“Trip to Auroville, Pondicherry”
May 2007
It
was my calling to an annual trip to Tirupati. That year we decided to explore a
bit of Pondicherry post our visit to Tirupati.
As soon as we reached Chennai late in the evening,
we somehow managed to spend the night at a Hotel near the Beach, the famous
Marina Beach. The Hotel though sounded very royal but failed to service the
bare minimum with regards to hygiene and other basic necessities. We being
hardcore carnivores, we just cannot survive without non-vegetarian food and
after spending a day and a half of vegetarian food at Tirupati we were craving
for some chicken delicacies cooked the Chettinad way. We washed up quickly and
couldn’t resist our temptation for dinner, thus ordered for some Chicken Chettinad,
Appams , Sambar etc. Our wait in the Dining Hall turned out to be a disaster as
the Chicken was stale and the cuisine was far away then the typical Chettinad
style. We went to bed empty stomach only to find that there were tiny
cockroaches under the pillows. While trying to get rid of the cockroaches we
discovered more cockroaches under the telephone set, inside the almirah and
also in the washroom. We screamed at the Hotel manager as it was disgusting to
find the rooms in such a state inspite of the exhorbitant room rates.
The manager allotted us another room with a
better view and fresh supply for us to spend the night. We managed to get a
good sleep that night as we were pretty tired through out the day and had a
long day the day after.
Our
second day at Chennai, and we were ready to kick start the day. We took a car
on hire and decided to drive down to Pondy ourselves. It was a very refreshing
drive as the road, the ECR was quite good and the sea continuously followed us
on the left hand side like a guide, till we reached our destination,
Pondicherry. The stream of blue sea with it’s shades of white, blue, light
blue, dark blue merged with the sky which seemed to be infinite….
It
was a lovely drive through the outskirts of Chennai with abundant greenery. We
reached Pondy at almost 12 noon and decided to do some sight seeing. We first
hit Aurobindo Ashram, Rishi Aurobindo’s house, unfortunately we couldn’t enter,
as it was time for lunch at the Aashram. We next went to Auroville, which has
the famous Globe, Matri Mandir, we narrowly missed the visit as it closes by 12
noon. We were extremely disappointed as everything was turning out to be a
disaster. Over and above that the sweltering heat in the month of May made us
even more restless and cranky. To quench thirst I ordered for a refreshing
lemonade at one of the Café’s and started conversing with the young man who seemed
like the owner. The place was extremely serene, very basic and amidst nature
with no sign of any synthetic or artificial interference . I had an extremely
interesting conversation about Auroville with the owner, their rigid rules and
regulations. Seeing my interest on Auroville, he tried to lend a helping hand,
he called up all the hotels to check availability..Inspite of prior reservations
for room, the friendly Café owner helped us with a stay. We were very excited
and went out and checked that place. It was like love at first sight……the
resort was owned by a French woman, it looked like a huge jungle spanning
across acres of land with independent rooms, scattered across. Our room was
surrounded by greenery all around, everything was solar powered, handmade
soaps, shampoos and toileteries. Curtains, bedsheets and other linens were all
hand made at the Ashram. Furniture, stationaries etc. all handmade at the
Ashram by the localites…. It had an open air restaurant under huge banyan trees
with aerial roots dangling from above and giving a feel of a very natural
habitat left on it’s own. Rattan cane chairs and tables strewn here and there
with lamps hanging from the branches of the trees. Stone figures of Ganesha,
Krishna and various other deities and animals handcrafted by local artisans were
strategically placed all over the dining area under the canopy. Food was
prepared and served by the French woman herself along with the cook to assist.
We must have never tasted such sumptuous Vegetarian affair before. Food that
was served looked so nutritious and simple yet so tasty and refreshing. A
special mention to the garage which was at the entrance of the resort was
filled with bicycles and scooters. To our utter surprise, the localites use
either bicycles, scooters or battery operated cars which is environment
friendly. In an endeavor to conserve energy and save the planet, Auroville has
taken up nature friendly ways and means of living. We rushed for a quick shower
followed by an elaborate lunch at the cafetaria. We were eagerly waiting to
explore the interesting place. I opted for a bicycle while Anindya settled for
a scooter, so that we could explore the place seamlessly with ease. I clearly
remember of a stretch of road smelling
of freshly baked breads and cakes, to our utter surprise, we discovered a huge
French Bakery, again manned and owned by the localites using all organic and
natural ingredients. We bought an array of breads, pastries, patties, cakes and
many more mouth watering confectionaries. Our next halt was at the local museum
which had a good collection of sculptures from the Pallava and the Chola
dynasty. It had quite a few sculptures and images of various forms of Buddhas.
local market
The
French colony
Puducherry
is dotted with Colonial building, residences with typical French and Portuguese
architecture, houses with huge yellow or blue walls outlined with white
borders, people of every age, country, religion cycling down the street in an
organized manner and working their way either to school or work. People here
seem to be happy with their basics and are craving more for their spiritual
quotient, knowledge and humanistic values. This is a place where people from
every country, creed, religion and age stay harmoniously and contributing
constructively towards oneself and the society.
Aurobindo
Ashramam
One
of the greatest hero of modern day India, who had started it all at
Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo decided to settle here after he quit politics and
awakened to his mission for a spiritual calling. The main building of Aurobindo
Ashram has a tree shaped courtyard which houses the Samadhi of Sri Aurobindo
and The Mother. The Samadhis have the physical remains of the Sri aurobindo and
The Mother and are decked with flower and incense sticks. During the visiting
hours, people are often seen sitting around the Samadhi and meditate. The
ashram also houses a little museum, Printing press, Canteen for the staff,
bakery, candle factory and many more self-sustaining initiatives.
Matri
Mandir
One
of the most serene place that I have ever been to is, The Matri Mandir is
considered to be The Soul of Auroville. This Golden glittering globe was not
yet open for the tourist, we were just about fortunate as we managed to get an
entry within the globe due to sheer luck. A gentleman, who was a localite and
took care of the huge gardens of Matrimandir guided us to the Matrimandir after
crisscrossing several gardens brimming with flowers, fruits and vegetables of
various kinds. This immense globe which was shiny from every side had twelve
petals made out of terracotta bricks. Every petal is as big as a meditation
room with every petal having a different colour theme inside. The petal with a
blue interior had blue walls and blue cushions, one could meditate inside the
blue room and experience certain feelings, so was meditating inside the red
room and the green room. The Meditation Hall at the centre of the globe was
huge, as we entered the globe, we were offered a pair of white socks to don and
explore. The theme of the central meditation hall was white with a huge crystal
seated at the centre of the hall. Right above the crystal was an opening through
which sunlight falls directly on the globe and offers a prism like light within
the meditation hall. It was a beautiful experience meditating within the white
central hall, which exuded a sense of purity, peace and solace. We stepped out
of the Matri mandir speechless, as if in a state of trance. We thanked the
gentleman for offering us with a lifetime of an experience.
Good
life
Every
tourist venturing in Puducherry is assured to have a good time due to a variety
of options available for every tourist. The beach is lined by a few luxury
hotels like the Promenade and likes similarly it also houses dormitories and
low budget hotels to suit every pocket. Hidesign one of the leading leather
showroom has it’s pioneer store in Pondicherry. Dilip Kapoor, who had started
with leather accessories as a hobby, had initiated his entrepreneurial journey
from Pondicherry, is now doing serious business worldwide.
Food
at Puducherry
Puducherry
has a mix of cuisines to offer to the hungry and thirsty wanderer. Puducherry
is high on French culture which is very vivid in it’s spread of french styled
restaurants. Most of the French eateries get filled by 7.30pm mostly by foreign
tourists, as they prefer having early dinners. Most of the eateries in Pondy
have very interesting seating arrangements, like open air seating, terrace
seating, seating arrangements under the tree, an old bunglow partially
renovated and converted to a restaurant which gives a feel of heritage. Most of
the eateries have an earthy feel with furniture mostly locally made out of
cane, bamboo or wood. Colourful cushions, mats and linen spread carelessly over
the furniture with a set of efficient staff promptly serving your order. The
town sleeps early and wakes up very ealy in the morning to classical tamil song
from almost every tamil household while the lady of the house is already busy
doing Kollam in the courtyard after her morning rituals and household chores.
We were in trance after having Chettinad food
at Appachi. It took us a while hunting for the place, as I had been to Appachi
almost a decade back with my mother, uncle and aunt during one of my visits to
Pondicherry. The sumptuous south indian food, not only filled our satiety but
also our souls. We were served by a host of caring people dressed in local
attire. Our copper wares were brimming with lip smacking food. Even before we
could finish a bowl of food, three more dishes were served and they felt
obliged serving us more. Such hospitality is rarely found, Thus the food
travelled to our stomach through our heart.
Beach
at Pondicherry
Unlike
other beaches in India, the beach at Pondy is extremely clean with civilians
taking good care of their surroundings. We hit the promenade beach at night for
a stroll post our dinner. The lovely summer breeze could put anybody to sleep
within a moment. After a while we sat in our car, parked it on one side, rolled
the windows down and enjoyed a strong cup of coffee hearing the waves lightly
lashing against the coast.One of the best way to seal a day which was quite
momentful.
Good
life
Every
tourist venturing in Puducherry is assured to have a good time due to a variety
of options available for every tourist. The beach is lined by a few luxury
hotels like the Promenade and likes similarly it also houses dormitories and
low budget hotels to suit every pocket. Hidesign one of the leading leather
showroom has it’s pioneer store in Pondicherry. Dilip Kapoor, who had started
with leather accessories as a hobby, had initiated his entrepreneurial journey
from Pondicherry, is now doing serious business worldwide.
