ANNUAL DAY REPORT 2025-2026
Date: Friday,17th October 2025
Venue: Amphitheatre, VPMS Pune
‘Antarnad Maharashtracha’: A Cultural Voyage Through Devotion, History and Literature
True to its reputation, Vikhe Patil Memorial School Pune has once again proved why this school is known to making students’ life meaningful through the all-around development. At VPMS, the Annual Day is one of the best platforms to showcase the hidden talents of the students. After fetching the standing ovation from the audience last year for the patriotic fervour showcased through ‘Bhagatsingh’, the school has nailed it this year too by showing the cultural significance of Maharashtra. The Annual Day of the Secondary and Senior Secondary Section was held on 17th October, 2025.
Amidst the echoing beats of the dhol taasha, gondhal, and the rising voices of abhang singers, this year’s annual day presentation titled “Antarnaad Maharashtracha” took the audience on a rich, layered journey through Maharashtra’s spiritual, historical and literary heritage. From the timeless saints of the Varkari tradition to the far-reaching legacy of P. L. Deshpande, passing through the era of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his commitment to Marathi culture, the evening wove together devotion, identity and humour into a seamless whole.
The opening segment dedicated itself to the saints of Maharashtra—such as Sant Dnyaneshwar, Sant Namdev, and Sant Tukaram —whose abhangs, Marathi devotional songs, and pilgrimage culture through Pandharpur established the vernacular voice of Marathi devotion and social reform. These figures for centuries broke the barriers of ritual and caste, turned Marathi into a vehicle of spiritual egalitarianism, and gave Maharashtra its abiding pilgrim pulse. The dance of Varkaris, the rhythmic invocation in song and procession, came alive on stage — the musical-dramatic sequences of varkari dance and the powada style ballad narrated episodes of how devotion became a lived-practice among thousands of pilgrims.
From that devotional landscape the drama then shifted into the age of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It illuminated how, in the 17th century, as Shivaji built his Swarajya, he also turned Marathi from a vernacular into an administrative, literary and cultural medium.
The final act brought the audience to modern times and to one of Maharashtra’s most beloved cultural figures: P. L. Deshpande, affectionately “Pu La”. In a lively mixture of theatre, sketches and music, the characters he created — from the everyday Maharashtrian in a chawl to the social observer with a comic twist — came alive. Known for his wide-ranging talents as writer, actor, orator, musician and satirist, Pu La used Marathi with effortless humour, warmth and insight. His essays and character-sketch collections such as Vyakti Ani Valli remain cultural touchstones, and critics still rate him as “the man for all seasons” of Marathi literature. His fondness for the silent-film genius Charlie Chaplin found an echo in a mime-style segment in the drama, blending the global and the local in one breath. The portrayal of ‘Fadke master’ and ‘chitale master’ was simply superb making everyone nostalgic of their formative years.
The musical interludes of Varkari dance, the power-ballads, the theatrical tribute to Pu La, all served not just as performance but as a living archive of Maharashtra’s heritage. Young students in the audience were seen tapping their feet during the ballad, and lightly chuckling as they recognised characters from Pu La’s world; elders nodded knowingly as the abhangs floated across the hall.
The Swatantra Theatre deserves credit for crafting a programme that did not merely entertain but educated — making connections between devotion, language and literature. The choice of pieces and the flow of segments helped the viewer appreciate that the saints of Maharashtra laid the moral and linguistic foundations.
In a nutshell, “Antarnaad Maharashtracha” was more than a celebration — it was a bridge linking centuries of Marathi culture: devotional, political and literary. In an age of change and rapid media, reminding ourselves of the power of language, devotion and laughter is no small achievement. The echoes of abhangs, the cadence of powadas and the smile of a Pu La-character will linger with the audience long after the last note has faded.
A notable figure in Marathi Literature, Shri. Ramdas Phutane was the chief guest. The event was attended by all the members of the management, Dr. Vikhe Patil Foundation, Pune. The school Principal Mrs. Mrinalini Fernandes did not leave any stone unturned to welcome the guests and the overall supervision of the event.
‘It is mesmerising to see the quality and the standard of the cultural programme, that too in Marathi, when people have forgotten to speak in their mother tongue these days’ were the words of the chief guest, Shri Ramdas Phutane.
