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The Vaishnodevi Experience 2023

My first trip to Vaishnodevi was unimpressive. Climbing was hard, and it only served to highlight how badly out of shape I was, while my in-laws managed to cope so much better. Further, I hadn’t quite realized that the cave experience wouldn’t be the same as I had imagined, since the original cave was only opened at certain times a year, and that we only entered a newly created tunnel, one far easier to access, and hence more manageable with the crowds that thronged the mountain shrine. The resulting experience at the shrine, for barely a fraction of a second, hardly compared to what I had expected / imagined / heard about. So, for me, Vaishnodevi was like any other temple, nothing to write home about, something that was reflected (though not explicitly mentioned) in the blog post I wrote then.
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Wooden Toys

I can't go to Nashik without thinking of toys. This was where we bought the first wooden toy for Samhith - a train - and today, we have a huge collection of these wooden toys. mostly vehicles.





I was at Nashik about a month back, and seeing all these toys reminded me of the first time we saw them... a visit we made almost 5 years back..... I had just started my blog then, and didn't even think of taking a photo of the toy shops at Panchavati then. We did buy a number of them, though! This time, on the other hand, I held in my temptation by clicking pics and returning without buying a single one!


The shopkeeper told us that these toys are made in Nasik. He was hesitant to tell us who made them, or where he bought them, probably afraid that we would go directly to the maker.... but these toys are certainly cheaper at Nasik than anywhere else that I have seen them. Samhith was eager to get some more, but space in our house is a major issue. Besides, we use these toys mainly at Navaratri (which starts next week, which is why I remembered these toys now) and this year, we can not celebrate the festival...

You can see some of our other wooden vehicles in my earlier Navaratri posts...

Most of the wooden vehicles you can see there were bought at Nashik!


Labels:
Location: Nashik, Maharashtra, India

Comments

  1. MridulaOctober 12, 2012 at 11:21 AM

    I do exactly the same so many times, I click a picture and don't buy anything.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarOctober 13, 2012 at 9:04 PM

      Thats probably the one advantage of being possessed by a camera, Mridula!!

      Delete
  2. AswathiBabuOctober 12, 2012 at 12:56 PM

    Very interesting Anu...

    ReplyDelete
  3. RichaOctober 12, 2012 at 4:35 PM

    These are so nice. I wonder if kids will like the feel of these charming wooden toys as compared to the plastic stuff that dominates the market.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarOctober 13, 2012 at 9:09 PM

      Yes, Richa.. these are much, much nicer than the plastic toys. we have quite a few of them and Samhith loves playing with them. in fact, all the kids who come to see our golu during navaratri want to play with them!

      Delete
  4. chitraOctober 12, 2012 at 10:09 PM

    Nice collection...Navaratri is starting. Will wait for your posts:))

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarOctober 13, 2012 at 9:10 PM

      Thanks chitra.... yes, Navaratri is starting and we are so sad that we cant keep the golu. but hopefully i will have lots of other stuff to share

      Delete
  5. P.N. SubramanianOctober 12, 2012 at 10:50 PM

    Beautiful toys. Though I had been to Nashik, I never had an opportunity of appreciating them in them shops. This year I am in Chennai. In my childhood we had plenty of Marapachis made of Red Sandal Wood (Rakta chandanam).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarOctober 13, 2012 at 9:13 PM

      yes, PNS.. they are lovely... i dont know how you missed them in Nashik.. the shops at Panchavati are filled with them! and even at Tryambak... we have lots of marapachis too... of all shapes and sizes :D my mother and mami have a huge collection now

      Delete
  6. Vishal RathodOctober 13, 2012 at 1:12 PM

    Click Click Click .

    I remember my childhood days when I used to play with wooden toys. Nowadays only plastic ones with battery operated or soft ones are available.

    Thanks Anu jee for posting

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarOctober 13, 2012 at 9:18 PM

      Thanks Vishal! the trend of wooden toys is coming back... they are really much nicer for kids to play with... and we keep looking out for these wherever we go!

      Delete
    2. NishaOctober 14, 2012 at 9:37 PM

      Vishal,
      Wooden toys had their own charm. :)

      Delete
  7. NishaOctober 14, 2012 at 9:23 PM

    I never knew wooden toys are made in Nashik !! For wooden toys, all I knew was about Channapatnam !
    Thanks Anu for sharing this with us, my trip to Nashik will cover this. And that bullock cart is fascinating. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. kanakOctober 15, 2012 at 3:04 PM

    Such beautiful toys! ou brought back my childhood memories. trip to Himachal

    ReplyDelete
  9. Play angry BirdsJanuary 2, 2013 at 5:58 PM

    Beautiful toys ..really this refresh my childhood memory.

    ReplyDelete

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