Pune has set a Guinness World Record after 38,233 traditional oil lamps were lit within 30 minutes at Shaniwar Wada to form the words “Vande Mataram” during a Pune Municipal Corporation-organised Diwali Deepotsav.
The event was held to commemorate 150 years of the national song and brought around 250 young volunteers to the historic monument’s courtyard. Gen Z participants played a major role in lighting the diyas simultaneously, turning the public space into the centre of a large civic and cultural gathering.
A Guinness World Records team inspected the diya arrangement and the lamp-lighting activity before officially confirming the record, according to the event details reported by Punekar News. The final count exceeded the initial target of more than 36,000 lamps set by the organisers.
The diyas were arranged in the courtyard in front of Shaniwar Wada. Volunteers began lighting them at the scheduled time, gradually illuminating the historic premises and forming the words “Vande Mataram”. Participants and visitors applauded the announcement of the record and raised patriotic slogans, while patriotic songs and performances by a military band accompanied the celebrations.
The initiative was conceptualised by Pune Mayor Manjusha Nagpure. She said the PMC had resolved to create a world record through the Deepotsav as part of the commemoration of 150 years of “Vande Mataram”. Nagpure credited the participation of young volunteers for helping the civic body achieve the target.
The event also included a felicitation ceremony for the mothers and wives of martyred soldiers, recognising what organisers described as their sacrifice and contribution to the nation.
Minister of State for Urban Development Madhuri Misal, MLA Hemant Rasane, Deputy Mayor Parashuram Wadekar, Standing Committee Chairman Shrinath Bhimale, Additional Municipal Commissioners Omprakash Diwate and Prajit Nair, Pune Cantonment Board President Brigadier Tarunesh, Colonel Vikas Sawalge, Colonel Shrinivas Katwalekar, Kaushik Kothiya, Krishnakumar Goyal, Rajesh Mittal and Colonel Rajesh Kumar Jindal were among those present.
The programme placed Shaniwar Wada, one of Pune’s most prominent historic public spaces, at the centre of a city-organised festival involving municipal officials, residents, visitors and volunteers. The mayor said the Pune Municipal Corporation was the only local self-government body in the country to achieve a world record through such an initiative.
