Nashik : An Evening In The Old Bazaars

Nashik is an ancient city with plenty of history, right from the time of Ashoka to the British rule in India. Nashik is also a prominent grape growing region of India and the fertile lands around it provide much of Mumbai and Pune’s  vegetables. It’s also a holy city for the Hindus, since Panchvati is where Lord Rama is supposed to have built his home in exile.

In one of our monsoon drives, we decided to pay Nashik a visit, having heard much about the holy part of the city, the Panchvati. We also wanted to visit Nashik before the millions came for the Kumbh Mela.

A walk through these beautiful old parts of Nashik are completely worth it. We went towards the end of monsoons in 2014, when the river Godavari was flowing with full force and some residual rains remained.

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The approach to Panchvati. This holy part of Nashik is full of ancient and new temples.
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At the Ramkund, Panchvati. There is a traditionof floating small lamps with prayers in the holy waters of the Godavari.

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Discovering The Joy Of Indian Summers

Much is said about the Indian summer, about its scorching heat and humidity. About avoiding them for certain travel destinations. However, summers in India have their own charm. The skies are a rich blue against a golden yellow landscape. In much of India, these two colours dominate, highlighted only with a flaming-red flourish of the … Read more

Kashid Beach, Maharashtra

A beautiful beach, now commercialised, it is a roughly 3-4 hour drive from Mumbai. The beach has white sand, and we loved it in the monsoons. Its always nice to explore the villages and areas around, and we discovered some beautiful plantations, streams and villages. Alibag and Murud-Janjira are nearby beaches. From Wikipedia:  Kashid is … Read more