Travelogue 1: Pondicherry

I am fascinated and have been often left in awe of the varied aspects of European culture: the sense of style (fashion specifically), etiquette, architecture, the countrysides, the culture of music, the social culture which is often visible in the form of side walk cafes and restaurants and even the visual design scenario. I have not had many firsthand experiences of witnessing the European culture, but I would definitely love to experience it, especially the culture of music, the countryside experience and the social scenario. There is a certain cosy and quaint associations that I draw when I think of Europe. I draw similar verbal and visual associations when I think of Pondicherry or rather, Puducherry. 

 

The French influence evident in the architectural structures of Pondicherry.

The Pondy Sea

I must have been about 9 yrs old when I first visited Pondicherry along with my family and a bunch of family friends. Little did I understand the history behind the unique architecture and town planning of the place. I conveniently did not bother to understand the relevance of this town with respect to struggle for Indian Independence and the spiritual aura that Pondicherry as a place has always carried with it.

While being a student in Bangalore, a couple of my friends often visited Pondicherry. I rarely joined them, as back then, I was consciously putting in efforts to save some cash and rather enjoy the long weekends in and around Bangalore. However, the urge to revisit Pondicherry has not died since the time I first visited the place. Auroville and the Samadhi of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother has always made me want to visit Pondicherry on my own and experience the spiritual aura of the place.

From the time of my first visit, I recalled the place where we had stayed- Sri Aurobindo Ashram guest house. A compound located by the sea with a huge gate and a few Bougainvillea trees creating a canopy with this beautiful fresh pink flowers. The guest house comprised of couple of buildings, each not more than 2-3 floors in height, all painted in white with simple flooring. The rooms mainly appeared like dormitories with the provision for 5-6 beds. A board at the entrance of each of the buildings, time and again performed its duty of reminding the members the rules that he/she was expected to abide by while being a ‘guest’ at the guest house. I clearly remember two rules: “Whisper” as gently as you can and like good children, switch off the lights and hit the beds by 10 pm (this wasn't the exact language used though). I also remember a very pretty French restaurant right across the street. It served some delicious delicacies, mainly non-vegetarian and some irresistible desserts. I also remember there being a shop that sold leather and handmade products. The Leather was supposed to be one of the most genuine ones and it apparently came with a warranty of 7 years! I somehow wanted to see and experience all that I had experience when I visited Pondy as a little child. How strange that we humans crave for similar “happy” experience over and over again!

Sri Aurobindo Ashram Guest house exteriors

Visiting Pondicherry after more than 15 years of the first visit was different. It was an unplanned trip and the only things planned included the time of our arrival, departure and the hotel we chose to plonk ourselves in- Yes! We literally plonked ourselves at Hotel Annai Residence right from 6:30am until mid-noon.

The first day was spent understanding the geography of the town, only to know the direction in which we could walk towards the sea side and find a decent place to sit, eat, chill and watch the India-Sri Lanka World Cup final match. On the way we stopped by at Choco LÀ (from the photograph below, one can assume the awesome chocolate desserts, sweets, shakes and other drinks they sell); We ultimately settled at The Richmond- a quaint and stylish yet not very visually jarring restaurant cum hotel. A late lunch was regularly interrupted by the interesting India- Sri Lanka final match and the enthusiasm often seen amongst the others in the restaurant.

The Chocolates at Choco LÀ

 India - Sri Lanka World cup finals at The Richmond

 
The following days comprised of multiple visits to the sea face, a couple of coffees, Earl Grey tea and Cakes at Coffee Dot Come, lazy walks across the Pondy streets only to experience the French colony feel and of course, a day’s visit to the beautiful, calm, composed an highly spiritual Matri Mandir. I am glad we could do justice by giving this part of the trip more than just a few hours. Yet, the typical human tendency of dissatisfaction remains since entering the Matri mandir without prior appointment was not permitted. May be I should “plan” the next time I visit Pondy and make sure that I enter the depths of the spiritual centre of Pondicherry!

 The Matri Mandir, Auroville

I would like to suggest a few places to grab some good vegetarian food because we did experience some trouble in finding good restaurants serving vegetarian food (we were also a little picky since we wanted to watch the match on a large screen :P). here's the list:
- The Promenade (This hotel has the best location if you want to sit by the sea and enjoy some pizzas)
- Coffee Dot Com
- The Richmond (That’s the India-Sri Lanka Finals)
- Hi-Design Café

 Some awesome French food and kiwi cooler at the Hi-Design Café

Best part of the trip: The awesome dinner at The Promenade. I must admit, the food wasn’t that great but the people I went here with made the difference :) Also adding to the good memories of the trip is the time we aimless sat by the sea seldom chatting and often listening to the waves roar and appreciating the silence that stood between the "3 best friends that anybody could have" :). I also felt absolutely at peace after having visited the Samadhi of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The experience there was one of its kind, connecting indirectly with people who mattered to me and connecting directly to my own self!

All in all, Pondy is an amazing place to unwind yourself in a different way- physically, mentally, and spiritually.

And because it has been 3 months since this trip to Pondy, I am already waiting for another trip, hopefully to Bandipur. Rahul Desai, Dipal Patel, Somesh Kumar and Nirav Mistry, are you guys reading this? ;)

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