India Meets France!

Got back from a relaxing trip to Pondicherry. The seafront is certainly the best place to start any exploration of Pondi. We chose a beach resort, Hotel Ashok to enjoy the lazy sea shore of Pondi. For the first two days, we found bliss at the resort occasionally stepping out to explore the other attractions in the city.

We later found out that the city has a White Town (Ville Blanche) and a Black Town (Ville Noire). The white town was where the French stayed and the Black Town was inhabited by the Tamilians during the French Colonization. While Hotel Ashok was on the ECR stretch, thanks to Vels, we got an opportunity to stay in a service apartment in the White Town area. This area is at the heart of the city and has well planned streets. It has some of the finest colonial buildings and most of the distinguished buildings are set against the sea front. Oh yeah, many streets have retained their French names. It was heartening to see a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the middle of the seafront, close by the old lighthouse and pier. In the evening on the weekends, no vehicles are allowed to use the sea front road. Our visit to the sea front reminded us totally of a carnival, what with a band of music, road side foodie-goodies, giant wheel and thousands of people all packed into one narrow street facing the sea front.

One cannot ignore the influence of Sri Aurobindo on Pondi. Auroville and Aurobindo Ashram are named after this accomplished linguist & scholar. He studied spritual discipline of Yoga and was joined in this intensive study by a French Woman, Mira Alfassa who is popularly referred by the devotees as The Mother. Auroville is the brainchild of The Mother and is designed by French Architect Roger Anger. One should definitely visit the Auroville when in Pondi. Auroville is an experiment in international living where men and women can live in peace and progressive harmony above creed, politics and nationality. Yes, you heard that right! This piece of land stretched over a few acres is not governed by any politicians and is said to be beyond any nationality. Posted by Hyperbole Friday, February 03, 2006 at 1:10 PM