It was at Madanapalle’s Besant Theosophical College that Rabindranath Tagore sang Jana Gana Mana for the first time; it was here that India’s future national anthem was set to music and translated into English
It was Wednesday, February 26, 1919. The time was 8.30 p.m. The campus of Madanapalle Besant Theosophical College in British India’s Madras Presidency was alive with bustle. On Wednesday nights, after dinner, it was customary for the students to gather in the college living room, spending time in light-hearted fun — teasing one another, singing, leaping about. That evening, however, the programme shifted to the art room.
The art room was packed with students. Everyone was singing and calling out. When his turn came, Principal James Henry Cousins sang a song in his mother tongue, Irish. Just as the song ended, the hall door opened. Everyone turned instinctively in that direction.
Standing there was a tall figure, radiant like a sage. Everyone present knew who he was. He had arrived at the college the previous day. Having only just recovered from illness, he had been resting. But hearing the sounds of music and play, he walked over from his cottage. The sudden appearance of this unexpected guest left everyone stunned.
“I too shall sing a song,” he said. The children burst into applause. Principal Cousins could only look on. He was unable to protest or say, “No, your health is not well.” The visiting sage sang his song. From it emerged — leaping forth and standing vividly before one’s eyes — the many regions of India, its people, its religions, its rivers…
No one knew what the song was. No one had ever heard it before, anywhere. When the song ended, it took the students some time to regain themselves. The song that had cast a spell over everyone was Jana Gana Mana. The visitor was Visva-Kavi Rabindranath Tagore.
James Henry Cousins, Rabindranath Tagore and Margaret Cousins
The first privilege of hearing Jana Gana Mana, long before it became India’s national anthem, fell to the students of Madanapalle B.T. College, now in Andhra Pradesh. It was in Madanapalle that Tagore first brought his national song before people. Not only that — Jana Gana Mana was first rendered as a choral composition in this very college. This Bengali song, which people of every state and every language would later feel to be their own, was first translated into English at B.T. College itself. The music for the song was also composed here.
Tagore provided the melody; Principal Cousins’ wife, Margaret Cousins, set it to rhythm. Cousins was a renowned poet, journalist, writer, and social worker in Ireland. His wife was an expert in Western music. This coming together of the three — for the musical shaping of Jana Gana Mana — was a historic moment that added lustre to Madanapalle’s history.
James Cousins: The Irish who made India home
Now, a few words about James Henry Cousins. Like Annie Besant, James Henry Cousins was also Irish. He was a distinguished poet, playwright, art critic, journalist, and teacher. He played an active role in the Irish modern poetry movement. Such was his stature as a poet that at one stage Tagore himself recommended Cousins for the Nobel Prize.
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Like Annie Besant, Cousins too was inspired by the Theosophical Society. At her invitation, he left Ireland and migrated to India in 1915. Initially, he served as the literary editor of New India, the journal founded by Annie Besant. His wife Margaret wrote books not only on Western music but also on Indian and other Asian musical traditions.
A universal human love transcending religions and regions brought Cousins and Tagore together. Even before Cousins arrived in India in 1915, the two had exchanged letters. After arriving in India, Cousins and his wife went to Calcutta in 1916 and met Tagore. After Cousins joined Madanapalle College, he wrote several letters inviting Tagore to visit B.T. College. After many postponements, Tagore finally made the Madanapalle journey in 1919. By then, his health was poor. He needed rest, and he also felt that Madanapalle would offer him that rest.
Olcott Bungalow, the cottage where Rabindranath Tagore stayed.
“This time I shall certainly meet you at Madanapalle. My heart trembles at the thought of what awaits me in your Madras Presidency. I am gathering all my strength to undertake the southern journey. In Bengal, the southern gate is called the gate of death. I hope it will not swallow me. But one thing — do not take my promise to come to Madanapalle too seriously. Chanakya advised never to trust women or kings. In truth, the name that should be added at the top of that list is that of poets,” Tagore joked in a letter to Cousins.
He wrote on December 24, 1918: “Certainly this time I shall never fail to see you at Madanapalle. But my heart quakes to imagine what is awaiting me at your Presidency, and I hope I shall be able to keep up my courage up to the last moment and take the final desperate step towards the south. Death’s door is called the southern door in Bengal, and I won’t claim me as a duly consecrated victim sacrificed to the myriad-tongued divinity of the public meeting. However, it will not be possible for me to be present at your art exhibition, and I shall not be free to move before the last week of January. But should I not warn you not to put too implicit a faith upon my promises? Chanakya advises never to trust women and kings, but I think poets should top the list of all unreliable.”
From Bengaluru to Madanapalle
Tagore kept his word. On February 25, 1919, despite ill health, he travelled by train from Bengaluru to Madanapalle. At the railway station, he was received by the Cousins couple, the Madanapalle Sub-Collector, and other dignitaries.
Newspapers also carried the news of his arrival: “Mr. Tagore has come here to take complete rest for some days. Principal James H. Cousins and Mr. A. Tampos, I.C.S., Sub-Collector, went to the railway station and motored the poet to Oladana. The early hours of this morning saw all the boys and teachers of the college very busy in receiving the illustrious guest. At the Olcott Bungalow, the college scouts lined themselves in rows, and when the motor stopped at the gate, Dr Tagore got down from the car and walked into the garden to his rooms. He is accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Dey (unknown). His programme here is not yet settled.”
From the Sub-Collector’s car, Tagore came directly to B.T. College. As he stepped out, students and scouts lined up to welcome him. He stayed at the Olcott Bungalow. The bungalow was built in the name of Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, who assisted Annie Besant in founding the Theosophical Society. B.T. College was established in 1915. The then Governor of Madras, Lord Pentland, inaugurated the college.
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Now, returning to Jana Gana Mana. In the silence that settled over the art hall that Wednesday night, Tagore sang softly in a low register. At the very first line, everyone’s ears stood alert. By the second line, emotion surged. Throats choked. People asked him to sing again. He sang again. He sang once more. Then everyone joined in. It became a choral song, reverberating through the hall.
The next day, Tagore set the song to the Hindustani raga Ahilya Bilawal. Based on this, Margaret Cousins finalised the tune, giving the song its enduring form. While resting at the college, Tagore translated the song into English. A copy of this English translation was preserved at the college. He titled it The Morning Song of India, describing it as an Indian Suprabhatam.
‘The Santiniketan of South India’
“That night, seated beneath the peepal tree behind my house, he sang his Bengali song and its English translation repeatedly for us. He made us practise until we could sing without hesitation,” James Henry Cousins wrote in his book We Two Together. Later, in Besant Hall, school and college students, along with visitors who had come to see Tagore, sang the song publicly for the first time. Thus, B.T. College became the first institution to render Jana Gana Mana as a structured choral composition.
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During Tagore’s stay at the college, an unfortunate incident occurred. One night, students were to stage Tagore’s play Sacrifice. Just before the performance began, news arrived of a major fire in a nearby village. The college scouts, trained in firefighting, had to be sent there. As a result, the play was postponed. On March 2, Tagore departed for Madras. As he left, he described B.T. College as the Santiniketan of South India.
Annie Besant’s deep compassion for the backwardness of this region was the reason Madanapalle was chosen for establishing B.T. College. For nearly 50 years before 1915, the Madanapalle region had been ravaged by famine. Thousands had died of hunger and disease. At times, a famine would last as long as two years. When the famine ended, torrential rains would follow, bursting tanks and reservoirs. The British government undertook road-building projects connecting Madanapalle with surrounding villages and towns to provide employment.
In this context, B.T. College was established to provide education to the people of the region, transcending caste and religion. The college was affiliated to the University of Madras. However, suspecting Annie Besant of anti-British activities, the university later disaffiliated the college. Subsequently, it was affiliated to the National University, of which Rabindranath Tagore was the Chancellor.
This piece was first published in The Federal Telangana
