The National Anthem

After the media carried news on the Sri Lankan government calling for one National Anthem in Sinhala I did some research on National Anthems. The Indian National Anthem is neither in Hindi nor in English, it is in Bengali and nobody seems to mind it although each of us sing it in our accents in the most awful way. When I asked my South African friend of Indian origin about their National Anthem which is sung in five languages, she said that it was no problem and that all people sang it, but she added "except the whites". My Belgian friend wrote back and told me that in the Flemish part it is sung in Flemish and in the French part in French and when the two groups are together they sing it in their own language which is total cacophony. Canadians sing it in both languages, when it comes to the French part the English mumble the words and when it is the English part the French mumble. Apparently there is also a Tamil translation sung at Tamil gatherings. The Swiss have their National Anthem translated into four languages and sing it in their own language.

What is important I think is the spirit of it all. What made Brinda unpopular was his emotionless attention while the Indian National Anthem was played after he received the Olympic gold medal. National Anthems are more about the emotions they evoke than the language it is sung in.