15^th August 1947 – the day the finally threw off the shackles of British rule. It was a long and choppy ride and time and every year this day ensures we do not forget what it accomplished. Maybe that is why freedom and its struggles have set many an imagination aflutter. Songs, movies, sequences, plays – you name it, freedom has been the muse.

But as with every other thing, the treatment of these expressions has undergone a huge change. The kind of songs and movies that our parents saw is very different from what we admire. This Independence Day, CoHo looks at the kind of patriotic songs that the new generation sings:

• Maa Tujhe Salaam – Now we could not start this list with anything other than this masterpiece from A. R. Rahman, can we? This absolutely beautiful rendition still sends goose bumps up every spine.

• Kandho Se Milte Hain Kandhe – Lakshya might have bombed at the box office but its songs were in a different league altogether. Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s music nailed every song and this one about our Army instills pride and fervor in every Indian’s heart.

• Suno Gaur Se – Who says patriotism cannot be fun, new age and peppy? Shankar Mahadevan infused those words in every lyric of this energetic number. The song was quite instrumental in terms of its nature and beats but it turned out to be one hell of an experiment.

• Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani – We Indians are quirky. They say In India, water and language changes every fifty kilometers and with that our idiosyncrasies. No other song celebrates them like this one does. We might be weird but it’s a lovable weirdness.

• Yeh Jo Des Hai Mera – Swades is a movie that lives on in many a heart. One of the best works of SRK, this movie and the song stands out in many a way. Beautiful played shehnai with well placed lyrics – it just does not get any better.

• Chak De India – SRK, Sukhwiinder Singh’s music and the national game of India – three powerhouses came together to give us a song that still makes us want to stand up and start rooting for the nation.

• Rang De Basanti – What does one say about this song? That it was a powerful piece of music rendered in an even more powerful way? That every lyric in this song is true? That we are a nation of colours and the nation of serenity? That it was India at its most vivid?

• Jann Gann Mann by A. R. Rahman – Yes, it is our national anthem and every nation takes pride in it, irrespective of the generation and times. But the version that A R. Rahman stands out in the way it brought all stalwarts together. And what better way to showcase it than at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert – isn’t India the nation that has NEVER tried to invade another?

There are so many things about India that infuses us with pride. We might not be where we want to be or can be but that does not mean what he have achieved is not great. But then, one does not need a special day or sing any particular song to feel that.

Let us know which patriotic songs do you listen to and did we miss any?

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