Shaniwar Wada Guinness World Record: PMC Lights 38,233 Diyas to Spell Vande Mataram on November 7

Pune, 8th November 2026: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) set a Guinness World Record at Shaniwar Wada on Saturday evening, 7 November, by lighting 38,233 earthen diyas arranged to spell “Vande Mataram”. A Guinness adjudicator verified the count on site and handed over the certificate the same evening.

The Deepotsav was held to mark 150 years of Vande Mataram, the national song written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. The theme was “Sanman Rashtragitacha, Abhiman Punekaranchya”, which roughly means honour for the national song and pride for Punekars.

How many diyas were lit at Shaniwar Wada, and how long did it take

The final verified count was 38,233 diyas. According to Punekar News, the original target was a little over 36,000, so the team crossed it by more than 2,000 lamps.

The diyas were laid out in the open ground in front of the fort’s main gate and lit at a fixed time. Lighting the whole arrangement took about 30 minutes, as reported by both Punekar News and Sakal.

Punekar News reported that about 250 young volunteers lit the lamps together, and that Gen Z participants did much of the work. Mayor Manjusha Nagpure later credited them for the success of the event.

Who verified the record

Swapnil Dangarikar, an official adjudicator for Guinness World Records, checked the setup and the lighting in person, as reported by The Free Press Journal and Dainik Prabhat. The record was then announced to the crowd and the certificate presented to the PMC.

None of the published reports so far name the exact Guinness record category. We will add it once the PMC or Guinness World Records publishes the official title.

Who attended the PMC Deepotsav

The lamps were lit by Union Minister of State Murlidhar Mohol, Mayor Manjusha Nagpure, Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram and Brigadier Tarunesh of the Indian Army. State ministers Chandrakant Patil and Madhuri Misal were present and addressed the gathering.

Fifty veer matas and veer patnis, the mothers and wives of soldiers who died in service, were honoured on stage. Senior Army officers, including Colonel Vikas Sawalje and Colonel Srinivas Satwalekar, were also felicitated.

An Army band played patriotic music. Dainik Prabhat reported that 11 students of Abhinav Vidyalaya sang Vande Mataram during the programme.

What the Mayor said about the record

Mayor Nagpure, who first proposed the idea, said the PMC had resolved to mark 150 years of Vande Mataram with a world record. She called it a tribute to patriotism rather than only a record.

She also claimed that the PMC is the only local self-government body in the country to set a world record through such an initiative. Puneri Pages has not been able to verify that claim independently.

Why Shaniwar Wada was chosen

Shaniwar Wada, the 18th-century seat of the Peshwas in Kasba Peth, is one of the most recognised landmarks in Pune. The fort walls and the Delhi Darwaza gate gave the lamps a backdrop that the whole city recognises.

The event also landed in the middle of Diwali week, when the old city is already crowded with shoppers in Laxmi Road, Tulshibaug and Mandai.

If you plan to visit the area this week, expect slow traffic around Shivaji Road and Bajirao Road in the evenings. Our guide to Diwali lights in Pune lists other places worth seeing, and the Pune events this weekend page has more festival plans.

Not everyone backed the event

The Deepotsav was not without criticism. Civic Mirror reported earlier this week that some citizens had demanded the PMC cancel the Shaniwar Wada lamp festival and send the money to drought-hit areas instead. The PMC has not published the total cost of the event so far.

We will update this story when the PMC shares the official record title, the cost of the event and any photographs released by Guinness World Records.

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