India at 70: Top five renditions of the national anthem you cannot miss

On India’s 70th Independence Day, here are five versions of the national anthem you should listen to:

On January 24, 1950, the Constituent Assembly declared Jana Gana Mana, written by eminent poet Rabindranath Tagore, as the National anthem. The anthem, originally written in Bengali and later translated to Hindi, celebrates the stretch from the Himalayas to the Vindhyas, River Ganga to the Yamuna, and Punjab to south India.

Hindustan Times/ Arun Sharma

Since then, the words have been given different treatment by different people, but they never fail to enthrall.

On India’s 70th Independence Day, here are five versions of the national anthem you should listen to:

-- In a bid to encourage inclusivity, the Ministry of Human Resource Development released a version of the national anthem, beautifully sung in sign language. The video composed by Bollywood music director, late Aadesh Shrivastava features Amitabh Bachchan along with specially-abled children and is shot against the backdrop of the Red Fort.

[Publisher of the video has disabled the embedding. You can find it on YouTube by the name of ‘INDIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM IN INDIAN SIGN LANGUAGE’]

-- Bharat Bala Productions roped in the maestros of Indian music industry for this rendition. From AR Rehman, Hariharan, Lata Mangeshkar to Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan and Sudha Raghunathan, this star-studded symphonic version of the anthem will enthrall you.

-- Dressed in simple traditional Khasi costume, Shillong-based Serenity Choir’s adaptation of the national anthem is not just beautifully shot but is perfectly layered with voices.

-- From the culture to the cuisine — this version called the People’s Anthem produced the Carnival Group encapsulates the essence of our nation in the most authentic way.

-- The national anthem performed by the Symphony Orchestra of India, India’s first and only professional orchestra, will give you goosebumps.