mera rang de basanti chola song legend of bhagat singh

This iconic song was written for the spring season, for renewal of hope and metaphorically spoke of the aspirations of the multitude and their yearning for freedom.

Written in 1927, the words of this song were penned by by Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil with 18 other revolutionaries and freedom fighters Ashfaqullah Khan, Khatri, Thakur, Roshna and others who were incarcerated in Lucknow Central Prison for the Kakori Train Robbery. It is said often, that while marching courageously to the gallows at Lahore Central Jail, on March 23rd, 1931, Bhagat Singh, RajGuru and Sukhdev raised ‘Inqulaab Zindabad’ slogans and sang, ‘Rang de basanti chola, mai rang de, rang de basanti chola’. Yet, yellow is also the colour of sacrifice. The aspirations of spring are happiness, bravery, and gratitude at having survived another harsh winter. It also means replanting and continuance of bounty and once again, of life. It means harvest of grains, of sustenance and of life. Yellow is the color of fertility, and in agrarian societies, the significance of spring cannot be overstated. And at an age where most of us are unclear and unsure of what we are and what we want to be, he was ready to die for the nation.īasant or spring in India is associated with the color yellow, a time when flowers bloom, when the earth is bathed in the colours of mustard and skies are blue and winters are receding. His ideology was based not on vitriol and contempt but on knowledge and information.

From Adam Smith to Karl Marx to Hugo, to Dickens, his readings were wide and inspiring. Born to a Sandhu Jat Sikh family, he gave up his faith and became an atheist because he could not understand the open Hindu-Muslim hostilities in India at that time. He brought back a handful of blood-soaked mud so as not to forget the gruesome sight and experience. His quest for an independent India was born, when at the age of 12 he visited the Jallianwala Bagh hours after the massacre led by General Dyer. Perhaps no one else has invoked such charm, such love, such admiration as him. And to him our collective gratitude of sowing the seed of freedom and liberty in our minds. For us, he was a superhero our childhood made sure of that. Painted by and gifted to me by a dear friend, Iqbal, of our collective hero, Shaheed Bhagat Singh. Not an ornament of gold, not a designer watch, not a diamond necklace and surprisingly not even a book. In one corner of my cupboard in my room in Chennai is a prized possession.

Mera rang de basanti chola song legend of bhagat singh