Sahitya Parishat plans to reduce state anthem duration

Kannada Sahitya Parishat on Wednesday decided to cap the duration of the state anthem, ‘Jaya Bharatha Jananiya Thanujathe,’ composed by Kuvempu, to 2 minutes 30 seconds.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting chaired by Manu Baligar, president of the Parishat, and attended by top Kannada authors and poets.

Addressing a press conference, Baligar said, “This is the maximum we can reduce without editing any lyrical part of the composition. There is no particular tone, but it can be sung within 2 minutes 30 minutes. We will submit a proposal in this regard to the government and it is up to them to take a final decision.”

When the song was made the state anthem, many had complained that it was too long. People found it difficult to stand up for the duration of the anthem whenever it was sung at public functions.

There were instances when the song was sung for up to 10 minutes along with music. However, the song currently varies between four and five minutes, depending on the rendition. The discussion over reducing the duration is on for the past many years. In 2014, the committee headed by Kannada poet Chennaveera Kanavi had submitted a proposal to reduce the duration to one minute 30 seconds.

“One person sang the anthem in 1 minute 45 seconds. However, we found the pace to be fast, so we have decided to stick to this. It will not dilute the meaning and intent of the song,” said Baligar.

Chandrashekara Kambara, Siddalingaiah, Doddarange Gowda, Kamala Hampana, B T Lalitha Naik and others who attended the meeting have given their nod for the proposal.