Peaceful Pondicherry
About this blog
Pondicherry. Pondy, as it is locally called, was a French colony until the British won the "colonial war of India." Apparently there is no place like it in India, for several reasons. One, part of it still retains its French colonial charm; it is dominated by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram (also known as the ashram of The Mother, a French woman who helped,found and run the ashram in the 1950s); and just outside its borders is the alternative international community of Auroville, which was founded about 50 years ago by Sri Aurobindo.
Most of the time we were there we spent walking on the seaside promenade and down leafy streets lined with charming French-inspired buildings, churches, guest houses, shops and restaurants or eating. You can get French and European style food in many restaurants in the French part of Pondy. We stayed in a lovely garden guest house run by a warm, gregarious man, Mr.Lalit, who is originally from the Punjab. He loves art and music and is very active in the cultural community. This place is called "AuroDhan". We were lucky enough to get the huts in the peak season. Though the huts/cottages were a no-frills place, still loved the place as it had an array of interesting things in the garden - the stone sculptures, species of plants, water bodies, stone sit outs, plantain trees, a small stage kinda area, stone idols, artifacts, etc. Surrounding these things are the cottages & rooms. We were also fortunate enough to be invited by him to the dance programme that evening. I must tell u, it was one of the BEST dance shows I've ever been to. It was the famous Malaysian Dance Troup by name "Sutra"(http://www.sutrafoundation.org.my/). They performed the spectacular odissi dance for all of us. Dint realise how the 2 hours flew!! That morning we initially thought we would hire bicycles and explore the white colony along the beach but then as it's in the 3 kms radius we thought walking would be more fun. We walked around the whole colony looking around the French architecture and the beautifully maintained roads. One thing I noticed about the architecture here is they have used a lot of earthy colors to adorn the exterior walls. They played with hues of yellows, browns, whites. Paved perpendicular roads and mansions will transport you into an entirely different world altogether. There are cafes, pizzerias and boutiques all along the roads, which made the whole place, look so very French. We actually left the whole world behind us when we were there. It's a visual treat and best explored on foot or cycle. Even real old ajja-ajjis go around cycling there. Pondy is famous for its handicrafts. What more do I need??????? We shopped for a lot of stuff like korai mats and designer candles for a throw away price etc. Even more interesting for us was the famous Aurobindo Handmade paper industry. We shopped like crazy there. Bought varieties of handmade paper, paper products at the in house sales counters. We just missed on seeing how the handmade papers are made, as we were late. We visited the Aurobindo Ashram as well. Its place filled with tranquillity and calmness!! We paid a visit to the Manakula Vinayaka temple and the elephant there nicely collects all the coins in its trunk n blesses people. We woke up real early next morning to see the sunrise on the Promenade beach. We forced ourselves awake at 5.45am. All the pictures from that morning have most of us with puffy eyes and sleepy expressions(so not uploading them).We also witnessed sunrise on the east coast. Sipping the steaming hot cup of chai @ the 24 hours open board on Le Cafe along the beach was something nice. We had a completely peaceful hour, communing with the sun. Watching him give a heroic rise from sea. Communing with the Sun was the only peace I have had in those 36 hours. We treated ourselves with the traditional south Indian breakfast comprising of hot idli-vada, masala dosa followed by some nice filter coffee. Most hotels there also serve a red chutney along the normal chutney we get to eat here. It just elevates the taste of idlis! Visited Auroville, a township some 12 kms from Pondicherry that transcends caste, creed and nationality. There are a couple of boutiques, a meditation place and the matri mandir itself which is a dome like structure. The Pondy beach is one place where you have to avoid going if you are a beach freak!! Whats the fun in seeing the beach if you can't get down and touch the waters ?? But yes, we had a whale of a time at the Chunnambar waters. The skies were clear blue and this gave a picturesque landscape around the bank of the Chunnambar backwater. The sight of the overbridge above the back-water reminded me of the Howrah bridge at Kolkata. We then took a boat to reach the island. The way to the island would definitely remind you of Kerala backwaters. The cool breezy cruise was a welcome relief for all of us and our expectations about the island went higher (like inflation). From the backwaters, it is a half an hour boat trip to the Paradise beach. Ideal time to enjoy the view, reflect about whats happening with your life and taking stock of future plans with the background music from the motor boat and water. Once we reached the beach, all of us went crazy at the sight of the waves. Paradise beach is an island surrounded by backwaters on three sides and sea in the fourth side. Yes!! The same place where the movie "jism' was shot. The island reminded me of the Crystal rock islands in Mauritius. The clean white sands, fewer people, hay huts, coconut trees, deep blue waters and the serenity.
Overall, it's a beautiful place best visited from October to February. One happy time we all had at this trip. Could not get enough of sun and sand. The trip "hangover" I'm sure will remain for a couple of days. The tan will take a while to wear off!! Will spend the whole week looking at the 500+ pics from there, over and over again trying to relive the moments. Plans for the next trip with the same gang are already on. Watch this space for more stories!!
Special thanks to Divya who helped us with the accommodation at Auro Dhan at the peak time (it was Pongal), Maneesh(my husband)who helped us with the car booking at the last moment, our driver Ramesh who was extra careful and made our journey a comfortable one!!......................and BIG BIG BIG thanks to my wonderful set of in laws who gave their consent for this trip :) Altogether we had a very agreeable 36 hour trip.
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