A bureaucrat couple’s decades-long passion for preserving India’s musical heritage recently caught the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the inauguration of the year-long celebrations marking 150 years of the national song Vande Mataram at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Friday, the Prime Minister toured an exhibition showcasing India’s cultural legacy.
Among the exhibits, an old gramophone stood out — featuring the first-ever recording of Vande Mataram. PM Modi is said to have paused to listen to the vintage recording, which drew admiration from dignitaries and attendees alike.
The rare gramophone record was contributed by a bureaucrat couple — Akhilesh Jha, a 1996-batch Indian Civil Accounts Service officer, and Rashmita Jha, a 1997-batch Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) officer — who have spent years archiving and preserving historical gramophone records.
Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and several senior officials were also present and listened to the iconic recording alongside the Prime Minister.
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