History of Kolkata Chandra Pal]]. The early nationalists were inspired by [[Swami Vivekananda]], the foremost disciple of the [[Hindu]] mystic Sri [[Ramakrishna]] and helped by [[Sister Nivedita]], disciple of the former. The rousing cry that awakened India's soul was penned by [[Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay]]. Now the national song of the nation, it is an ode to the land of [[Names of India#Bharat|Bharat]] (India) as the Divine Mother, "[[Vande Mataram]]." The Elgin Road residence of [[Subhas Chandra Bose]] in Calcutta was the place from where he escaped the British to reach Germany during the [[World War II|Second World War]]. He was the co-founder of
Vande Mataram established Calcutta University. After his BA, he joined the British Indian government as a civil servant, becoming a District Magistrate and later a District Collector. Chattopadhyay was very interested in recent events in Indian and Bengali history, particularly the Revolt of 1857 and the previous century's Sanyasi Rebellion. Around the same time, the administration was trying to promote "God Save the Queen" as the anthem for Indian subjects, which Indian nationalists disliked. It is generally believed that the concept of "Vande Mataram" came to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay when he was still a government official, around 1876. He wrote "Vande Mataram"