Once Upon a Trip…to Puducherry

First things first, history was not my favourite subject during high school. I mean I loved learning about things, but what happened in which year, which dynasty won, reigned over which city (currently known as what), I could never remember. Moreover, for my high school board exams, I merely studied 16 out of the damn 24 chapters in our ‘history and civics’ book. How much I scored in that exam is not really the focus here. The point I am trying to make is that I put utmost efforts to try and avoid reading about history (I am all ears if you tell it to me as a story). However, when I decided to share our trip to Puducherry, I had to read a little history to summarise it here, as this place was of great interest in the colonial era.

(Disclaimer: Boring paragraph ahead!) Puducherry (or Pondicherry as you may be more familiar with) is a Union Territory of the Union of India. During colonial times, it was under the British East India Company and the French East India Company at different periods of time. Initially the French East India Company, in 1674, set up a trading centre at Pondicherry in the south coast of India which eventually became the chief French settlement in India. It was under British and French control over the years to follow, finally being held by the French in 1814. Later in the 1850’s when the British took control over India, the French were allowed to retain their settlements, including Pondicherry, in India. It was finally after our independence and in 1954 that it was incorporated into the Indian Union with the rest of French India. This history is necessary to understand the French influence in Pondicherry.

Alright, now that we have acquired the ultimate knowledge of history of the entire universe, and as we already know the answer to the “Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything”, thanks to Douglas Adam, we shall move towards our trip to Puducherry. We have been to Puducherry more than once. The reason that made this possible was that we went to Kalpakkam, the township of the ‘Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research’, twice for our internships. Now Kalpakkam is situated in a village that lies somewhere in between Chennai and Puducherry in the state of Tamil Nadu. This village was developed into a township only for the research centre there. This means you get all the things you NEED, but none of the things you WANT (Reminds me of the Environment Education class on sustainable development). With no source of entertainment or enjoyment in Kalpakkam, the researchers (PhD’s, interns) often go to ‘Pudu’ for some leisure time during weekends. From our personal experience, the Hindi speaking fellows find it a little more difficult to survive as there is minimal social life due to the language barrier. Pudu serves as those ‘one day trips’ for students in Kalpakkam and was the case for us as well.

During our second internship, in January 2016, we went to Puducherry on the very first weekend. Pudu, to us, was known territory by now (as you might have noticed by my constant reference to Puducherry by its nickname ‘Pudu’!). The way to go to Pondicherry from Kalpakkam is to go to the ECR (East Coast Road) and wait for the Chennai-Puducherry bus. The odds of finding a seat in this bus are the same as me becoming a renowned blogger. That means, it is a sure thing that you will get a seat. Nah, its usually crowded and you have to cover a major portion of the ride standing. Another problem with this journey, apart from the standing, is that the bus stops merely 20 km from Kalpakkam for some tea and snacks break. I understand that it started at Chennai and has covered around 110 km but we were there for not more than 20 minutes. Anyway, you usually find a seat after it makes stops at some villages and the rest of the journey is quite convenient. Even while standing you get stunning views of the coconut trees, the sand and the beach (or backwaters) which helps you get over the standing situation.

We reached Pudu in about two hours. The first thing we did was to go to a bike renting shop and rent a scooty. In my opinion, it is the best way to travel in Pudu, almost ‘Goa Feels’. Moreover, renting a vehicle allows you to travel to wherever you want, at whatever pace you want, takings as many detours as you want. I think it is necessary to let you guys know at this moment that neither of the two of us are experienced riders/drivers. There, I said it. ’27 years old and not a rider’, No judging. I had some experience of riding bikes and a Driver’s License, so it was decided in ‘once upon a trip to GOA’, that I can (must) do it. And I did, but that is another story. So that experience gave us the confidence to do it time and again during our travels.

Okay, getting that out of my chest, let’s continue. After hiring the scooty we went on a hotel hunt. Two attempts later, we found a hotel cheap enough for non-scholarship interns and decent enough to stay in. We freshened up and planned our itinerary. It was already late afternoon and first place we decided to head to was the Rock Beach, which was not too far from the hotel.

Rock beach, also known as Promenade beach, Pondicherry beach or Gandhi beach, is a beautiful seafront with a long stretch of around 1.2 km along the Bay of Bengal. The black rocks along the coast, with the waves hitting them forming white seafoam and the sea shining blue under the sky is a delight to watch.

If you have been to Mumbai, then I guess you may (or may not) imagine the Marine Drive to be in the same league, but trust me both have very different vibes to them. From our experience, Marine Drive is just another thing altogether during the night. Mumbai with the citylights in the darkness of the night, the necklace that forms from the lights along the promenade, just wow. Oh! I just took my scooty and went on a detour. Coming back to the Rock beach. We sat on the rocks for some time. The sound of the waters, especially after the sun showed some mercy, was just like music. I personally have a soft corner for mountains, and whenever I am asked a question about being a ‘mountain person’ or a ‘beach person’, it is moments like these that make me put beaches and mountains on the same pedestal.

We then took a stroll on the promenade, which is stunning. The beautiful rocks, sea and the horizon on one side and the elegant French architecture inspired buildings on the other made a perfect setting for an early evening walk. On arriving at the other end of the promenade, we reached the Kargil War Memorial, dedicated to the Indian soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation during the Kargil war in 1999. There is also a French War Memorial in the promenade dedicated to the residents of French India who lost their lives during the First World War.

After spending a lovely evening in the Rock Beach area, we headed back to the hotel. We had dinner in a nearby restaurant. I don’t remember exactly what we ordered (neither do you), so I am gonna go ahead and say we ordered some tomato rice, lemon rice and uttapam, prove it if you think I am lying. After the dinner, we called it a night dozed off. At around 2 am, one of us woke up and had this random idea about going to the Rock Beach to enjoy the place at this time of the night. The other, more intelligent, good looking and the ‘best person in the world’ rubbished the idea… and in 15 minutes we were at the gate trying to wake up the watchman to get the keys. The half awake watchman gave us the keys and asked us to lock the gate from outside while we were away. Very responsible of him to give us the authority to lock the other guests and himself inside the hotel.

We took the scooty out and rode in the streets of Pudu and no one could tell I don’t drive regularly, well mostly because there was literally NO ONE to tell. We reached the promenade again and went directly to a very popular joint, Le Café. This joint remains open 24 hours a day and offers you a variety of sandwiches, brownies and beverages. The place was very presently crowed and it did not feel like it was this late at night (or this early in the morning). We placed our order for café frappés and chocolate brownies and took a seat along the back row of tables. It must be difficult to sit there in the open during the peak noon time, but at this time it was very refreshing. You cannot see the sea but you can constantly hear the waves approaching the rocks and then receding. This was indeed a good idea. Well done, the one who pitched this idea. We spent around an hour there and then came back to the hotel, returned the keys to the watchman and went to sleep for good.

We woke up the next morning and had the itinerary for the day in mind. We checked out of the hotel and rode to the first destination which was the Manakula Vinayagar Temple, dedicated to Lord Ganesha. This temple predates the French occupation of the territory and was saved from destruction during the French control due to protests from hindu population at the time. We sought the blessing of Lord Ganesha, who is considered by hindus as the ‘Vighna Harta’, the Remover of Obstacles.

Having taken care of our possible obstacles, we next headed to the Sri Aurobindho Ashram, a spiritual centre dedicated to the preachings of Sri Aurobindho and his collaborator Mirra Alfassa, popularly known as ‘the Mother’. The building of the ashram is a collection of interconnected houses which surround a tree-shaded courtyard, at the centre of which lies the flower-covered ‘Samadhi‘, the resting place of the physical remains of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Of course we weren’t allowed to click pictures. Like many others, we sat in the courtyard facing the Samadhi. People were sitting there meditating, I sat there just in silence. I think there was some meditation music playing in the background. We sat there for as long as we felt like. We could sense the positive aura, the kind of feeling we experienced while just sitting in the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar, or in the Sai Baba Temple in Shirdi, Maharashtra.

When you exit from the ashram, you pass by the gift/souvenir shop which has a vast collection of books on the preachings of Sri Aurobindho and the Mother. We bought one book on the basics of yoga science and a few postcards. We left the ashram with a rejuvenated spirit and it was the perfect start to our day.

All the places we went to, so far, are situated in the White Town area of Puducherry. The White town is renowned for its French colonial-era villas lining the streets. At the time of visiting, it felt like just a beautiful locality representing French architectural buildings, mostly painted in yellow and blue with highlights of white. The street names were also representative of French names, with the street name tags placed on the corner buildings of the streets. It was only later, when I came to France for my doctoral studies that I could really appreciate the beauty and resemblance to the buildings and streets in French cities.

Next we decided to go to the Paradise beach for some fun time. It is around 7 km from the city centre in Puducherry and Google Maps said that it knows a way which will lead us directly to the beach. And it was damn right. After reaching very close to the said destination on Google map, there was no road. We parked the scooty and walked on the sand towards the destination. At some point the sand/ ground ended and the map said the beach is there at the centre of the water. We could see what was the actual beach from there, the only problem being that there was this large area of water and no means to cross it. Now Google Maps has given us its fair share of goof-ups and this was one of them. But love it or hate it, Google Maps has always been our third companion in our trips. So feeling a little frustrated under the sun, we made our way back to the road. We clicked a few pictures there though as the landscape looked perfect for a photoshoot. The photos from the Paradise beach, unfortunately, have somehow disappeared from our collection. Here is one photo we had uploaded on Instagram back in the days.

Even with this setback, we were determined to reach the actual Paradise beach. On reaching the main road we asked a few people and followed their lead to finally reach the Chunnambar boat house. This place had a lot of people, so we were positive about it being the one. We parked the sccoty in a parking lot there. The thing is that the Paradise beach is a privately owned beach and to reach there you need to come to this Chunnambar boat house and then take a ferry to the actual place. You are not allowed to carry any food or beverages with you (typical). While we were waiting in a queue for our turn to hop on the ferry, we noticed so many local people smuggling beer cans and bottles inside their clothes. One person was literally wearing a jacket to the beach!

We finally reached the Paradise beach and to be honest, its hyped more than necessary. Okay there is a beach, but there is limited shade and it was so hot during the day, that after a stroll on the sand one has to take shade. There is just one shack with some shade. This shack is the only one in the beach where you can get some food and beverages, and not surprisingly, at over-priced rates. Well, I don’t find the guy with the jacket weird anymore. Good job lad. We hardly spent an hour there, which included eating some fried rice, which was one of the only few options available. We still clicked some pictures in the sand with the vastness of the sea tagging itself to the vastness of the sky. Travelling has taught us to make the best of the situation and the photos were the best of this situation. We took the ferry back to the boat house, got our scooty and finally left for Auroville (best thing for last).

Auroville is an experimental township, formed by Mirra Alfassa, ‘the Mother’ and is geographically located mostly in the state of Tamil Nadu with some parts in Puducherry. It is named after Sri Aurobindho and derives its name from the French words, ‘Aurore’ meaning Dawn and ‘Ville’ meaning City, or the ‘City of Dawn’. The idea behind this township is wonderful. In the words of the Mother:

Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realize human unity.

Mirra Alfassa

Auroville is around 10 km from Puducherry, so for us it was a 17 km ride from the boat house, where we started. We reached Auroville, taking the views during the ride. We parked and went to the visitor centre. There you can find an archive of photos of the construction and inauguration of the township, and other notes and documents from the Mother. The township was envisaged to be constructed in the form of a galaxy with the Matrimandir, the meditation centre, at the centre of the township.

To actually reach the Matrimandir, or at least the view point, you have to walk around 1 km from the visitor centre. This walk is not tiring, thanks to the trees and shades all along the way. The area within Auroville is covered with forest, which was at the time of planning a barren plateau. The banyan trees and their arial roots extend to a vast section in Auroville. You also come across huts/sititng areas made with bamboo sticks on your way to the Matrimandir.

You start getting the glimpse of the huge golden sphere as you pass by the Auroville Unity park. We reached the view point of the Matrimandir, from where you get the perfect view of the structure with the lush green surrounding and the blue sky in the backdrop. It really looks like a building from the future.

We never got inside the Matrimandir. You have to make prior bookings, if you are interested. At the time, we were not really looking to discover spiritual calmness or whatever you feel while meditating inside. We did learn a little about the structure though. Inside the Matrimandir are 12 meditation rooms representing 12 different virtues of life. These virtues and rooms have designated colours, as dictated by the Mother herself. One can sit inside a room to meditate and focus on that particular virtue.

We clicked pictures of the Matrimandir and sat there in the shade of a tree for some time. After spending some good time in Auroville, we decided that it was time to head back. It was Sunday and we had to reach Kalpakkam by the evening. We rode back to the bike renting shop to return the scooty. The owner was not there and his son, 14-15 years of age, took back the scooty. He asked us if we had any accident or damaged the scooty in any way, which we had not. He wanted to test the scooty, so he rode to the end of the road and while turning the scooty fell down with it. He came back to us and did not say a word and gave us our ID back. Poor guy.

We went to the bus station and took the bus back to Kalpakkam. Luckily, on the way back, we got seats. The bus ride was smooth, I probably also fell asleep during the ride back. The bus made a stop for some snacks at the same place as on our onward journey to Pudu the day before. We saw a newly-wed couple on another bus which was going to Puducherry. The guy was being a little romantic with the wife (probably going for their honeymoon), when she noticed us looking at them from our bus. We did not plan to breach their privacy but it wasn’t really a private place. They felt so shy, almost afraid, like the way you feel as a teenager if your mom/dad see you with your girlfriend. When our bus left, we smiled at them and waved them goodbye to which they smiled back. So all good.

This trip to Pudu was very entertaining, with a lot to do over the weekend. We could have done without the google map detour, but what is the fun in that. We fared adieu to Pudu, promising to return, this time with the intent to seek some spiritual understanding in Auroville. We reached Kalpakkam safely and started the working week next day, planning our next trip, and doing research, of course.

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