Mile sur mera tumhara

Quite some time back, somebody in our office happened to circulate a video compiled by the grads at MIT which was an acknowledgement to the really patriotic song/video compiled in 1988 on the occasion of the Indian Independence by Prasar Bharathi, the erstwhile Doordarshan.

I happened to be listening to some of the video songs that I have, and came across this once again. And then I stumbled upon this one.

Frankly speaking, I was feeling such a rush of patriotism coursing through my veins, when I realized that I didn't know about the origins of this wonderful song. Thanks to google and wiki, I was able to get this bit of info as well. Mile Sur Mera Tumhara

Sadly, the last few lines in the first para are so true today:

Even today, this video brings nostalgia to the young and middle aged Indian
public, who have grown up listening to it. With the advent of cable TV, and
numerous channels, Doordarshan channel gradually lost large part of its
viewership, and the video gradually faded into oblivion, no longer to be
broadcast.

Which is a pity because it is such a great video. In just about 5-6 minutes, it gave you a glimpse of India and the vast cultural diversity we have inherited. The video was one of the best ways of depicting the Unity in Diversity.

Another such video was where they showed the Asian Games torch being passed around a lot of people. P T Usha was running for a while. There was Sunil Gavaskar and Prakash Padukone too. And many other sportsmen. It was such a heartening video.

And its all gone now. Nobody shows it on Doordarshan anymore; for that matter nobody even sees that channel now. We are too busy making money out of mindless soaps and their even-more-mindless sponsors backing losers who think they are without equal.

Every Indian should hear this rendition, and should definitely not miss the last minute of the song, where the song smoothly transitions into a heart-rending rendition of the Indian National Anthem.

Only two other "songs" have ever evoked such patriotic feelings in me. One without doubt is our National Anthem, while the other is A.R.Rahman's fiery rendition of the Vande Mataram.

Damn, I'm having goosebumps that just won't go!

In case you'd like to have a look at the videos, here they are, from our friendly neighbourhood YouTube!
Mile Sur Mera Tumhara
A.R.Rahman's rendition of Vande Mataram