Members of the Navy Foundation Pune Chapter (NFPC) celebrated Navy Day on 04th December 2025 by hoisting the National flag on the mast at Malhargarh Fort – the last fort built by the Maratha Empire – about 30 km from Pune. More than 80 Naval Veterans, including their family members, travelled to Malhargarh Fort for the Flag hoisting. Some veterans preferred to make the journey in their own cars, while others made use of two minibuses provided by NFPC. Veterans had to park their vehicles at the base of Malhargarh fort and then trek up to the fort itself, for which there was a choice of two routes; one slightly steeper than the other.

The National Flag was jointly hoisted by the oldest couple Cdr & Mrs. AJ Modak, RAdm V Balachandran and RAdm CS Patham, which was followed by singing of the National Anthem. After a sumptuous Maharashtrian breakfast, veterans indulged in fun games including an elimination game and ‘dumb charades.’ They then took an excursion of the fort, which still had many of the edifices built by the Marathas, as well as a memorial to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. All then descended down from the fort, before proceeding to a local farm located at the foothills of the fort. The open location amidst sitaphal trees was an apt venue for a lunch.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day with the unique added experience of partaking tasty pure rural ethnic cuisine.