Folklore and Indian nationalism
i) Came to be visually associated with the image of Bharat Mata.
ii) ‘Vande Mataram’ as a hymn to the motherland. Later it was included in the novel Anandamath and widely sung during the Swadeshi movement in Bengal.
iii) Moved by the Swadeshi movement, Abanindranath Tagore painted his famous image of Bharat Mata, is portrayed as an ascetic figure; she is calm, composed, divine and spiritual.
iv) Ideas of nationalism also developed through a movement to revive Indian folklore. Nationalists began recording folk tales sung by bards and they toured villages to gather folk songs and legends.
v) It was essential to preserve the folk tradition in order to discover one’* national identity.
