Why Auro's Pondicherry and why not only Pondicherry ? The moment you enter Pondicherry one will know the strong influence of Sri Aurobindo in this small little town. Every other place, street,farm house hotel starts with Auro's... No idea whether Sri Aurobindo is considered sacred or lucky for this place or it's just to cash on his popularity. Also could be a mix of both.
I had this great desire to visit this south Indian city from a long time. The name had a certain charm and also the fact that it was considered the French riviera of Indian coast. Friend's had told me it was a great place to relax, something deeply valued in today's fast world. So I had this idea of a French town in the southern Indian coast where you do nothing but relax or meditate in the ashram.
I was a smooth drive for the four of us from Bangalore to Pondicherry. The moment we entered the city the mix of both foreign and Indian nationals was a common sight on the streets. My friend questioned why these tourists wanted to leave their cool European abodes and want to live in this hot humid climate of the Indian soil. A question I had no answer to, since we Indians were doing the reverse, flocking to the western cooler and cleaner climates.
We had booked a room in a hotel Mango Hill highly recommended by my friend. It was run by a French couple who fell in love with this place and never thought of returning back. The moment you entered the place you could feel the best of both Indian and French mix. The architecture, the staff was a mix of both but the air of the place was relaxed as you would find in the West. The most tempting architecture was the huge swimming pool aesthetically placed in the center of the hotel.
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| The Mango Hill swimming pool |
If you have lived in Bangalore you might know how the weather in Bangalore can spoil you. The sudden heat of the Pondicherry soil just was unbearable for us. We had booked these beautiful Thai cottages overlooking the pool. But once we entered the rooms all the beauty of the place was shattered. Why ? The rooms were not air conditioned and had just two ceiling fans. The heat being unbearable during the days the least we expected was an ac. The hotel site had completely failed to mention that in their site. This was the only low point in the whole trip.
After cleaning up and finally adjusting to the heat we decided to go visit the Promenade beach. If you have been to the marine drive in Mumbai you can co-relate to this one. Although it is much more cleaner and donned with old French Architecture. Around the beach in the French part of the city, with beautiful French homes.The walk around this walking stretch is beautiful with the sea breeze blowing in your face.
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| Light house at the Promenade beach |
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| Walking plaza |
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| She sells sea shells on the sea shore |
That evening we decided to eat at this restaurant called Villa Shanti. The name can be deceptive. Unlike the Indian name the place serves both Indian and French cuisine and is a great place to just sit and drink. Most places in Pondy reminded me of the days spend in Europe. The hotels, the restaurants had adapted the European chilled ambiance where you can sit and relax over a drink as long as you want. The food served was extremely good and I devoured a french grilled chicken salad.
The next day we woke and were pondering whether or not to visit the Paradise beach. The staff at the hotel suggested that it is not a place one should miss. We started of early, a 15 mins boat ride took as to the place. And it is definitely one of the cleanest beaches in India. May be not the best beach in India. No swimming was allowed though one could get into the water till a certain extent. The sea was definitely rough and had huge dangerous waves.It is one of the well kept beaches it had small straw huts, showers, changing rooms and a cleanliness hard to find on Indian soil. It is a half day activity and we were back to the hotel for lunch.
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| Myself and my husband on the paradise beach |
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| Paradise it is |
I forgot to mention that at the Mango Tree hotel also the food is extremely good. You can get a Bengali Fish Curry and also a Spanish Paella. Also they serve complimentary breakfast with croissant and stuff from their own bakery. They also have their own cheese processing unit and have been featured on shows of the Fox Traveller channnel.
The last day we wrapped up in the morning to visit the much heard of Auroville. When we reached the place we realized that the whole of the Pondicherry tourist was present there. We had fallen short in doing our research for this place. We had planned 2 hours visit to Auroville on the way back to Bangalore. But the place is huge and would take atleast one complete day to see things properly. Also we were caught unaware that we needed to pre-book tickets to visit Matri Mandir (the meditation dome) two to three days in advance. I had heard that it is a wonderful experience to meditate in it but just had to pacify ourselves by viewing it from outside. May be next time. I suggest before visiting Auroville check their web site for details and preplan your trip.
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| The Matri Mandir at Auroville |
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| The giant banyan tree @ Auroville |
Auroville was the last point of our journey. We were returning back home with mixed feeling. For me it had been a memorable journey. Apart from the heat I had enjoyed the food, the people, the place and the dip in the swimming pool. I would definitely come back to this place.
