Powerful solo play on Ahilyabai Holkar enthralls audience
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Nagpur: A captivating solo theatrical performance titled 'Punyashlok Devi Ahilyabai' was staged in the city on Friday, drawing an enthusiastic response from the audience. The event, organised by Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh (VSS) to mark the 300th birth anniversary of Ahilyabai Holkar, featured a powerful enactment by noted theatre artist Dr Deepali Ghonge.
Through expressive narration and graceful stage presence, Dr Ghonge vividly portrayed the life and legacy of the legendary queen — from her personal struggles to her enlightened political decisions. She skilfully highlighted how Ahilyabai embodied the synergy of spirituality and governance, and how she overcame personal tragedies, including the death of her husband Khanderao Holkar, to emerge as a just and visionary ruler.
The play was written, directed, and performed by Dr Ghonge herself, with a special focus on educating the youth about Ahilyabai's inspiring life. She also stages this performance in schools and colleges to create awareness through edutainment.
The evening began with a prayer and ceremonial lamp lighting. Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh president Pradeep Date chaired the event, with general secretary Vilas Manekar, vice president Dr Rajendra Dolke, and library head Dr Vivek Aloni in attendance. Dr Aloni also conducted the proceedings.
Following the performance, Dr Ghonge was felicitated with a memento by Date and Manekar in appreciation of her stirring portrayal.
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Time of India
15-06-2025
- Time of India
Powerful solo play on Ahilyabai Holkar enthralls audience
1 2 Nagpur: A captivating solo theatrical performance titled 'Punyashlok Devi Ahilyabai' was staged in the city on Friday, drawing an enthusiastic response from the audience. The event, organised by Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh (VSS) to mark the 300th birth anniversary of Ahilyabai Holkar, featured a powerful enactment by noted theatre artist Dr Deepali Ghonge. Through expressive narration and graceful stage presence, Dr Ghonge vividly portrayed the life and legacy of the legendary queen — from her personal struggles to her enlightened political decisions. She skilfully highlighted how Ahilyabai embodied the synergy of spirituality and governance, and how she overcame personal tragedies, including the death of her husband Khanderao Holkar, to emerge as a just and visionary ruler. The play was written, directed, and performed by Dr Ghonge herself, with a special focus on educating the youth about Ahilyabai's inspiring life. She also stages this performance in schools and colleges to create awareness through edutainment. The evening began with a prayer and ceremonial lamp lighting. Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh president Pradeep Date chaired the event, with general secretary Vilas Manekar, vice president Dr Rajendra Dolke, and library head Dr Vivek Aloni in attendance. Dr Aloni also conducted the proceedings. Following the performance, Dr Ghonge was felicitated with a memento by Date and Manekar in appreciation of her stirring portrayal.
Time of India
03-06-2025
- Time of India
Yugvani catalogue serves as a guide for literary research
Nagpur: 'Yugvani Sahitya Suchi', a meticulously compiled catalogue documenting the literary content published in Yugvani—the official publication of the Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh (VSS)—from 1995 to 2020, was released on Tuesday at Granth Sahwas, the cultural complex of the VSS. Renowned literary critic and former president of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, Dr Akshaykumar Kale, unveiled the catalogue. He emphasised the importance of bibliographic indexes in the evolution and refinement of literature. "While preparing indexes on specific subjects, unnecessary or irrelevant portions get filtered out, leading to a purification of literary content. For scholars, a good index acts as a torchbearer—shedding light on the path of exploration," he said. The event was presided over by VSS president Pradeep Date and was attended by Yugvani editor Prafulla Shiledar and Dr Swapnil Deshmukh, editor of the newly released catalogue. "An index is the key to the literary chamber one wishes to enter. It guides researchers with detailed references, including genre classification and page numbers. Creating an index requires technical expertise, familiarity with the content, and the ability to synthesise information meaningfully," Dr Kale added. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Descubra ofertas de voos imperdíveis Voos | Anúncios de Pesquisa Saiba Mais Undo In his introductory remarks, Shiledar noted that Yugvani is one of the longest-running literary journals in Marathi, making this compilation especially valuable for students and researchers. Pradeep Date said such indexes allow researchers to reconnect with past literary references and expressed hope that more subject-specific catalogues would be undertaken in the future. Vrushali Deshpande conducted the proceedings and proposed the vote of thanks. Several notable literary figures were present, including VSS general secretary Vilas Manekar, vice president Rajendra Dolke, library head Vivek Aloni, Dr Tirtharaj Kapgate, poet Shyam Dhond, Sunil Shinkhede, Rajshree Banhatti, Dr Monali Pophare, and Madhuri Wadibhasme.
Time of India
31-05-2025
- Time of India
Lucknow dastango duo at Prez house recounts lore of Ahilyabai, who refused Sati to serve masses
Lucknow: In a proud moment for Lucknow, two renowned Dastangoi storytellers from the city, Himanshu Bajpai and Pragya Sharma, got opportunity to narrate the life and glory of Ahilyabai Holkar, queen of Indore, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. In the two-day event (May 29-30) that marked 300th birth anniversary of Ahilyabai Holkar, Himanshu and Pragya narrated 'Dastan-e-Ahilya', organised by Union ministry of culture and Sahitya Akademi. Inaugurated by President Draupadi Murmu, the event was themed 'How much has literature changed'. The duo began with the incident of Raghoba's wife, Anandi Bai, sending her maid to discover secret of Ahilyabai's popularity. The maid tells her that Ahilyabai lives a an austere life, with neither jewellery, nor any ostentation, but is famous because of her great thinking and welfare of common people. How Ahilyabai meets Malhar Rao Holkar, becoming daughter-in-law of the Holkar dynasty and then becomes a widow was narrated along with the highpoint of the legend in which she stops herself from performing Sati (jumping into her husband's funeral pyre) for the sake of her subjects and instead, devotes herself to public welfare. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like They Lost Their Money - Learn From Their Lesson Expertinspector Click Here Undo The queen was famous for her fairplay and trait of upholding justice at any cost. She sentenced her son Male Rao to death because he had killed a calf by crushing it under his chariot. The storytellers recounted that Ahilyabai was not only devout but a warrior too. She defeated Chandrawat of Rampura thrice. The last section of the narration describes how when Ahilyabai died, a large number of people gathered in Maheshwar. Due to her contribution to the masses, Ahilyabai was termed a goddess while she was alive. Previously, in 2020, Himanshu had the opportunity to narrate the Kakori Conspiracy episode at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Among the listeners were Sahitya Akademi president Madhav Kaushik, secretary Srinivas Rao, poets Arun Kamal, Ashok Chakradhar, Lakshmi Shankar Bajpai and Rajshekhar Vyas.
