VP Radhakrishnan to visit Mumbai, Lonavala and Pune on Friday for cultural programmes
Synopsis
Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan heads to Maharashtra on Friday with stops at Lalbaugcha Raja in Mumbai, the Platinum Jubilee of Kaivalyadhama in Lonavala, and the 38th Pune Festival — a day after delivering a pointed address on constitutional democracy at the 79th Hyderabad Liberation Day celebrations in Secunderabad.
Key Takeaways
Radhakrishnan will visit Mumbai , Lonavala , and Pune on Friday, 19 September 2026 .
He will offer darshan at Lalbaugcha Raja in Mumbai in the morning.
In the afternoon, he attends the Platinum Jubilee of Gordhandas Seksaria College of Yoga and Cultural Synthesis at Kaivalyadhama, Lonavala .
In the evening, he attends the 38th Pune Festival at Shri Ganesh Kala Krida Rangmanch, Nehru Stadium .
On Thursday, he addressed the 79th Hyderabad Liberation Day at the Parade Ground, Secunderabad , honouring patriots including Ramji Gond , Turrebaz Khan , and Komaram Bheem .
Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan will travel to Maharashtra on Friday, 19 September 2026, with a packed schedule spanning Mumbai, Lonavala, and Pune for religious, cultural, and academic engagements, according to an official statement released on Thursday.
Itinerary at a Glance
The day begins in Mumbai, where the Vice-President will offer darshan at the iconic Lalbaugcha Raja, one of the most visited Ganesh pandals during the Ganesh Utsav season. In the afternoon, he travels to Lonavala to attend the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Gordhandas Seksaria College of Yoga and Cultural Synthesis at Kaivalyadhama, marking 75 years of the institution's contribution to yogic education and cultural synthesis. The evening takes him to Pune, where he will attend the 38th edition of the Pune Festival at Shri Ganesh Kala Krida Rangmanch, located within Nehru Stadium.
Radhakrishnan's Remarks at Hyderabad Liberation Day
Earlier on Thursday, the Vice-President addressed the 79th Hyderabad Liberation Day celebrations at the Parade Ground in Secunderabad, where he called 17 September 1948 — the day the erstwhile Hyderabad State was integrated into the Indian Union following Operation Polo — a decisive moment in the history of independent India.
'Political integration can bring territories together; constitutional democracy brings citizens together,' he said, underlining that national unity cannot rest on geography alone but must be reinforced through equal rights, equal dignity, and equal opportunity for every citizen.
Tribute to Nation-Builders and Unsung Patriots
Radhakrishnan paid tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, describing his role as the first Home Minister as extraordinary given the twin pressures of Partition and the consolidation of hundreds of princely states. He also acknowledged the contributions of freedom fighters Ramji Gond, Turrebaz Khan, and Komaram Bheem, stressing that history is shaped not only by statesmen but equally by ordinary citizens who refuse to accept injustice.
He drew a line from Patel's unification work to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stated goal of building a developed India by 2047, positioning both as milestones in the same arc of nation-building.
Significance of the Maharashtra Visit
The Maharashtra leg comes at a culturally significant moment — the Ganesh Utsav season — and the Vice-President's presence at Lalbaugcha Raja and the Pune Festival underscores the constitutional office's engagement with living cultural traditions. The Kaivalyadhama visit adds an academic dimension, coming in the same week that International Day of Peace is observed globally. Together, the three stops reflect the breadth of the Vice-President's representational role.
All three events are scheduled for Friday, 19 September 2026, with further details expected from the Vice-President's secretariat.
Point of View
But the timing — mid-Ganesh Utsav — gives it symbolic weight that purely administrative visits lack. More substantive was Thursday's Hyderabad Liberation Day address, where Radhakrishnan's linkage of Sardar Patel's integration work to Modi's Viksit Bharat 2047 agenda was a deliberate political framing, not merely historical recall. The constitutional office of Vice-President is often seen as ornamental; engagements like these test whether the holder can translate ceremonial visibility into meaningful national conversation. The tribute to lesser-known figures such as Komaram Bheem was a welcome departure from the standard pantheon.
NationPress
17 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Where will Vice-President Radhakrishnan visit on Friday?
Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan will visit Mumbai, Lonavala, and Pune in Maharashtra on Friday, 19 September 2026. His schedule includes darshan at Lalbaugcha Raja, the Platinum Jubilee of Kaivalyadhama in Lonavala, and the 38th Pune Festival at Nehru Stadium.
What is the Pune Festival 2026 event he is attending?
The Pune Festival is an annual cultural event; the Vice-President will attend its 38th edition at Shri Ganesh Kala Krida Rangmanch inside Nehru Stadium in Pune on Friday evening.
What did Radhakrishnan say at the Hyderabad Liberation Day event?
Speaking at the 79th Hyderabad Liberation Day at the Parade Ground in Secunderabad on Thursday, Radhakrishnan called 17 September 1948 a decisive chapter in India's history. He stressed that constitutional democracy — not geography alone — sustains national unity, and paid tribute to unsung patriots including Ramji Gond, Turrebaz Khan, and Komaram Bheem.
What is the significance of the Kaivalyadhama Platinum Jubilee?
The Platinum Jubilee marks 75 years of the Gordhandas Seksaria College of Yoga and Cultural Synthesis at Kaivalyadhama in Lonavala. Vice-President Radhakrishnan will attend the celebrations on Friday afternoon, recognising the institution's long-standing contribution to yogic education.
What did Radhakrishnan say about Sardar Patel and PM Modi?
Radhakrishnan described Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's role in consolidating princely states as extraordinary, and drew a parallel to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goal of building a developed India by 2047, framing both as pivotal moments in the same nation-building journey.
