Vande Mataram - Performances and Interpretations

Performances and Interpretations

The poem has been set to a large number of tunes. The oldest surviving audio recordings date to 1907, and there have been more than a hundred different versions recorded throughout the 20th century. Many of these versions have employed traditional South Asian classical ragas. Versions of the song have been visualized on celluloid in a number of films, including Leader, Amar Asha, and Anand Math. It is widely believed that the tune set for All India Radio station version was composed by Ravi Shankar. In 1997, as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Independence of India, a musical album composed by A. R. Rahman, titled Vande Mataram, was released. The version of the song played in it has become its most popular interpretation in recent years. In 2002, BBC World Service conducted an international poll to choose ten most famous songs of all time. Around 7000 songs were selected from all over the world. Vande Mataram, from the movie Anand Math, was ranked second. All India Radio's version, as well as A.R. Rahman's version, are in Desh raga.