About
Nashik
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.
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