NASIK, PANCHAVATI AND GODAVARY GHAT RAM KUND

The city of Nashik on the banks of the Godavari River impregnated with history and religious tradition. Located on the western edge of the Deccan peninsula, Nashik had always been a centre of religion, dating back to 1st century BC when Buddhist monks resided here.
According to popular legend, Lord Rama and his wife Sita resided here for sometime during his 14 years of exile from the kingdom of Ayodhya.
At that spot several temples can be visited all of them in more or less desperated conditions due to lack of renovations and encroachments.
The city is also famous for its growing wine industry, so much so that Nashik is often called the Wine Capital of India. Punctuated by temples, forts, wineries and an equal number of industrial units, Nashik is an eclectic blend of old and new. In fact, it is the third largest industrial township in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune. Today, it exports grapes, roses, tomatoes and strawberries amongst other things.

THE GOLD DIGGERS OF PANCHAVATI (NASHIK)

It is obviously tradition to trow coins into the holy Godavari river to thank the deities or ask for a benefice. These coins are not lost after the festivities: at low water level the people from the area start to dig out the coins from the mud. A very cumbersome, unhygenic and dangereous expedise.

On one side along the river are no sewage tratment plants, the water is extremely dirty and you do'nt need a microscope to see that. On the other side the recent Dusshera feast, combined with the immersion of a ton of effigies all painted very colourful with paints containing Cadmium, Mercury and Lead are now disolved in the water, which makes the water toxic. Despite all that this water is also used for bathing and washing the cloths.


















The more or less rare coins together with bone fragments ( I hope they are not human nature)are than later sold at the local market.