In a first, Vande Mataram played after national anthem at India's international game
National song Vande Mataram was played immediately after the national anthem Jana Gana Mana before the start of India's first T20 International against Afghanistan here on Sunday, marking its first such use at an international sporting event.
Penned by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the national song was played in its complete six-stanza version at the Arun Jaitley Stadium following a directive of the Union Home Ministry.
The national anthem lasted 52 seconds, while the official rendition of Vande Mataram lasted three minutes and 10 seconds, taking the combined duration of the two to four minutes and two seconds.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had on February 6 issued guidelines for the rendition of Vande Mataram as part of commemorations marking 150 years of the national song.
The guidelines prescribed the three-minute-10-second official rendition and required everyone present to stand at attention while the song was being played.
They also approved the complete six-stanza version at formal government functions attended by the President or Governors, before and after presidential addresses broadcast on radio and television, when the National Flag is brought on parade and on other similar occasions.
The first two stanzas of Vande Mataram were adopted as the national song by the Indian National Congress in 1937, while the Constituent Assembly recognised it as the National Song in 1950.
With the song now being played at an international sporting event, it remains to be seen whether both the national anthem and national song will feature at upcoming ICC events.
