With reference to Madanapalle of Andhra Pradesh, which one of the following statements is correct?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2021 Prelims]
(a) Pingali Venkayya designed the tricolor Indian National Flag here.
(b) Pattabhi Sitaramaiah led the Quit India Movement of Andhra region from here.
(c) Rabindranath Tagore translated the National Anthem from Bengali to English here.
(d) Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott set up headquarters of Theosophical Society first here.
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
- During his stay at the Theosophical College in Madanapalle, a town in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, in 1919, Rabindranath Tagore translated his Bengali poem and future National Anthem, “Jana Gana Mana,” into English and called it the “Morning Song of India.”
- This small town gained a significant place in history because Tagore decided to stay with James H. Cousins, an Irish poet who was then the principal of Besant Theosophical College.
- “Jana Gana Mana” was originally just a poem until Margaret Cousins, the principal’s wife, gave it a melody after carefully studying the meaning of each line and composing the musical notes that Tagore happily approved.
- Before “Jana Gana Mana” became the national anthem on January 24, 1950, two days before India became a republic, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru sought musician Herbert Murrill’s opinion on the tune.
Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.
