotionally charged historic moment.

1948

Disputes raged on in independent India on the subject of choosing either ‘Bande Mataram’ or ‘Jana Gana Mana’ as the national anthem. Nehru opined:

The question of having National Anthem tune to be played by orchestras and bands became an urgent one for us immediately after August 15, 1947…some kind of argument has arisen as between ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Jana Gana Mana’. ‘Vande Mataram’ is obviously and undisputably the premier national song of India, with great historical tradition and intimately connected with our struggle for freedom. That position it is bound to retain and no other song can replace it. …
In regard to the National Anthem tune, it was felt that the tune was more important than the words, and that this tune should be so as to represent the Indian musical genius as well as to some extent the western, so that it might equally be adaptable to orchestral or band music, and for being played abroad. …Past experience has shown that ‘Jana Gana Mana’ tune has been greatly appreciated and admired abroad. …it was thought by some people that the ‘Vande Mataram’ tune with all its very great attraction and historical background was not easily suitable for being played by orchestras in foreign countries, and there was not enough movement in it. It seemed, therefore, that while ‘Vande Mataram’ should continue to be national song par excellence in India, the National Anthem tune should be that of ‘Jana Gana Mana’. …
[‘Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on National Anthem of India and its tune’, India’s National Anthem, Prabodh Chandra Sen]

1950
24th January

On the eve of declaring India as a Republic, the incumbent President Dr. Rajendra Prasad put an end to the countrywide debate on the National Anthem :

The composition consisting of the words and music known as Janaganamana is the National Anthem of India subject to such alteration in the words as Government may authorise as occasion arises : and the song Vande Mataram which played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom shall be honoured equally with Janaganamana and shall have equal status with it.
[Constituent Assembly Debates, Report Vol. XII, 24 January 1950]

Thus, while a truncated ‘Jana Gana Mana’ became the National Anthem, a truncated ‘Bande Mataram’ also became the National Song. In the newly formed Republic, it began to be broadcast in the radio all over the country in the mesmerising musical arrangement put forth by Pandit Ravi Shankar.

‘Bande Mataram’ thus survived the various experiments throughout the ages and emerged victorious as the song which was forever synonymous with the true spirit of solidarity of the country. It not only belongs to Bengal but to the whole of the great Republic of India, and though not constitutionally recognised, yet it is the uncrowned national song of India for all ages.

[Ref: Bande Mataram Rup Rupantar: Devajit Bandyopadhyay; Patrabharati, 2022]