Aug 15th: India's Independence Day!
1.
Saare jahaan se achha, Hindustan hamaara
hum bulbule hai iski, yeh gulsitaan hamaara.
[Best in the Universe, Hindustan of ours
We are its nightingales, it is our garden]
2.
Parbat woh sabse ooncha, hamsaya aasmanka
Woh santari hamaara, Woh pasban hamaara.
[The mountain most high, a neighbour to the sky
it is our sentry, it is our saviour]
3.
Godimein khelti hain, Jiski hazaaron nadiya
Gulshan hai jinki damse, Raksh-I-jinan hamaara.
[In her sweet embrace dance a thousand rivers
breathing life in her gardens, outrivalling heaven]
4.
Mazhab nahin sikhaata, Aapas main bair rakhna
Hindi hain hum watan hain, Hindustan hamara.
[Faith does not teach us to hate each other
We are all Indians, Hindustan is our homeland]
—
Excerpted from Tarana-i-Hind
by Allama (Mohammad) Iqbal
Arun Shanbhag 
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