GIVE TIME A BREAK AT PONDICHERRY!

Believe it nor not, it is an enthralling experience to drive down the ECR otherwise known as East Coast Road connecting Chennai and Pondicherry. The road runs along the sea, saltpans and rice fields. It has lush green fields on the one side and the calm sea on the other and that make your drive less tiresome.  Theme parks, multiplexes, entertainment houses, resorts, restaurants and motels have sprung up along the wayside and turned the ECR into a much sought-after weekend destination. The two-lane road is neatly divided and accurate signboards warn you about corners and crossings. The smooth, tarred surface tempts you to speed up but since some of the corners are tight, it is a good idea to maintain reasonable speeds.  An early morning drive would take about two and a half hours to reach Pondy which is just about 150 kms away from Chennai.

Once you are into the town of Pondy, you can feel the French flavor in everything you see and encounter!  The exceptionally clean, well-paved, even streets mostly meeting at right angles with quaint street lamps, give Pondy, an old world charm.  In Schools, along with English and Tamil, French is also taught and signboards in French are common. Whats more, the policemen wear French-style caps and look completely different from their counterparts in Tamil Nadu. You will be amused to see one side of a road forming part of Tamil Nadu and the other side that of Pondicherry!  The people of Pondy still have high regard for their French connection and this is evident from the fact that they havent dismantled the old signs of colonial rule. The people of the town will proudly tell you that while the British looted India, the French actually brought wealth to the country and even when they left, they did not take anything back with them. Pondicherry was the capital of the French territories in India from 1816 to 1954. It has an ancient heritage and its origin can be traced to 1500 BC. It was a renowned centre of Vedic scholarship. The sage Agastya had his hermitage here. The West came to know of this place when it found mention in the geography described by the Greek historian, Ptolemy in the 2nd century BC. He mentions this place as the Port town of Poduke on the Coromandel Coast. It was then called Puluchery, changed to Puduchery and later to Pondicherry. It became a part of independent India in 1954. Nearly 20 per cent of people of Pondicherrys still hold French passports and a large number of retired people get pension from the French government.

The most preferred mode of transport in Pondy is bicycle.  I would rather suggest you to hire one and peddle through the charming streets of Pondy.  The French residences close to the sea are characterized by its European classical style structures. The street facades usually have continuous wall-to-wall construction with elaborate gateways, wooden balconies and parapets. Tourists can start their trip round the town by stopping at the statue of Francois Dupleix the French governor whose rule came to an end in 1754.

The beaches in Pondicherry are clean and unlike those of Goa, less crowded. The sea front doesnt have a sandy beach but instead is rocky and has a lovely promenade ideal for morning walks. Early in the mornings and evenings, traffic to the beach road is restricted making it a walkers paradise. It will be a life-time experience for one to glide along the calm beach side to the music of the murmur of waves and the rustle of the palms. There are two monuments of historical importance on the beach. One is the 4m. tall statue of Mahatma Gandhi and the other is the War Memorial, built by the French in commemoration of the soldiers who died in the First World War.

One should not miss the French War Memorial dedicated to French soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and the Aayi Mandapam. The Aayi Mandapam was built during the reign of Napoleon III. Built in Greco-Roman style, it is totally white and bears the name of Aayi, a 16th century courtesan who razed her house and replaced it with a reservoir just to appease a passing king. It was from this lake that Napoleons men quenched their thirst, some 300 years later. Napoleon charmed by the story ordered a monument to Aayi.

If France was the single most important influence over Pondicherry before it became a part of India, the Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville now exert the same influence in giving Pondicherry its present character. Aurobindo Ashram is the most popular attraction in Pondicherry. The Ashram was founded by Sri Aurobindo Ghose in 1926. Sri Aurobindo, the poet philosopher founded the Ashram to help man reach the zenith of his evolution through spiritual exercises and yoga, combined with physical activity and productive work. Thus, the ashram offers maximum employment to the people on its farms. The ashram also runs craft workshops for weaving, embroidery, batik, pottery and incense making. After Aurobindo passed away, one of his disciples, Mirra Alfassa, a French lady popularly called as The Mother became in charge of the Ashram, until her death in 1973 at the age of 95. The Ashram has a nice garden and contains the Samadhi of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. There are meditation sessions from Monday to Friday (except Thrusday) 7.30 p.m. to 7.45 p.m. around the Samadhi. A guided tour of the ashram starts from the main gate at 8.45 a.m. daily. The Ashram is open daily from 8 am to noon and 2 pm to 6 pm. The pin drop silence inside the Ashram ensures total peace of mind and flow of eternal thoughts.

Auroville is 10km away from the main township of Pondy. Nearly 1,500 persons of different nationalities are Ashram members, almost 1,800 people belonging to 40 different countries live in Auroville. The small township of Auroville or the City of Dawn was designed by a French architect, Roger Arger. It is an entirely new concept in education and urban living. There are about 40 odd settlements located around a central focus called the Matrimandir, a huge meditation hall in the centre of Auroville. These settlements are engaged in a variety of activities, including afforestation, farming, education and handicrafts.

Auroville is based on the ideal of human unity and is based on the principle of community living. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother envisioned a new society where people could live "freely as citizens of the world, obeying one single authority that of the Supreme Truth, a place of peace, concord, harmony" and under the directions of The Mother this huge project was started in the year 1968.  The Ashram is also maintaining Guest houses and accommodation is available at affordable rent and you can check into them with prior booking. 

Pondicherry also has some splendid ancient temples and churches noted for their architecture and sculptural wealth. The Manakula Vinayakar Temple on rue de Orleans is most popular in this part of the country with devotees seeking divine blessings for new undertakings. The shrine dedicated to "Lord Ganesha" existed even at the time of the arrival of the French in Pondicherry. Dont miss some of the famous churches too. French missionary zeal in the XVII and XVIII Centuries saw a number of grandly embellished churches built in Pondicherry. One of the most beautiful is the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus located on South Boulevard. It is built in the Gothic style and has three stained glass panels in a corridor behind the altar which exhibits the life of Christ. The Eglise de Notre Dame Des Anges on Rue Dumas was built in 1865. The church has an oil painting of Our Lady of Assumption that was donated by Napoleon III. The Eglise de Notre Dame de Lourdes situated in Villiyanur on the outskirts of Pondicherry is built on the same pattern as the Basilica at Lourdes in France.  The marvel of glass painting and architecture is beyond ones imagination!

The Museum located in Pondy is known for its interesting collection of artefacts of the French. The Museum provides a glimpse into Pondicherry's rich past and present. The Archaeological section displays a collection of the famous findings from Arekamedu, like Roman pottery, burial urns, etc. The French Gallery is the most interesting part of the museum which has an office and drawing, dining and bed-rooms with furniture typical of French India. The Museum brings back to memory the glorious past of Pondicherry from the days of the pre-Christian era down to the present day providing glimpses of the art and culture of the people of this region during the Pallava, Chola and Vijayanagar days. There is a Memorial Museum for the famous Tamil Poet Subramaniya Bharathi who stayed in Pondicherry from 1908. It was in Pondy where some of his finest patriotic and romantic compositions were born. Bharathi's home is almost a place of pilgrimage today for Tamil people.

If you are looking for a perfect picnic spot in Pondicherry, then there is a place called Chunnambar located in Ariyankuppam which is 7 kms from Pondicherry. The backwater and the lush greenery on both sides of Chunnambar provide an ideal setting for boating. It is unique in nature as on one end there is a calm backwater and on the other end, a long sea shore called plage paradiso. There is a Water Sports Center here offering boating, kayaking, hydroplanes facilities and above all there are tree top houses to stay! The beach at Chunnambar is located near the mouth of the backwater. The sand is pristine and the water, clean. It's an ideal place for sun bathing and beach sports.

Pondy is also a shoppers delight. Everything from replicated antique furniture to ceramics, from incense sticks to lighting and from clothes to shoes is available. Since the town attracts a large number of foreigners, a lot of handicrafts are also on the display.

Perhaps the Pondicherry Tourism slogan says it all Visit Pondicherry, Give time a break.  Yes, indeed it was certainly so.  For those of us who are drained by the nine to five mundane of the city life, a break is necessary and if it is in a place like Pondy, it is simply great!  Our joy was doubled with the one-of-a-kind ride along the ECR! 

Come to Chennai, take a cab and enjoy the ECR ride and take a break at Pondy!

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