What the Sri Lankan National Anthem says about us

To a great extent, our anthem explains the kind of people that we are – Pic by Shehan Gunasekara

By. Sajith A. Weerasinghe

Recently, quite by accident, I heard the Russian National Anthem. It immediately caught my ear. I loved it. It moved me. I listened to it repeatedly on YouTube. 

It was evident that a lot of people from different nationalities had also liked the Russian masterpiece. So, I wanted to know what this masterpiece was actually telling her people. It glorifies Russia as unique and asks her people to enjoy the freedom of the land and exercise its mighty will to spread its fields and forests. Russia is strengthened by everyone’s loyalty and it promises prosperity in return. (Watch it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOAtz8xWM0w)

This made me question our own National Anthem. What was its message to her people? You see, when it comes to something like a national anthem, your ears do lie! When sounds are processed through years of brainwashing, nationalism or even ethnocentrism, your perceptions could be really skewed. But then it struck me that just comparing it to the Russian National Anthem alone was not enough. I needed to go through the lyrics of at least a couple of other anthems to carry out a content analysis. 

I am sure there is a lot more to a national anthem than just its lyrics such as, when it was written, the dominant political narrative at the time, the national heritage and identity, the security context, any internal and/or external threats, the geographic nature and location and so on. 

For the purpose of my “rogue” content analysis, I discarded all other aspects, just to analyse key themes. Also, it made sense to some extent to do so, because a national anthem has a sense of permanency – It is supposed to be timeless and to inspire not just the generation it’s originally intended for, but all generations past and future. To make this rogue analysis somewhat scientific, I took the English transliteration of each anthem including our own.

China was the first obvious choice simply because we Sri Lankans talk so much about China these days! If these anthems were ads, compared to the epic brand film of the Russian Anthem, the Chinese Anthem is the five-second un-skippable YouTube ad. 

The Chinese Anthem really surprised me in terms of its musical composition. It was quite beautiful, short in length and precise in its messaging. What wasn’t surprising was its message. It clearly spells out that China is under a great threat and each one of its citizens is called upon for urgent action. It was a call to rise up together and build the next Great Wall with the flesh and blood of everyone. (Click here to listen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UctriMuXYS0).

Then I picked the Israeli National Anthem because Israel can be considered an outlier nation. It’s small but no less mighty for a place surrounded by its opponents. This anthem titled ‘The Hope’ calls on its people to have their eyes on the prize, something that they have yearned for, for over 2,000 millennia – to be free people in their land. What was interesting was its framing of hope – “Our hope is still not lost” – implying again that it’s facing an ongoing danger (click to listen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DPqNHkm1bM).

Obviously, the Sri Lankan Anthem was the most beautiful! I am sure, this is the relationship between every national anthem and its people. I am no exception! The Sri Lankan Anthem’s dominant themes were her natural beauty, the abundance of the land, and how the land inspires people in many ways, to move forward as one nation. It could have been written by a fervent devotee of a goddess, expecting her to provide and protect. 

The Russian, Chinese and Israeli Anthems take a different tone. They could have well been written from the perspective of a soldier, leader or even an elder. While we want to be inspired by the land, the other three countries rely on her people’s perspiration to march forward. In the Sri Lankan Anthem, there was no great danger defined or loyalty demanded and no urgent action called for, like in the other anthems. 

Going further into the analysis, the Chinese and Israeli Anthems are single-minded, with clear calls to action – Arise and build the next great wall or somehow push for Jewish freedom. The Sri Lankan Anthem had the greatest number of messages in it.

The Russian Anthem seems to promote a sense of compliance, strength and loyalty while the Chinese Anthem promotes the values of hard work, unity and fearlessness. The Israeli Anthem values tradition, staying focused and finding ways. The Sri Lankan Anthem promotes the values of gratitude and freedom. However, it’s a different kind of freedom. It’s about looking inward and being free from within. 

To a great extent, our anthem explains the kind of people that we are. We are not very hard-working people thanks to the abundance of the land. All of us feel a sense of entitlement to the fruit of the land. The goddess-devotee relationship may also explain our attitudes towards authority and the status quo. 

We don’t challenge authority. Getting as close as possible to authority, pleading for favours from them, seems to be our thing instead. Seemingly content with whatever we get, we therefore do not come across as being dissatisfied with the status quo. We seem to be happy about the way things are irrespective of how they actually are. 

We are not a country that tries to march forward and conquer the world with material wealth. Clearly, we are a nation that’s driven by what things mean rather than by their outward, tangible value. We are one that is seeking inspiration for inward liberation. It’s a masterclass in deep stuff that is written in our anthem, compared to the others! 

Our National Anthem also sheds insight into our way of communication. There’s a great deal of implicit messaging, expecting people to “get it” rather than spelling things out for them. For example, when you dig deeper, our anthem does frame a sense of urgency, yet it’s not explicit like the Chinese or the Israeli Anthems.

Moving people into action in a land of abundance can be a real challenge. For this purpose, our anthem heavily relies on inspiration rather than just disseminating information. It also does a great job of creating a strong experiential brand that is unmistakably Sri Lanka, enabling any one of us to immediately relate to and connect with, without any ambiguity. 

If you have a bit of time, go through our anthem and find some connections to our way of life. I assure you that it will be a rewarding exercise for you. 

(Sajith Weerasinghe is the Chief Strategy Officer of dentsu Grant and is passionate and an advocator of building brands, people and culture.)