Post-2nd stanza hiccup for students on Vande day 1 in schools

Kolkata: ‘Vande Mataram’ was introduced in school prayers across the state on Monday. But though the first two stanzas were sung properly, many students faced challenges with the remaining four stanzas as they were unfamiliar with them. Teachers were assigned to help students learn the lyrics and tune.

Following a recent state govt order, schools formally introduced ‘Vande Mataram’ when they reopened after summer vacation on Monday. Several schools played the song during the prayer and followed the rhythm, while some asked students to arrive a bit early to practise.

Jadavpur Vidyapith School headmaster Partha Pratim Baidya said that on the first day they sang only the first two stanzas and assigned their music teacher to train students. “In the last meeting, we were asked to sing this song, but students were not familiar with all the stanzas. So today, we decided to sing the first two stanzas, which are quite common, and they did well. We will add the other stanzas eventually after they learn the lyrics,” Baidya said. Teachers also explained the meaning of the lyrics to students.

Mitra Institution School, Bhowanipore, headmaster Raja Dey said, “Students sang the first two stanzas, but two female teachers sang the rest. Most of the students were lip-syncing. We have no designated music teacher, so we requested these two teachers to teach the students all the stanzas.”

Kazi Masum Akhtar, a Padma Shri-winner and headmaster of Haranath High School, Bagbazar, said, “I was excited before the morning assembly because it reminded me of the day I was assaulted for singing the National Anthem. Today, all my students sang the song. However, not all of them could sing it properly. Still, I am happy they tried. I hope they will learn all the stanzas very soon. Our teachers have taken responsibility for teaching them.”

Baranagar Rajkumari Memorial Girls’ High School headmistress Payel Dey said, “Today we called students earlier than usual, and they practised the song with our teachers. I am impressed most of the students performed so well on the first day.”

Naraindas Bangur Memorial Multipurpose School headmaster Sanjay Barua said that an original version of the song was sent to students and teachers for preparation. “Today we sang the entire song, which took over three minutes, and we recorded it and sent it to the education department. We asked students to practise regularly to get used to it.”

All school heads were asked to record videos of the morning assembly and send them to the school education department. School heads said they recorded the entire assembly on the first day and submitted it to the department as instructed.