This story traces its roots back to around 1770 — a period when Bengal was reeling under one of the worst famines in its history. The province, caught in the grip of ruthless Nawabs and the exploitative East India Company, became the backdrop for rebellion and resistance. In protest, local monks rose against oppression.

In Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s famous novel Anandamath (also spelled Anondomoth), set during that famine, a character named Mahendra Singh leaves his village with his wife and daughter to seek a better life in the city. Along the way, they are separated.

British soldiers, mistaking Mahendra for a dacoit, arrest him along with a monk, Bhavananda. Soon, Bhavananda’s fellow monks rescue them. As they journey together under the moonlit sky, Bhavananda begins to sing —

“Vande

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