Prelims 2021 · Q36
MediumWith reference to Madanapalle of Andhra Pradesh, which one of the following statements is correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) Rabindranath Tagore translated the National Anthem from Bengali to English here.
In 1919 Tagore spent a few days at Madanapalle with the Irish poet James H. Cousins, principal of the Besant Theosophical College, and his wife Margaret Cousins. There he rendered 'Jana Gana Mana' into English ('The Morning Song of India'), and Margaret Cousins wrote down its musical notation.
- ✓ (c) A Ministry of Education page records that Tagore sang the song at the Besant Theosophical College, Madanapalle, in February 1919, and that the college adopted its English version as its prayer song; so the translation was made there.
- ✗ (d) The Theosophical Society was founded in New York in 1875; after Blavatsky and Olcott settled in India in 1879, its permanent headquarters was set up at Adyar, Madras, in 1882.
Remember · Madanapalle (1919): Tagore's English translation of Jana Gana Mana, 'The Morning Song of India', at the Besant Theosophical College. Theosophical Society headquarters: Adyar, Madras (1882).
Sources
- Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (Ministry of Education): History of the Indian National Anthem ↗ “the song was first sung by the bard himself at a session in Besant Theosophical College in Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh on February 28, 1919. The song enthralled the college authorities and they adopted the English version of the song as their prayer song”
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, Jana Gana Mana ↗ · reference work “In 1919, during a short stay at Madanapelle (now in Andhra Pradesh state) with the Irish poet James H. Cousins and his wife Margaret Cousins, Tagore shared the melody with Margaret Cousins, who transcribed its formal notation. … At her request Tagore translated the poem to English, and this version became the prayer song of the Besant Theosophical College”
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, Theosophical Society ↗ · reference work “The two settled there in 1879 and in 1882 established the permanent headquarters of the Theosophical Society of Adyar, Madras.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·