Indore: A room in Zafar Ansari’s humble home in Indore is a gateway to the past, housing prized possessions that trace India’s journey to independence, including those associated with ‘Vande Mataram’, the national song, which completed 150 years last week.
Ansari (53) has collected rare items related to the national song, including gramophone records and historic buttons with ‘Vande Mataram’ engraved on them, which he has sent to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the 150th anniversary of the patriotic hymn.
Talking to PTI, Ansari said that he has collected numerous items of national importance related to the legacy of ‘Vande Mataram’ from various places over the last 30 years.
These rare finds include 20 gramophone records of Vande Mataram in various languages, including Bengali, Hindi, and Marathi versions.
Ansari said that his collection also includes ‘Vande Mataram’ buttons, which were worn by freedom fighters on khadi jackets.
“These metal buttons have ‘Vande Mataram’ engraved in Hindi along with the tricolour, and the spinning wheel. I sent a set of these buttons to President Murmu and PM Modi on the 150th anniversary of the national song,” he said, beaming with pride.
Ansari’s precious collection includes a 1937 paper replica of the tricolour that freedom fighter Madame Bhikaji Cama hoisted at an event in Germany in 1907.
“Thirty years after the historic event of Madame Bhikaji Cama hoisting the tricolour on foreign soil, a printing press in Pune printed a paper replica of this flag. It was printed on the National Register of Historic Places. The flag bears the words ‘Vande Mataram’ in Hindi in the centre. During the freedom struggle, replicas of this flag were distributed to inspire patriotism and freedom,” he said.
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s composition ‘Vande Mataram’ completes 150 years this year. The song, composed on November 7, 1875, on the occasion of Akshaya Navami, was first published in the literary magazine “Bangadarshan” as part of Chatterjee’s novel “Anandamath.”
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