I had initially written this post on Jun 24, 2007. The videos posted at that time are removed. So, I created a video myself – a National anthem video to add in this post.

The National anthem before the country became a republic nation was King’s anthem. The anthem only talked about the king and his land. I will prepare a video about the old national anthem and will update this post in a few days.

When I was a little kid, we had to sing the anthem everyday in the morning.

English Translation of the Rastriya Gaan

We are hundreds of flowers, the one garland – Nepali
Sovereign, spread out from Mechi to Mahakali.

Amassing nature’s millions of heritage
By the blood of the braves, independent and immovable.

Land of knowledge, land of peace Terai, hills, mountains
Undivided this beloved, our motherland Nepal.

Diverse race, language, religion, culture are so large
Our progressive nation, long live long live Nepal.

Transliteration
Saiyaun thunga phoolka hami eutai mala Nepali
Saarwabhoum bhai phailiyeka Mechi Mahakali

Prakritika koti koti sampadako aanchal,
Birharuka ragatale swatantra ra atal

Gyanabhumi shantibhumi terai pahad himal
Akhanda yo pyaro hamro matribhumi Nepal

Bahul jati bhasha dharma sanskriti chhan bishal
Agragami rastra hamro jaya jaya Nepal

Old National anthem:

shrîmân gambhîra nepâlî
prachanda pratâpi bhûpati
shrî pânch sarkâr mahârâjâdhirâjako
sadâ rahos unnati
rakhun chirâyu îshale
prajâ phailiyos
pukâraun jaya premale
hâmî nepâlî sârâle.

History of the National Anthem of Nepal

“Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka” meaning “Made of Hundreds of Flowers”) as the national anthem of Nepal was adopted on August 3, 2007, amid a ceremony held at the conference hall of National Planning Commission, inside the Singha Durbar, by the speaker of the interim parliament, Mr. Subash Chandra Nemwang.

The previous anthem, adopted in 1962, was dropped following the abolishment of the monarchy. The previous anthem ‘Rastriya Gaan’ talked more about the king than the public. After the removal of the king, competition was held to draft the new National anthem.

The anthem written by the poet Pradeep Kumar Rai, alias Byakul Maila was selected by the selection National Anthem selection committee formed by the government. The music of the anthem was composed by late musician Amber Gurung.

The national anthem of Nepal is simply worded, with praises of Nepali sovereignty, unity, courage, pride, scenic beauty, progress, peace, cultural and biological diversity, and respect. In August 2016, BBC ranked Nepal’s national anthem third in its list of Rio 2016: The most amazing national anthems, citing its musical differences compared to other anthems.

The top 10 national anthems selected in Rio Olympic 2016 are listed in the following video:

There were more than 200 different National anthems. The BBC journalist who prepared the list say that some have very boring music and others were like listening to pop songs. The top are:

1 – Russian national anthem – is one of the best .

2 – Myanmar – Starts with a traditional Burmes folk tune and suddenly lurches into a military march.

3. Nepal – Nepal’s anthem is unusual. It sounds like a joyous Nepali pop song.

4. Israel – National anthem with sadness in words and nostalgic music. It was written before the country existed and is filled with longing for a Jewish homeland, both in its words and its nostalgic music.

5. Kazakshtan

6. Brazil

7. China

8. Mauritania

9. Democratic Republic of Congo

10. Paraguay

This list is prepared based on the selection of BBC journalist Alex Marshall.

Read the full article here