A view of the tableau of the Ministry of Culture during the 77th Republic Day Parade at Kartavya Trail in New Delhi on January 26, 2026. | Photo credit: ANI
On a chilly Monday morning (January 26, 2026), as hundreds of participants queued outside several enclosures named after Indian rivers, they were greeted by blackboard walls with all six stanzas of Vande Mataram to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the national song. The flats featured a series of paintings created by Tejendra Kumar Mitra in 1923, illustrating Vande Mataram verses and published in the Bande Mataram Album (1923), which were exhibited as carvers along the Kartavya Path.
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The notes of the song rang out brightly as the Union Culture Ministry’s tableau with the theme ‘Vande Mataram: Swatantrata ka Mantra (Song for Freedom)’ came up on the Kartavya trail here. The display traced the song’s journey across generations.
The Vande Mataram manuscript composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was displayed on the front of the board with his depiction on the lower panel. The moving tractor carried the complete original manuscript with all six stanzas of the song. The middle part of the scene brought together artists in traditional dress, representing India’s rich folk diversity, alongside artists in modern clothing, symbolizing the younger Generation Z. Together, they reflected how the song continues to unite Indians across time.
The image of West Bengal also included a statue of the late composer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. Although the theme of the entire event was an ode to the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, the West Bengal government tableau included it as part of the state’s tribute to the freedom fighters who culturally and intellectually awakened Indian minds with such songs.
Another tableau of the Central Department of Public Works also commemorated the milestone. It had a burning torch on its front to symbolize Vande Mataram as the guiding light of India’s freedom struggle and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was depicted on its reverse.
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Most of the images from the state and union territories at this year’s Republic Day parade echoed the Vande Mataram theme and turned the Kartavya journey into a grand display of the full version of the national song.
As the day progressed, dozens of dancers from different states, dressed in colorful costumes, flocked to the Kartavya trail to perform the national song. The performers took suggestive poses throughout the rendition of the national song.
Published – 26 Jan 2026 21:43 IST
