At the station, my friend’s car was there to pick us up. The Sumo ride along the East Coast Road is still one of my most memorable drives. The highway runs across the East Coast, starting from the Bay of Bengal. The coastal breeze, the expanse of the sea from a distance, coconut and palm trees lined across the seashore, and the rhythmic sound of waves were the beginning of a journey to unravel the magic of Pondicherry.
A place to find your inner peace
The land was a planned French colony when the East India Company ruled over India before Independence. Traces of that heritage still remain in the food, the architecture, the street names, and the relaxed ambiance of this charming city.
“Pondy” as Pondicherry is fondly referred to, is prone to coastal erosion. So the beach has been lined with artificial rocks to keep the waves at bay. However, in the 2004 tsunami, 25 kilometers of the coast of this god-fearing city was hit by huge waves up to ten meters high. Pondy is still recovering from the shocks as massive relief fund and efforts pour in to restore the devastation. It is a city of survivors though, and they are friendly and ready to help with warm welcoming grins.
It’s a town that’ll surprise you at every bend. Traveling around the town is easy on two-wheelers and are easy to hire. For the health-conscious ones, bicycles are easily available.
The cosmopolitan aura sets this tiny union territory apart from the rest of the country. Based on the tax norms in both the states of Goa and Pondy with regards to alcohol, many tend to consider Pondy an extension of Goa but I feel it’s a misplaced comparison. Goa is a place I’d go for a New Year party, while Pondicherry is more of the place you would visit to connect to yourself, find inner peace, or just sit at a bistro sipping coffee, writing the next bestseller the world is waiting to read. The sleepy bylanes, bakeries, beachside cafes, colonial buildings from the 18th century and before have relaxing effects, making it the best destination for you if you’re looking for a place to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life.
Ashrams
Calmness and serenity are reflected in the many ashrams that Pondicherry has. The most famous amongst them is the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. It’s one of the wealthiest ashrams of India. Sri Aurobindo was one of the most important nationalists in India’s Freedom Struggle and later went on to develop his own ideology of spiritual evolution. His vision enamors many from the West, and most of these ashrams are inhabited by foreigners.
On similar lines, an international township which “belongs to humanity as a whole” was given concrete shape. It was founded by Mira Alfassa, better known as The Mother, who named it Auroville – The City of Dawn. It is a retreat for those seeking spiritual solace and is unique in the sense that instead of using currency, residents are given account numbers to connect to their central accounts.
The town was formed because The Mother believed that “There should be a place somewhere upon Earth, a place that no nation could claim as its sole property, a place where all human beings of goodwill, sincere in their aspiration, could live freely as citizens of the world…”
Auroville strives to be that very place. Soil from 124 countries was collected and placed in a lotus-shaped urn denoting universal oneness.
Inside Auroville is the famous Matri Mandir. It’s a huge golden globe-shaped meditation hall, which is naturally lighted with the rays of the sun entering through the Belgian crystals placed around the surface.
A box of assorted chocolates
Among the beaches and sights to visit in Pondy, the Promenade is the main beach. Apart from being the most colonized part of city, it has the famous statue of Mahatma Gandhi and a rockbed for a shore which is representative of Pondy. In the same area are the War Memorial, the Lighthouse, and the Pondicherry Museum.
The Repos beachhuts are a must for a visit. Don’t forget to try the amazing seafood made in either typical South Indian fashion or a la carte. If you are a non-vegan, you have a gastronomic adventure to explore with crabs, prawns and freshwater fish.
Baker’s Street and Boulangierie serve exquisite and scrumptious foods. If you’re a vegetarian, don’t miss trying out an authentic South Indian meal at Sarvana Bhavan.
Puducherry is everything from fascinating, and enchanting to romantic. It’s like opening a box of assorted chocolates. You don’t know what you’ll bite into next; you don’t know what you’ll bump into at the corner of a road—an antique showroom, an intriguing incense shop, a brightly colored ashram building, an old man walking barefoot in his “lungi,” a coconut water vendor, or maybe a lone palm tree!
All the while, don’t forget to get yourself some of the handmade, fragrant incense sticks and candles as reminiscences of the city’s charms, and maybe you’ll carry a lingering sense of harmony along, too.
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Pristine Pondicherry
