Sung in 1911: The Anthem Before the Flag

Thirty-nine years to office

Two waves meet around the wheel like a duet — apt for the page where the flag meets its music, which turns out to be the elder partner.

Jana Gana Mana was first sung on 27 December 1911, at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress — when the tricolour as we know it did not yet exist. The song then waited thirty-nine years for office, becoming the national anthem on 24 January 1950. The flag of 1947 and the hymn of 1911 met in the middle, and have opened every Independence morning together since.