It was 1963. I was waiting for a call from the Army Headquarters to report for training as an Emergency Commissioned Officer. It was then a song written by a celebrated poet and a famous playback singer hit the national headlines. It moved millions of hearts in India, including this aspirant soldier. The whole nation was so touched then - as now, that every Indian clamoured to listen to the live performance. They wanted to honour sacrifices of our brave soldiers, show the solidarity with the nation and with our fighting forces.
Wishes of the nation were honoured. Performances were held in most cities of India. Wherever the artists went, people gathered in their thousands to listen to them. They all performed for free. All proceeds went to the Defence Fund.
One of the performances was held in my city. There was not a single eye in the audience without a tear that night. It happened in every city, in every place they performed. It was said that even the then Prime Minister, who, by education and outlook was English, hobnobbed with the top world leaders, had a stiff upper lip like his peers and the aristocracy in England, shed a tear or two when the song was performed in his presence.
That time, there was one name associated with the song that was proclaimed with pride and honour. It was more prominent than any other names: it was that of a top music director of the day who wrote music for the song. Like his divine creator, he had put soul of music into the body of words. The first note struck the nerve of the nation. It stirred the spirit and soul of hundreds of millions of Indiana. His baton directed every stroke of the bow on the strings of violins, cello, in every drum and cymbal beat, even the small punctuation in the phrase of the composition. The musicians, the singer and the maestro performed as a single body.
Wonder what happened since then ! Today, only three names are remembered: the poet Pradeep, the singer Lata Mangeshkar and the Prime Minister Nehru who is said to have shed tears when he heard the song.
On 26 January, 2022, the massed bands of Indian Army, the very same soldiers described by the poet -- "Sikh, koi Jat, Maratha, koi Gurkha koi Madrasi" poured out their souls while playing the notes written on their music sheets. They were playing for their fallen colleagues who had - and have since been laying down their lives on the freezing battlefields of Rezang La, Chushul, the Galwan River, Se La, Nowshera in the Himalayas; in the battlefields of Asal Uttar, Shakargarh, Hilli, Akhnur, Jhangad, Poonch, Uri on the sharp edged cliffs of Panj Pir mountains, Tiger Hill, and worse than Arctic Freeze of Sia Chin. The audience too, was in a deep trance, as if seeing the braves marching on the horizon of New Delhi.
That evening of the 26th January 2022, Poet Pradeepji, Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar and Nehru the then PM were not there. There was just the sombre soul stirring music; the composition created by a maestro and played with feeling by the soldier-musicians, the audience and the billion who were just watching them on their screens. One important person who was not there was the maestro, who wrote the score.
C. Ramchandra.
Yes, it's Chitalkar Ramchandra who went - or was sent - into the oblivion. However, his music is still remembered. In fact it stands next to the national anthem and the national song. Over the decades it has touched the heart and soul of the nation. Selfless as the maestro was, he immortalised the poem, the poet and the singer.
Wherever he is, he is now a divine musician, writing music in the court of our Lady of Learning and performing for the gods and angels. For us, he left a gift that will never be forgotten.
The tunes still linger. First the original performance:
