Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Aug 15: As India marked its 79th Independence Day on Friday, a heartwarming video of a 17-year-old American singing the Indian National Anthem has gone viral, drawing praise from netizens across the globe.
The teenager, identified as Gabe Merritt, delivered a soulful rendition of Rabindranath Tagore’s “Jana Gana Mana” in a video shared on Instagram by Disha Pansuriya, who resides in the US. The post carried the text overlay: "You feel proud when a 17-year-old American sings Indian National Anthem."
Pansuriya revealed that Gabe has learned the national anthems of several countries but holds a special fondness for the 52-second-long Indian anthem. “Oh my god! My heart just smiled through this. He is just amazing… but @india is his favourite! I pray and wish he goes places with his exceptional talent!!” she wrote.
The clip, which has garnered nearly 60,000 views, saw social media users showering love and appreciation. “That was a super proud moment,” commented one user, while another wrote: “Beautiful brother. Lots of love from me and India and I invite you to visit our beautiful country.” A third added: “This was the best thing I saw today.”
Composed originally as Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata in Bengali on December 11, 1911, the first stanza of the song was adopted as India’s National Anthem on January 24, 1950. A recording of “Jana Gana Mana” was also presented by the Indian delegation at the UN General Assembly in New York in 19472E