When the Temple Was a Walk Away

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A five-minute walk required so little thought. I could simply step out. In Malleswaram, a friend turning up at our house in the evening usually meant we were going for a walk. A couple of friends from school or college would come over, and we would head to the nearby Hanuman temple. Afterward, we would stop at the railway station to watch the trains go by, talking, pulling each other’s legs, and figuring out where to get our next plate of bhel or masala puri. Uncomplicated. Even on days when nobody came, I would take the walk to the temple. There would inevitably be a few familiar faces to greet. Then I would lay out a plan with Hanuman so that he could help me figure out whatever was worrying me. A lab exam, a semester exam, a job interview. There was usually something coming up that required his attention. It was comforting to put everything before him. I could tell him what was on ...
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ARR's Vande Mataram

Sometimes, people benchmark a particular song or music, and elevate it to an unscalable point, that anything seemingly less comparable to the earmarked audio sounds astoundingly trivial. High quality music can always be stretched to eternity surpassing all doubts about its survival in a race against time. Any thoughts of it dying down with time is pulverized as events relayed from the past reflect the strong bonding etched to futuristic events. AR Rahman's Maa Tujhe Salaam or Thai Manne Vanakkam, all under the broad classification of Vande Mataram, falls under this supreme category. Rahman came up with this composition, along with BharatBala Productions in the year when India readied itself to commemorate the fiftieth year of Independence from the British. Both of them readily strike a good vibe when it comes to portraying national footage that exemplifies the class and beauty of India. That was the year when India turned defiant in Pokhran signifying one of the greatest moments in Indian history and every Indian citizen was beaming with pride like never before. This moment was further enhanced, when ARR came up with a high quality composition, evident both in its audio and video, sending the nation into an unimaginable patriotic frenzy.

ARR's musical rendering skills had hit the headlines in Bollywood, but to come up with something like Vande Mataram, which was out of the world was sending the nation into a vibrant mode. Vande Mataram was rendered in a way that was totally way out of the conventional appeal that the song had created for itself. MTV had saved its time for only the new album of ARR. On the day of its release, MTV devouted the entire day playing the video footage that was as passionate as the score. ARR cited in the interview that he wanted to come up with something that would charge up the average Indian, and that he wanted to shed the image of a silent, soothing and touchy music so commonly associated with Vande Mataram. The end result was nothing sort of sensational. He had changed the face of the Indian national song in no uncertain terms. People began to associate a passion and a fervour that was unheard of before.

I have listened to this song innumerable times, and each time it just livens up the atmosphere with a passion and a sense of pride towards India. A hair rising experience, it generates a feeling of having to do something for the sake of motherland. It emboldens a sense of awakening to a nationalistic cause. ARR's magic wand had created one of the greatest unmatchable patriotic songs of all time in a way that brought about a transformation to the average Indian.

If you are wondering why this post has come out of the blue, the India Association at the University of Missouri-Rolla is getting ready with the Annual Diwali fest on 12th November, and ARR's Vande Mataram figures in the list, with some wonderful choreography and great dance from the participants.

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