A shop selling bronze and brass idols outside the Kalaram Temple, Panchvati - Nashik
A shop selling a large variety of brass and bronze statues of various Gods and Goddesses, temple bells, wind-chimes etc. outside the Kalaram Temple in Nashik.

A shop selling Rudraksh malas and beads in Trimbakeshwar
Trimbakeshwar, being the land of Lord Shiva Rudraksh beads are sold in plenty here. Spot them in the extreme right and left hand sides of this photograph taken near the Trimbakeshwar Temple. Characteristic with grooves called mukhis, Rudraksh is believed to be Lord Shiva’s tear and is very sacred to the Hindus. These beads are strung together to form malas for japa (repetitive chanting) or are worn around the neck for treatment of various diseases. Other items like conches, sea shells, old coins, necklaces made of colorful beads and horse shoes can also be seen here.

A Lord Shiva Temple in Trimbakeshwar
A Lord Shiva Temple in Trimbakeshwar
One thing which was quite remarkable in this trip was that most of the temples, be it the Kalaram temple, the Sundernarayan temple, the Trimbakeshwar temple or the not-so-famous ones like these, were all black in color.

A farmer sells Onions on the Mumbai-Nashik highway
Since Onions are grown in large quantities in and around Nashik and Shirdi, you will come across many farmers selling their surplus along the highways in these pink sacks. With the price of Onions soaring to almost Rs. 70/kg recently, I reminisce those wonderful times when I had bought this big 25 kg sack (in July) for just Rs. 70. Wish I had saved some for this day!!

A Sugarcane juice shop on the way from Mumbai to Shirdi
Maharashtra being a large producer of Sugarcane, you will find a lot of shops like these selling fresh sugarcane juice all along the Mumbai-Nashik-Shirdi route. Do stop here and relish the fresh juice given with a dash of ginger and a squeeze of lime and refresh yourselves up for the journey ahead!