Pondicherry – The Indo French City.
“Pondicherry
booking done for three nights- Club Mahindra from October 14-16,” my Dad's
message flashed on my mobile while I was travelling back home from college
after an exhausting exam.
The trip came to me as a surprise. Pondicherry (now known as Puducherry) was always on my list, but this was a sudden plan. We flew to Chennai on October 14 early morning. This trip was a much-needed break from college with all its tiring assignments and projects.
The trip came to me as a surprise. Pondicherry (now known as Puducherry) was always on my list, but this was a sudden plan. We flew to Chennai on October 14 early morning. This trip was a much-needed break from college with all its tiring assignments and projects.
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| At Hotel Annapurna |
We landed
in Chennai at around 7 am. The usual tourist circuit that is followed is:
Chennai- Mahabalipuram-Pondicherry. We didn’t have time to cover Chennai, so it
was just a transit for us. Our plan was to cover Mahabalipuram and reach
Pondicherry by evening. We had called for a private pickup from the airport.
There are tourist buses also available from Chennai to Pondicherry. We took the
ECR (East Coast Road) which was unbelievably beautiful. It is a coastal route
bordered by beautiful backwaters, trees and the sea. We were looking forward to
some yummilicious South Indian breakfast and so, avoiding the Chennai traffic,
hit a nice restaurant in Mahabalipuram. We flattered ourselves by consuming
Idlis, Ghee Dosas, Set Dosas and Pongal with hot sambar and three types of
chutneys at Hotel Annapurna - a typical highway hotel.
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| Shore Temple- Mahabalipuram |
We reached
Mahabalipuram (now known as Mamallapuram) at 10 am. I had done a good amount of
research on the place before going, so it was easy for us to look around.
Nevertheless, we hired a guide. It is always better to hire a guide while
visiting historical places. Mahabalipuram, a UNESCO world heritage site, is a
collection of various sites, including the iconic Shore Temple, Arjuna Penance,
Mandapams, Pancha Rathas, Tiger Caves and the Butter Ball. The guide showed us
around the magnificent place. The place is truly an architectural wonder. The
stuff that grabbed my attention the most were the beautifully carved monolithic
structures and Krishna’s Butter Ball.
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| Mahabalipuram's famous Stone and Granite Sculptures. |
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| Krishna's Butter Ball- Mahabalipuram |
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| Club Mahindra's Private Beach |
For the
next day, I had booked a cycle tour for my Dad and me. Pondicherry is famous
for its heritage cycle tours. There are various agencies conducting the tour
but the most popular is that of Sita Cultural Center. The tour started at 7 am
and went on till 10:30 am. We cycled across the Tamilian quarters, the Muslim
quarters, the Ashram quarters and finally the French quarters. The whole city
is divided into these four quarters. The quarters have a colour scheme. While
the Tamilian and Muslim quarters are generally colorful, the French quarters
are mostly yellow (the iconic yellow Pondicherry buildings) and the ashram
quarters are grey and white, symbolizing peace. As we cycled through this
beautiful city, it felt like we had entered an entirely different world. The
tour ended with a breakfast at the center itself.
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| Cycling Tour at Sita Cultural Centre |
My Mom
joined us later, and the same day we covered the The Basilica of the Sacred
Heart of Jesus Church. This church is a must-visit. We also visited the iconic
Aurobindo Ashram, The Rocky Beach -also called as The Promenade, and The Paper
factory. We rounded it up with a tasty French brunch at Bakers Street. We
returned to the hotel after having a nice walk around the French quarters. It
is astonishing how there are still French settlements in India. They have
managed to keep in tact the French culture and still be a part of the Indian
culture.
The next
day early morning we had a nice swim at our resort’s beach. Our plan was to
visit Auroville. It is an experimental community dedicated for human unity. It was an hour’s drive. We couldn’t participate in most of
the activities as we didn’t have a whole day to spend and moreover everything
had to be prebooked. But it is a beautiful place with lots of trees and wooden
houses.
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| The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church. |
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| French breakfast at Sita Cultural Center |
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| The Rocky Beach - The Promenade |
We viewed the Matrimandir (meditation center) from the outside and left
for Thiruvannamalai, a small religious town located 3.5 hours from Auroville.
It is known for the Annamalaiyar temple (Shiva temple), Sri Ramana Ashram and
the Arunachala. My Dad urged us to visit the town as we got done with Auroville
earlier than we planned. We visited the ashram and the temple. It was a
pleasing experience.
However, it became dark when we started back. The highways
did not have street lights and it started raining heavily. We were scared to
death. The drive was risky, but Thank God! we managed to reach Pondicherry safely.
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| Pondicherry Flower Market. |
On our last
day in Pondicherry, we spent the morning walking around the resort, trying
segways and beach bikes. I just didn’t want to go back from this exquisite
city. The city really did win our hearts with its beautiful people, clean air,
splendid beaches, the French colonies and amalgamation of the French and South
Indian cultures. We drove back to Chennai, had a delicious South Indian meal on
our way back, and bid adieu to this magnificent city. I certainly don't mind
visiting Pondicherry again.
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| Pondicherry's Iconic Yellow walls
Diksha's Must Recommended
1. Shop for Mahabalipuram's stone and granite sculpture.
2. Don't miss the ECR route- It is very calming.
3. Pondicherry Cycle tour by Sita Cultural Centre.
4. French snacks at Baker's Street.
5. Lunch at Le Cafe, White Town.
6. South Indian delicacies at A2B Adyar Ananda Bhavan.
7. Aurobindo Ashram Street.
8. Arulmigu Manakula Vinayagar Temple.
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