Our National Anthem "Jana Gana Mana" is sung throughout the country. Did youknow the following about our national anthem? I didn't. I have always wondered who is the "adhinayak" and "bharat bhagyavidhata",whose praise we are singing. I thought it might be God!

To begin with, India's national anthem, Jana Gana Mana adhinayaka, was written by Rabindranath Tagore in honor of King George V and the Queen of England when they visited India in 1919. To honor their visit Pundit Motilal Nehru had the five stanzas included,which are in praise of the King and Queen. (And most of us think it is in the praise of our great motherland!!!)

In the original Bengali verses only those provinces that were under British rule, i.e. Punjab, Sindh,Gujarat,Maratha.. etc. were mentioned. None of the princely states were recognized which are integral parts of India now - Kashmir,Rajasthan,Andhra, Mysore or Kerala. Neither the Indian Ocean nor the Arabian Sea was included, since they were directly under Portuguese rule at that time.

source: na.rediffblogs.com