Trip to Nashik should take in Shirdi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves

#kumbhmela #shirdi #saibaba #muktidham #trimbakeshwar #ajantaellora Till the mid-1960s, Nashik was a well-known place of pilgrimage but, its face has undergone an immense change thanks to the industrialization that began. It all started with the setting up of HAL, an aircraft manufacturing unit in the outskirts of the city. Before HAL started, the important activities were of the India Security Press that printed bank notes and the Government of India press that printed government stationary.
HAL gave a new impetus to Nashik and, soon, two separate industrial area were identified and small scale industries started there alongside a few big names like VIP, Victor Gaskets, Crompton Greaves, MICO, Mahindra & Mahindra etcetera.
Obviously, such major setups brought in with them people from other parts of the country. And, the identity of the city kept changing. Demands began to rise to cater to the new lifestyle, malls opened and, side by side, eating joints to meet the needs of the new urban folks. Instead of traditional Maharashtrian snacks like wada pau, sabudana wada and missal-pau outlets there sprouted outlets that offered pizzas, finger chips, chicken fries and other such snacks. The proximity of Nashik to Pune and Mumbai boosted the stock of travel companies. There are any number of buses that ply between the cities apart from cabs – ordinary as well as air-conditioned ones.
Moreover, a number of colleges added a new dimension to living in Nashik – there are colleges of engineering, and medicine apart from colleges that go in for normal academic streams.
All of a sudden, Nashik was a new look Nashik that could throw a challenge to any other city. A city that used to be looked on as a retreat for the retired suddenly shed its shell and towered over the rest demanding attention to get noticed for its variety of offerings.
The places to visit in and around the city during the Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 are the temples of Mukti Dham, Trimbakeshwar, Someshwar, the Coin Museum, and the Pandu Caves. The holy city of Shirdi is a two-hour journey by bus and the road is motorable. Similarly, the Ajanta and Ellora caves are also nearby.

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