On the road – Pune,Nashik, Shirdi

I am back to what I am best at – travelling the road. This time, infertility information pills it’s the interiors of Maharashtra. Pune is an old haunt, illness but this time it felt a tad too far off as the Volvo bus driver decided to pick up anyone and everyone to fill up the empty seats, before leaving Mumbai. The early morning journey ended in early noon.

Pune to Nashik followed immediately (since the bus had consumed the time I had reserved for there). Been used to the rugged Uttar Pradesh terrain, the route surprised me. It was lush green and weaved through little hills and hillocks (the ghats), passing through vast stretches of open and lush cloud-kissed lands, uninterrupted by man or nature. “What Switzerland? Why don’t our film-makers shoot here?” I wondered aloud. It was just the flawless location for a mesmerizing love duet!

En route Nashik, after one meeting at Sangamner, we saw a signboard of Shirdi. ‘Is it nearby?’ I asked. It seemed so. Since it would be late in any case for Nashik, we decided to pay darshan at Shirdi. It’s a typical temple-town, with all its infrastructure and business centered around Sai Baba’s Temple. We got a lovely darshan…that too on a Thursday, the day considered auspicious to the sage.

We started for Nashik after the sun had convincingly risen in some other part of the planet.

I fell in love with Nashik the moment I saw it. Wide roads, pretty clean and without any rush. It’s the ‘Pune of some fifteen years back’, my colleague remarked. A ring of mountains nestled the quaint town. The air was fresh and vibrant, and it must have helped my lungs, for I had a very deep sleep that night (it could also be due to the immense fatigue, as that day we did a whopping 9-10 meetings, in a row, one after the other – and by the end of which, another cup of tea or coffee would have made me throw up).

We stayed there for two days, and returned on Saturday late evening. It was a fruitful visit. And adds one more town in my long list of places visited.

10 Responses to “On the road – Pune,Nashik, Shirdi”

  1. RS says:

    Me first??? *nostalgia*! 🙂

  2. Harshad Jangla says:

    DJ

    Pune is known as Twin City of Mumbai. Its another city to make a dwelling.Nashik has another worthvisiting place:Muktidhaam. Try to visit in future. Pune is the city of well cultured and decent people with so many good eating places and then u could visit (Aati Kya ) Khandala, Lonavala and a beautiful queen of hillstations-Matheran from either Mumbai or Pune.
    Looking forward to get some more interesting info abt Maharashtra.
    Rgds.
    Harshad Jangla
    Atlanta, USA
    September 24, 2007

  3. Navjot says:

    So you shifted to Mumbai…That I had guessed..
    My relatives live in Nashik.. I have never been there but heard that its a nice place..
    Well .. Did you go through Mumbai–Pune expressway? No mention of that in your post??
    Seems that you wrote this post in a hurry…
    If you took any pics then post them too..
    Don’t bother to come to my blog.. I have not updated it since ages…

  4. Madhu says:

    Wah wah! Shirdi bhi hokar aaye! I’ve never been to Nashik, Shirdi. Kabhi mauka hi nahi aaya. Pune is a lovely place and yes with lots of eating joints. Did U go to camp area in Pune? If not, do go there next time and visit Kayani bakery for Mawa cakes and Shrewsbury cookies. Aah! My mouth is watering now…

  5. Kislay says:

    I am sure you are enjoying the smooth roads for a change.

  6. Manish says:

    Welcome to Goodlands from Badlands!

  7. Robin says:

    Hi Deepak,

    As we know, Pune, (once Poona) played a critical role in the saga of India’s Independence struggle. It was the home of revolutionaries such as Tilak, Ranade and Gokhale, to name a few. A place where Mahatma Gandhi found his political mentors and sadly, lost his life-long companion.

    On the lighter side, my visit to Shirdi was memorable for reasons other than devotional. And that would be for all the Sai Baba look-alikes roaming the place! They are mostly all beggars, of course, and I could swear the one I met and took a photo with had imbibed something that Sai Baba would definitely not have approved. Quite a ‘spiritual’ experience !

    India remains a fascinating country every moment and every step of the way.

    Regards,

    Robin

  8. Manish says:

    And such an irony that killers of Mahatma also belonged to this place.

  9. Monica says:

    Hi !!! Came across your blog while searching for road route(in google) to Shirdi & Nashik from Pune.This is my first exposure to BLOGS. I ate all my lunch,more than my stomach’s capacity, while reading, your way of expression of thoughts and events. Hope to stay in touch n feel ‘nostalgic’ about my trip too.

  10. Minashikkar says:

    really nice blog..

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