Pondicherry

“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.