I went to Pondicherry with a best friend, a suitcase, some money and a broken heart. This was my “dil-tutti-chutti” a.k.a break-up holiday back in 2018 because nothing cures a bruised heart like change of address, even if it is just for a week. It was an early morning flight in November and we pre-booked a cab from Chennai airport to Pondicherry. It took us close to three hours to reach our homestay but it was a pleasant ride with a good driver. I loved the tree lined roads which formed beautiful natural archways and when you spot the palm trees with ocean, that means you are about to reach your destination.
This union territory colonized by the French in the 17th century mirrors the Parisian charm through it’s elaborate architecture like the many churches and French colony, the street names that read Rue Dumas, Rue Suffren & Petit Canal street and the difficult to pronounce French dishes. We had a late lunch enroute Pondi so we dumped our bags, freshened up and walked straight towards The Promenade. I took in everything around me while I scaled my way towards the beach, the lighting around one of the temples, the church, the fading noise close to sunset, the graffiti covered walls, the bright yet soothing yellow of the town which rubs off on you almost immediately. The Promenade was home away from home for this Bombay girl, where the vehicles are not allowed post 7 pm and hence the entire street is available for wandering aimlessly for beach bums like me because ocean air is my Opium. There was a cultural event in progress which we attended towards the end and I sneezed a couple of times to garner the attention of a very strict south Indian lady sitting in front of me. The cherry on the top of day one was dinner at Coromandel Café with its perfect ambience and amazing seafood.
We went to Baker Street the next day for breakfast but soon realized we cannot breakfast like French people with croissants, Danish pastries, quiches or desserts. We hunted down a south Indian joint which was a gem because this is where we had all our Pondi lunches. Ladies and Gentlemen, please visit Surguru restaurant in Heritage Town to satisfy your Indian food cravings. The staff is quick, friendly and always ready with suggestions to try new dishes. The pricing is decent and weird, check out their menu for that. Pondi food diaries were nothing short of an adventure. We had dinner at this highly rated restaurant named Ende Nadu which looked like we have just entered an office because the food was served in cubicle *LOL* I think they wanted to adopt the booth style seating arrangement but had to settle for the office cubicles. The food was okay and cheap. We tried the famous Café Xtasi but there are 3-4 branches of them and we unfortunately landed at the lesser known one because the food was not up to the mark and the place was drab. Le Café at The Promenade was again one of our favourite joints for coffee and snacks which is open 24X7. We loved the simple organic thalis and gelatos at Auroville, the apple pie at Eat My Café and Café Des Arts was picturesque with bland food and has a vintage shop inside. But nothing beats our breakfast everyday which was idlis and wadas outside our street and madras coffee at the adjacent shop.
It gets pretty hot during the afternoon and we roamed aimlessly on our bike figuring out the right way to reach the first of our many churches. Immaculate Conception Cathedral was shut when we reached, Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was colourful and crowded and lastly, the Our Lady of Angels church is my the most favourite because I am positive that I will never see a church this beautiful, serene and peaceful as this one, ever in my life no matter where I go. I am not exaggerating. We were lucky because when we arrived the church was empty and it felt surreal to be there. Beautiful pastel coloured from the outside and pristine white and aqua on the inside. We paid a visit to Sir Aurobindo Ashram in the evening where you are not allowed to talk because many people meditate there, it’s a place of devotion surrounded by beautiful gardens. Since I was not allowed to talk there, I wanted to step out after 15 minutes but it was a good experience. He headed towards the Botanical Garden which was a sheer waste of time. Don’t visit it and save some time. We went to The Promenade again and did some shopping. There are some really cool stores opposite the Rock beach along with the French memorial and Oh! So many statues.
We spent one entire day at Auroville. Matrimandir is only available to be viewed from afar if you haven’t booked in advance for entry. They say it’s not a tourist site but a place of meditation. There is a blueprint in the gallery which shows you how it looks from inside and they also show you a short film about Auroville and the walls are clad with the history of Auroville and Matrimandir. It was a shopping and chilling day for us at Auroville because it has these small boutiques which sell organic and handmade items. If you are a fan of one-of-a-kind things then this is your mecca. Clothes, candles, jewellery, trinkets, everything. We lost our way on the way back to White Town, the google maps took us to the national highway outside the town but the ride back was beautiful with palm trees and ocean breeze. It was a relaxed evening with a visit to Manakula Vinayagar Temple which was not so far away from our homestay. I only wanted to visit this temple for Laxmi the Elephant but I was too scared to go close enough to feed her. She was friendly and naughty because she tried to grab bananas from a boy passing by. It is sad to hear that her health is deteriorating because she is the one attracting so many visitors to the temple. I hope they stop using her like this. I haggled with the street vendors outside to sell me some scary tribal wall masks but it was a great day.
Our last day was spent on Paradise beach, we took a boat from Chunnambar boat house to reach there. It was a beautiful ride which took us to this pristine beach with blue water, golden sand and clear sky. It was a sunny day which was completely opposite to the gloomy, rainy yesterday. We couldn’t do much at the beach because of the heat but it was a good place to sit back and relax. I never thought I could experience such a clear blue sea water, coming from Bombay where there is no difference between seawater and gutters. It was our last day in Pondi and I was beginning to miss home. I was going to miss the crazy days, beach walks, Surguru lunches and the dangerous traffic of Pondicherry.
The major downer for me was our homestay which was in one of the by lanes in White Town close to the Promenade. It was stuffy and not at all comfortable, but hey we were barely going be there so it didn’t matter all that much. Plus, we got to speak to some German guys for a while before the owner started hovering around us like a vulture. Everything else about Pondicherry was like a big French dream.
À la prochaine, Pondi!
Yorumlar