My daughter Vaishali invited us to join her on the Nashik tour for three days. We happily accepted her invitation and three of us – Vaishali, my wife Dr. Bhavna and myself began for the Nashik Tour. Vaishali and I had prepared the timetable after studying Google – Wikipedia and whatnot. We had already visited Nashik four times. So our expectations were clear. 

Nashik is known as one of the most religious cities in India related to Ramayana time around 5000 years back Treta yug. Nowadays, it can boast of being the big Industrial Estate and Indian Capital of wine manufacturers. Shirdi - home of the revered Saint Sai Baba, Trimbakeshwar temple at Trimbak, and Saptashringi are important tourist attractions nearby. From Bilimora one can go to Nashik via Saputara or Dharampur. We choose Dharampur – Kaparada route. During the rainy season, the forests were in a great mood with greenery all around with hills and valleys making a great scenery worth enjoying. The road was shown by google-map-so there was hardly any confusion. Yes, after Dharampur you do not have any restaurants or rent rooms till Kaparada. And same is the story after Kaparada to Nashik. So keep this in mind. We could enjoy the tour full of natural glory and be in no hurry to reach, so speed was slow enough to make the maximum pleasure.

I am not writing this essay for essay competition so I will not be academically perfect. I will not tell about all the places worth visiting but I will restrict only to my experience of Nashik.

The word Nashik is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Nashika’ meaning nose. It is more relevant because the story of cutting the nose of Suparnakha by Laxman in her attempt to seduce Rama prevails. Nashika (Nose) ultimately became Nashik.

Well, there is ‘Kumbh Mela’ every twelve years with holistic dipping in tiver Gadovari at Panchavati by Lakhs of Sadhus and the Public of India, you cannot even imagine how stay, food and taking bath (Snan) by lakhs of people at one place is managed by Governor machinery!

Panchvati, Nashik: 

• Panchvati is a place having five (Panch) huge banyan trees (at Vati = “Vad” tree) on the bank of river Godavari. 
• Lord Rama stayed here for fourteen years after exile. He stayed here with his wife Sita and brother Laxman. Kidnapping of Sita (Sitaharan) by Ravana took place here. 
• Dr. V. R. Rao (Professor of Anthropology) says: Definitely, the events described in Ramayan occurred here in reality. 
• Panchavati is an area on the bank of a river. It is comparable to Har-ki-Paudi Ghat of Haridwar. 

Ramkund:

27x12 sq. mt. bathing tank on the bank of River Godavari is known as Ramkund because Lord Ram is said to have bathed here during 14 years of exile. This was built in 1696 AD by Chitrarao Khatarkar. Ashti Visarjan Tirth (Ashes of bones of dead immersion spot) Lord Rama performed his father King Dasharath’s funeral rights here by doing bone immersion. According to popular belief it ashes of a dead relative immersed here he attains Salvation. ‘Dip’ in this tank is believed to fulfill one’s desires/wishes and free oneself from one’s sins.

Sita Caves (Sita Gufa):

A temple near Kalaram temple is surrounded by five banyan trees. Ravan kidnapped Sita from this place (Sitaharan). Sita worshipped Lord Shiva – ancient Shivlinga still exists in the cave. The cave has idols of Ram–Sita and Laxman. A narrow small staircase entry is the only way to go inside.

Shri Kalaram Temple:

Situated just nearby (500 mts.) Ramkund is this old Hindu Shrine in the Panchvati area. Because the idol of Lord Rama is made of black stone, it is known as Kalaram (the black-colored Lord Rama). The architectural design of Trimbakeshwar. The summit of this temple is made up of 32 tons of Gold. The temple is surrounded by an enclosure that comprises 96 pillars. The black body of Vishnu turned white while taking a bath here in river Godavari.

Tapovan:

Tapovan is a forest place (van) where Ram, Laxman, and Sita (Tap) the religious prayers. It is a Sangam (confluence) of Rivers Kapila and Godavari. They spent maximum time here. The place is dedicated to Lord Shri Ram as a founder. Laxman temple is a place where he met Ravan’s Sister Suparnakha and Laxman cut her nose when she tried to seduce Rama. There are Mahalaxmi, Lambe Hanuman, and many other temples.

You can find a place known as Laxman Rekha (the line drawn by Lakshman asking Sita not to cross one), but she ignores this and crosses Laxman Rekha when Ravan kidnaps (Sitaharan). While in Tapovan, do see:

• Sita Agni Kund
• Kapila Godavari Sangam
• Suparnakha Temple
• Sarva Dharma temple
• Laxman Rekha and

Ramji Vanvas Kutir (Ram’s Forest Residence):

So, Nashik is a place where (5000 years back) Lord Ram–Sita and Laxman stayed for fourteen years of exile. Panchavati is a holy place near the river bank of Godavari where they took baths and Tapovan is a place where they stayed and did prayers. So do not miss Panchavati and Tapovani.

Hotel Stay:

Good hotels of higher stars have a staff of pleasing manners – respecting you all the while – smiling and they are well dressed to make you feel comfortable and happy.

The rooms have clear drapes on the bed with eye-pleasing cleanliness of the room and washrooms.

We are supplied with soaps, shampoos, shaving kits, sugar, tea, coffee & milk sachets for preparing tea coffee. After paying high bills, some of us are tempted to carry home all such disposables. They are not costly items nor they are of much use at home, so such greediness is controlled.

American breakfast offers multiple items – like fruits, fruit juices, tea-coffee-biscuits, bread, cakes & pastries – with Dosas, idlis, poha, and upama. All in all, you see more than 50 items to eat. Be cautious here, you are a disciplined controlled diet-eating person. Do not think of money spent and overeat, you may get ill. The same is the story of dinner serving 99 items – Limit yourself to a few choicest items needed to satisfy hunger or you will be in trouble and make others also irritated.

Pandava Caves (alias Trirashmi Buddha Caves):

The name is misleading because the place has nothing to do with the five brothers of Mahabharata Pandava. 3 km away from Nahik these 25 caves are on the hill situated at 3004 feet height above the sea level. You have to climb around 300+ steps to reach the place. The steps are scientifically, placed not more than 9” in height, and their feet flat walk after each step making your climbing easy! 2000 years old caves were built by Queen Badamp mother of Satavahana king Satakarni. Caves are meant for Buddhist monks to provide them shelter, and do religious meetings with discourses and prayers. One of the caves – cave no eleven is a Jainism cave having cells inside for stay and religious activity. Queen’s Cave or Gantamniputra Vihara.

The largest of all is cave no. 3 – three known st having 41’ wide x 46’ deep hall with 18 cells of 9’x7’ for monk’s prayers. The carvings on the entrance show a picture of two men and a woman. The entrance has six pillars. The inscriptions tell the history of King Vashisthaputra Pulumavi 120 BCE. A Chaitya is carved on the back wall of the cave side wall and has the Dhammachakra and Bodhi tree carved. The second largest named Nahapada Vihara is 4.3’ wide & 45’ deep.

You can have glimpses of the industrial city Nashik from the height showing the round dome of the Buddha stupa and multi-storeyed buildings with roads and railway. The name of the hill ‘Trirashmi” means three rays of sunlight. If you have seen Ajanta – Elora caves, these caves have hardly anything to see. If you are not a trekker by nature, you can skip the trouble of climbing up. Well, ultimately the choice is yours.

Trirashmi Buddha Smarak:

Stupa 8 km away from Nahik near the hill for Pandava Caves, is a must-visit place. The shrine has a big dome-shaped circular hall echoing even the most feeble sounds. It can be called a stupa possessing a golden statue of Lord Buddha in the Abhaya Mudra (fearlessness pose). It is a silent zone to maintain silence for meditation. Whether Buddhist or not, inner peace and a sense of calmness are certainly gained here by just sitting for a while and doing meditation. Seeing is believing.

Trambak:

Stinking! If you understand the meaning of this word you would avoid visiting such a place. Its poor cleanliness with dirty waste, smelling unbearably bad from gutters that makes such a bad scene – no one can hardly bear and tolerate it – even for a small while. Unfortunately, this is true for all religious places – I do not know even one exception be it Trimbakeshwar, Dakor, Somnath, Bhimashankar, or Nashik for example.

However religious you are long walk with bare foot in a queue for an hour or more crossing three / four specially made halls for queuing for visitors before reaching the central part of the temple will reduce your faith in God to be seen to zero! So, either you raise your dirt tolerance or cancel the visit.

With this foreword, let me tell you about Trimbak, situated 30 km away from Nashik. It has a temple of Lord Shiva named Trimbakeshwar. It was built by Nanasaheb Peshawa in black stone between 1755-86 AD. It is believed that Lord Ganesha was born here. Revered sage Gautama worshipped Lord Shiva here to get relief from sin following the killing of a cow (Gauhatya). This temple is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples of India. God is seated in the depression on the floor. River Godavari begins at Brahmagiri mountain at 1298 meters height. Despite my strong faith in Hinduism, I am hardly ever ready to visit such a place!

Shravan:

Nashik is full of history related to Ramayana telling about fourteen years of Ram-Lakshman-Sita's stay during exile. Shravan is also a part of Ramayan because he was killed by King Dasharatha while he was fetching water for his parents on the riverbank. The most important part of his life is to care for his parents, carrying them in one basket on each side of a stick (kavad) generally used to carry water from the river. Parents were debilitated-blind and old- but this son took all the pains to travel holy places carrying them on his shoulders on a stick - kavad. So, old and senior parents remember ‘Shravan’ when they are treated with extraordinary care by their offspring. They call them ‘Shravan; when children make them travel to holy places.

Coins & History Museum, Trambak:

Balancing two sides of relations:

1. A son/daughter: Parents and offsprings
2. A married woman: Parents and parents-in-laws
3. A married son: Wife and parents

When you are any of the above, you are an in-between person. You have to be tricky, cautious and careful person in handling either side maintaining your own views or you will be in trouble. You need not be judging any, but you have to be neutral and caring both.

A family is a unit of people formed naturally by brothers and sisters of the same parents. A family can be extended by adding uncles and aunts (Kaka, Fui, Mama, Masi) with their offspring. Thus, a family comprises the people who love and support the members in good and bad times.

We tried to meet for two days and one night thinking it would be enough time - neither too short nor dragged. Yes,  we were happy and enjoyed ourselves all the while.

To finalise the venue, we initially Anaval Shukleshwar Dham and Saidham, Majigam. The cleanliness and furnishing of the rooms, the interiors, and the area outside at Saidham appealed to us. We just booked the rooms and started searching for the caterer. Maheshbhai Raval, chairman of the Saidham suggested Umesh from Gandevi. We finalised the menu with the timetable and ordered it accordingly. We invited all the members to confirm their presence and all replied accordingly.

For reasons unknown to us, our bond of family was not strong enough and emotional attachment was appearing weak. But to our pleasant surprise, we were found wrong. In two days, togetherness melts all the ice of wrong prejudices and misbeliefs. 

Get set and go! 

On Sunday morning, nearly all gathered at the venue before 10:00. They had a long journey of 390 km from Pune, 350 km from Ahmedabad, and 200 km from Mumbai to reach the venue.

We thought we would play, chat, eat, and enjoy all the available time. To our pleasure, the same could be done! Our family comprises the elderly averaging mid-60s, the young generation at 40s and children around 5-10 years of age. The youngest being at 5 and the eldest at 76! All of them mixed together to play the games like cricket, saat thikari (સાત ઠીંકરી), badminton, housie, musical chair, pass-the-ball game. I will say - 'seeing is believing'! Because the words can not describe the details and experience. During the game of cricket, a lady at 70 was running fast to take the runs! Everybody wanted to win the housie game. So not getting the required numbers and desired result was making them unhappy, even angry and very chirpy. It got loud in the calm late night in the temple campus. But that only reenergised everyone to play for longer.

While playing saat thikari, cracking down the seven stones piled up and then getting the members of the opposite team out was never easy. All were excited and enjoying. Same with the musical chair and pass-the-ball games! The challenging games brought out the competitive spirit in all.

Food: The arranged meals such that at regular two hours' intervals some food was served. Breakfasts, three Gujarati Thalis, and a non-stop serving of tea-coffee made the show. The menu was of Anavil taste including walnut halva (અખરોટનો હલવો), shrikhand (શ્રીખંડ), and jalebi (જલેબી) as sweets; Jalaram sev-khaman (સેવ ખમણ), upama (ઉપમા), undhiyu (ઉંધીયું), banana-methi pakoda (કેળા-મેથીના પકોડા), batata-vada (બટાકા વડા) as farsaan (ફરસાણ) with two vegetables and rice-daal to complete the menu. All loved moong shaak (મગનું શાક) and hot fried puris (પુરી) for the breakfast on the last morning. The concluding event was high tea! Tea-coffee with biscuits and home-made chocolates Vaishali had prepared.

We had a nice jogging track of about a kilometre to walk around the pond full of greenery with lotus flowers all around. Most of us went for a walk there with ones' own group and enjoyed the sunrise and/or sunset as a bonus! Only lucky people get a chance of long walks in nature these days.

 The meeting - getting together - is itself a great pleasure. Just imagine a family gathering without any agenda and just with the desire to be with one another. 

We could realise that being together itself creates great emotions of love, respect and brotherhood.  Just talking without subject and making a presence at the sight gives a sense of well-being, happiness and satisfaction. 

At the end of the day, we have learnt to keep meeting again and again. Our craving to be together again at the earliest has begun!

--Map directions to Sai Dham, Majigam