Bangladesh National Anthem — Amar Sonar Bangla

"Amar Sonar Bangla" is a poem of pure love for the land of Bengal, addressed as a mother. It speaks of skies and air that "set my heart in tune like a flute", the maddening scent of mango groves in spring, and "sweet smiles" seen across the brimming fields of late autumn.

The imagery is intimate and pastoral — banyan trees, riverbanks, the mother's voice "like nectar" — culminating in the singer's vow to weep should that beloved face ever turn sorrowful. Rather than martial pride, it offers a deeply personal devotion to the homeland.

Rabindranath Tagore wrote "Amar Sonar Bangla" in 1905, at the height of protests against Lord Curzon's partition of Bengal, as a song to reunite Bengalis across the divide. He set it to a melody adapted from "Ami Kothay Pabo Tare", a Baul (mystic folk) song by Gagan Harkara. When Bangladesh declared independence in 1971, the first ten lines were adopted as the national anthem, made official the following year.

Tagore holds a unique place in world music: he wrote the national anthems of two countries, Bangladesh and India. "Amar Sonar Bangla" is sung at national occasions across Bangladesh, and in 2021 tens of thousands sang it together to mark the country's golden jubilee. Its folk-rooted melody keeps it close to the Bengali soul.

"Amar Sonar Bangla" ("My Golden Bengal") is the national anthem of Bangladesh, one of the most lyrical of the world's national anthems. Both words and music are by Rabindranath Tagore, who also wrote India's "Jana Gana Mana".

Written in 1905, it was adopted as the national anthem at independence in 1971. It is in the public domain, and the anthem uses the first ten lines of Tagore's poem.