Nasik is a city in India's Maharashtra state.
Nashik is in the northwest of Maharashtra, 185
km from Mumbai (Bombay) and 220 km from Pune.
Nashik is the administrative headquarters of Nashik
District and Nashik Division. The "Wine Capital
of India", or the "Grape City",
as it is popularly known, the city is located
in the Western Ghats, on the western edge of the
Deccan peninsula on the banks of the Godavari
River. The city is known for its picturesque surroundings
and pleasant climate. The Godavari River flows
through Nashik from its source, which lies to
the west-southwest of the city, in the holy place
of Trimbakeshwar.
Nashik is also important
mythologically, historically, socially and culturally.
Known for the temples on the banks of the Godavari,
it has historically been one of the holy sites of
the Hindu religion. It is one of the four cities
that hosts the massive Sinhastha Kumbh Mela once
every twelve years.
Legend dictates that
the name "Nashik" is derived from the
Hindu epic Ramayana. During the exile of Rama, Shoorpanakha
the sister of the demon king Ravana tried to seduce
Rama. Angered, Rama ordered Lakshmana to cut off
Shoorpanakha's nose (nasika). According to the Ramayana,
Sita was abducted by Ravana in the area of Panchavati,
in the Western Ghats.
Traditionally Nashik
was known as the Gulshanabad meaning the city of
roses. It is currently known for grapes and the
revived rose farming it was famous for. Modern efforts
are on to promote the growth of an export-oriented
rose farming and wine industry in the district.
Nashik is also deemed "the third most industrialised
city of Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune",
mainly due to extensive industrial development in
recent times. It is home to an important thermal
power plant (Eklahare) and a National Treasury Printing
Press (India Security Press at Nashik Road). There
are five "Industrial Zones" in the Nashik
area and its outskirts (Satpur, Ambad, Sinnar, Igatpuri
and Dindori). These estates house corporations like
Mahindra and Mahindra, MICO (Bosch), VIP Luggage,
Crompton Greaves, GlaxoSmithKline, Graphite India
Ltd. (Formerly Carbon Everflow Ltd), Larsen &
Toubro, ABB Group, Siemens, Samsonite, Ceat and
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Software companies
like Aress Software, WNS. |
