‘Maha’day for Maharashtra

Maharashtra is full of achievers and the same was proved on Friday evening when a number of luminaries were felicitated for their achievements on the occasion of Maharashtra Day.
With the state celebrating its golden jubilee year, Raj Thackeray’s do was expected to be big and it certainly was!
Dignitaries like Sachin Tendulkar, who was accompanied by wife Anjali, Ravi Shastri, Dilip Vengsarkar and Sunil Gavaskar made their presence felt at the occasion.Raj himself came with wife Rashmi Thackeray and was seen talking to the guests. Along with the cricketers, Nitin Chandrakant Desai, Ashok Saraf, Shrinivas Khale, music composers Ajay-Atul and Sachin Pilgaonkar were also felicitated on the stage. But it wasn’t just about awards and felicitations, there were performances galore that set the stage on fire! While Bharat Jadhav and Kranti Redkar danced together on stage, the pretty Sonali Kulkarni too made the audiences tap their feet with her energetic dance. Shankar Mahadevan’s versatile voice filled the air with melody and singers like Milind Ingle and Swapnil Bandodkar too were appreciated by the guests. Makrand Anaspure and Mrinal Kulkarni compered the do in a lively fashion. Sanjay Narvekar, Aaditi Sarangdhar, Aarti Ankalikar Tikekar, Bhargavi Chirmule, Madhura Velankar Satam, Prashant Damle, Sanjay Mone, Atul Parchure, Prasad Oak and Rahul Deshpande were some of the other performers that night. Seen in the audience were Reema Lagoo, Sayaji Shinde and Bharat Dabholkar. Felicitating the achievers was noted historian Babasahab Purandhare. Sachin, who was awarded a sword by Raj, remembered all the greats who walked on the soil of Maharashtra, including the veteran cricketers that have made the country proud. He also mentioned singing sensations Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle in his speech and praised the rise of Marathi cinema, which has been taken note of by the entire world.
Sachin, in a lighter vein, described his relationship with his favourite fruit hapoos aam. “As a child, if any of my siblings would dare to come between me and my favourite mango, I would use the famous Kolhapuri kushti style to do away with them!” he says.
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