A small college town in Andhra Pradesh holds a surprising place in India’s national story. In 1919, Rabindranath Tagore sat down there and gave the national anthem its English words for the first time.
Rabindranath Tagore, photographed around 1909, a decade before his 1919 visit to Madanapalle. Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain.
MCQ QuestionsModHist0333 · Madanapalle and the National Anthem
0
Tagore translated Jana Gana Mana into English at Madanapalle
Titled “The Morning Song of India,” at Besant Theosophical College.
0
Date in 1919 Tagore first sang the anthem at Madanapalle
Besant Theosophical College
0
College principal who invited Tagore to Madanapalle
Historical Record
0
Year Jana Gana Mana was first sung in Bengali, Calcutta INC session
Indian National Congress
0
Year Jana Gana Mana was adopted as India’s national anthem
Constituent Assembly
0
Real first HQ of the Theosophical Society, not Madanapalle
Theosophical Society
✊ Must Know
Where Tagore Wrote the English Anthem
- Where it happened Tagore translated "Jana Gana Mana" from Bengali to English at Besant Theosophical College, Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh, in 1919.
- The English title He titled the English version "The Morning Song of India." He wrote it down at the college during his visit.
- The invitation James H. Cousins, the college's principal, invited Tagore. His wife, Margaret Cousins, an expert in Western music, later set the tune to Tagore's English words.
📘 Good to Know
The Visit, Sung and Written Down
- First sung there too On 28 February 1919, Tagore himself first sang "Jana Gana Mana" at the college, before the English translation was written.
- Still on display The original framed English translation remains on display in the Besant Theosophical College library today.
- Where Madanapalle sits Madanapalle is a town in what was Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh (since reorganised into Annamayya district).
Test Yourself
🌟 Great to Know
What Madanapalle Isn't
- Not the song's Bengali debut "Jana Gana Mana" was first publicly sung, in Bengali, at the Indian National Congress's Calcutta session in 1911. Madanapalle gave it an English form, not its origin.
- Becoming the national anthem India's Constituent Assembly adopted "Jana Gana Mana" as the national anthem in January 1950.
- A Theosophical Society link Besant Theosophical College takes its name from Annie Besant, the Theosophical Society leader and later Indian National Congress president. The Society's own headquarters, though, is at Adyar, Chennai, not Madanapalle.
📝 Previous Year Questions
Which Fact About Madanapalle Is Actually Correct?
- Answer: (c) Rabindranath Tagore translated the National Anthem from Bengali to English at Madanapalle.
- Why the others are wrong Pingali Venkayya designed the tricolour flag elsewhere. Pattabhi Sitaramaiah's Quit India role wasn't centred at Madanapalle. The Theosophical Society's first headquarters was at Adyar, not Madanapalle.
- View this question on the full 2021 paper →
Leave a Reply