A.R. Rahman, who won the Academy Award for music for Slum Dog Millionaire, produced this video of the Indian national anthem, with many of the greats of the Indian classical music scene. The list comes at the end, but it is literally a who's who.
It starts with a slow instrumental intro and then is sung.
I like the Indian national anthem because it is so different from most of the military-themed anthems of other countries. It is actually a prayer of hope more than anything. Sung by Indian classical musicians really brings out something in it that really brings out its "Indianness."
Someone wrote the following on Daily Kos today:
Despite all the things going against India, a very multi-ethnic society has managed to form a national identity, which is remarkable in and of itself. No other country can claim a couple of dozen languages spoken by its people, who rally together as one nation. Any other country that diverse usually tears itself apart along ethnic or regional lines.
This video shows both how and why.
