Margaret Cousins wrote the musical notes for Tagore’s lyrics in Madanapalle in 1919It is common knowledge that Rabindranath Tagore authored the national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ in 1911. Till then, ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was just a lyric. Before ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was declared the national anthem on January 24, 1950, two days before India became a republic, then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had asked musician Herbert Murrill to give his opinion on the tune. He had increased the tempo and modelled it on the lines of the French national song La Marseilles,” says K.S.S. “The original document on which Jana Gana Mana was written was preserved at the college for several years, before it was sold to an American art collector for a fabulous, but undisclosed price.

Source: The Hindu February 26, 2021 20:02 UTC