Lucknow: Lucknow University has directed its affiliated colleges across five districts to begin academic and cultural events with the university anthem.The move aims to strengthen ties between the main campus and its affiliated colleges and instil a sense of institutional pride among students.Vice-chancellor JP Saini has asked all affiliated colleges in Lucknow, Sitapur, Hardoi, Lakhimpur Kheri and Rae Bareli to play or sing the university’s official anthem at the beginning of formal academic, intellectual and cultural events.The directive will apply to seminars, conferences, workshops, annual functions, induction programmes, award ceremonies, convocations and youth festivals, among other events.“The university anthem is the musical expression of an institution’s soul, its historical struggles, knowledge traditions and collective consciousness. Lucknow University’s anthem reflects our rich heritage and commitment to nation-building,” the VC said.He said the university wanted students, teachers and staff members of affiliated colleges to feel emotionally connected with this legacy. Beginning events with the anthem would strengthen institutional pride, discipline and cultural awareness among students, he added.“Affiliated colleges are an integral part of the LU family and should feel equally connected to its academic and cultural traditions. The initiative is particularly significant for students studying in colleges located in districts away from the university’s main campus,” he said.It was back in the 1990s that eminent physicist and Lucknow University vice-chancellor Mahendra Singh Sodha (1992-1995) insisted that the university should have an anthem of its own. He approached Prof Roop Rekha Verma, who taught in the philosophy department, and requested her to write a Kulgeet.“I approached several noted Urdu shayars and poets to write the anthem, but either they took too much time or their lyrics failed to impress the VC. It was then that I decided to write it myself. I wrote the lyrics, while the composition was done by the Indian People’s Theatre Association, Ravi Nagar,” said former LU vice-chancellor Verma.She said that, just as Aligarh Muslim University’s (AMU) official anthem, popularly known as AMU Tarana, was written by Asrar-ul-Haque Majaz Lakhnawi in 1936, Prof Sodha too wanted an anthem of similar stature for LU.“It was then that I wrote: ‘Shat-shat naman hamara is gyan srot ko, vandan pranat hamara is shubh parisar ko.’ The lines express deep respect and gratitude towards Lucknow University as a sacred centre of learning, knowledge and enlightenment. They celebrate the university campus as a place that nurtures education, wisdom, values and intellectual growth,” said Prof Verma.The university administration will make the authorised audio and video versions of the anthem available on its official website and college login portal. Colleges have also been asked to maintain the anthem’s dignity and follow the prescribed protocol.
