“Mile Sur Mera Tumhara” as it is better known, is an Indian song and accompanying video promoting national integration and unity in diversity.
The concept for Mile Sur was developed in 1988 by Lok Seva Sanchar Parishad, and promoted by Doordarshan (then India’s sole TV broadcaster) and India’s Ministry of Information. The song was composed by Ashok Patki, co-composed & arranged by Louis Banks, written by Piyush Pandey (then an Account Manager and presently the Executive Chairman and Creative Head of Ogilvy and Mather, India). The project was conceived and directed by Suresh Mullick (then all India Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather) and recorded by a group of people from all walks of life, including a supergroup of popular Indians – musicians, sports persons, movie stars, etc.
The national integration video was intended to instill a sense of pride and promote unity amongst Indians, highlighting the different linguistic communities and societies that live in India – India’s unity in diversity, so to speak.
Mile Sur was telecast for the first time on Independence Day 1988, after the telecast of the Prime Minister’s speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort.
It quickly captivated India, gaining and maintaining near-anthem status ever since.
Transcription
[hi] milē sur merā tumhārā, tō sur banē hamārā
sur kī nadiyān̐ har diśā sē, bahte sāgar men̐ milē
bādalōn̐ kā rūp lēkar, barse halkē halkē
milē sur merā tumhārā, tō sur banē hamārā
milē sur merā tumhārā
[ks] Chaain taraz tai myain taraz, ik watt baniye saayen taraz
[pa] tērā sur milē mērē sur dē nāl, milkē baṇē ikk navān̐ sur tāl
[hi] milē sur merā tumhārā, tō sur banē hamārā
[sn] mun̐hin̐jō sur tun̐hin̐jē sān̐ piyārā milē jad̤ahin̐, gīt asān̐jō madhur tarānō baṇē tad̤ahin̐
[ur] sur ka darya bahte sagar men mile
[pa] bādalān̐ dā rūp laikē, barsan haulē haulē
[ta] Isaindhal namm iruvarin suramum namadhakum
Dhisai veru aanalum aazi ser aarugal Mugilai
mazaiyai pozivadu pol isai
Nam isai
[kn] nanna dhvanige ninna dhvaniya, sēridante namma dhvaniya
[te] nā svaramu nī svaramu sangamamai, mana svaranḡa avatarinchē
[ml] eṉṯe svaravum niṅṅkaḷoṭe svaravum, ottucērnnu namoṭe svaramāy
[bn] tōmār śūr mōdēr śūr, sriṣṭi kōruk ōikōśūr
[as] sriṣṭi hauk aikyatān
[or] tuma āmara svarara miḷana, sriṣṭi kari chālu ekā tāna
[gu] maḷē sur jō tārō mārō, banē āpṇō sur nirāḷō
[mr] mājhyā tumchyā juḷtā tārā, madhur surānchyā barastī dhārā
[hi] sur kī nadiyān̐ har diśā sē, bahte sāgar men̐ milē
bādalōn̐ kā rūp lēkar, barse halkē halkē
milē sur merā tumhārā, tō sur banē hamārā
The song itself ends by fading into the final notes of the Indian National Anthem.
Note:
[hi]: Hindi
[ks]: Kashmiri
[pa]: Punjabi
[sn]: Sindhi
[ur]: Urdu
[ta]: Tamil
[kn]: Kannada
[te]: Telugu
[ml]: Malayalam
[bn]: Bangla
[as]: Assamese
[or]: Oriya
[gu]: Gujarati
[mr]: Marathi
The languages present, then in 1988, in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
People featured: Partial list, not in order of appearance:
Mammootty, Kamal Hassan, Amitabh Bachchan, Mithun Chakraborty, Tanvir Ashai , K. R. Vijaya, Revathi, Jeetendra, Waheeda Rehman, Hema Malini, Tanuja, Sharmila Tagore, Shabana Azmi, Deepa Sahi, Om Puri, Dina Pathak, Meenakshi Seshadri (Actors: Film and T.V.) Mallika Sarabhai (Dancer) Mario Miranda (Cartoonist) Mrinal Sen (Filmmaker) Sunil Gangopadhyay, Annadashankar Ray (Authors) Bhimsen Joshi, M Balamuralikrishna, Lata Mangeshkar, Suchitra Mitra (Singers) Narendra Hirwani, S Venkataraghavan, Prakash Padukone, Ramanathan Krishnan, Arun Lal, P. K. Banerjee, Chuni Goswami, Syed Kirmani, Leslie Claudius, Gurbux Singh (Sportsmen), Pratap Pothan, AV Ramanan
