Making ‘Vande Mataram’ popular among kids

Panaji: Class VIII student Om Mayekar lightly taps the slick parting of his hair and gives himself one last look in the mirror of Kala Academy’s green room before he goes onstage.Set to sing ‘Vande Mataram’ along with his friends, the People’s High School student said, “The gist of this patriotic song is that Mother India is great. We should therefore promote peace and make our country proud.”He was one of the many students taking part in the All Goa Inter School ‘Sampurna Vande Mataram’ group singing competition recently. The event was organized by Dr K B Hedgewar High School, Cujira, in association with the directorate of art and culture and Kala Academy, Panaji.“I love to dress up and sing. This contest allows me to do both. I’ve also made friends from other schools during this event.” said Vidhi Prabhu of Matoshree Indirabai Baburao Khandeparkar High School, Khandepar.Composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in the 1870s, the poem was included in the novelist’s 1881 novel ‘Anandamath’ and since long, Vande Mataram has been a popular patriotic song. However, only a few lines from the composition are usually recited. Hence, the annual competition encourages students in Goa to sing the complete piece.“Vande Mataram was like a mantra during the the struggle for independence and ignited motivation among freedom fighters. The contest is an effort to arouse similar feelings of patriotism among students, besides helping them learn the full song,” said headmaster of Dr K B Hedgewar High School, Vilas Satarkar.A total of 51 schools from different parts of the state participated in the day-long singing contest. While all of them performed the same song, they were judged on the basis of presentation and performance. “Aspects like swar, taal, pronunciation and costumes were taken into account before deciding the winner,” said artist Pravin Naik, who organized the event.LD Samant Memorial High School in Alto Porvorim was declared the winner. In addition to this, 36 of the schools participated in a state-level poster-making competition that was held in tandem with the singing contest.