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Pondicherry is no longer just an old French
settlement, characterized by the Ashram. Today’s Pondicherry is
very cosmopolitan.
Winter was engulfing
north India when we decided to travel down south and enjoy the
maritime climate—the salty air and the sound of the sea. We,
means both of us Anu and our uncle K.A. (known to us as uncle
Know-All) After a few days in Madurai and Kodaikanal, it was time for
Chennai. Uncle K.A. suggested, “don’t you want to go to
Pondicherry (the new settlement)?” The French settlement
comprising the town Pondicherry, fondly called Pondy and three other
pockets in the different States, Karaikal (Tamil Nadu), Mahe Kerala),
and Yanam (Andhra Pradesh), is what makes today’s Union
Territory of Pondicherry. To uncle K.A.’s question we all
jumped, “of course, let’s go to Pondy!”
There is a bus from
Chennai to Pondy almost every 30 minutes and during the four hour bus
ride, we read about the present day city from the tourist guide book.
The book was quite comprehensive and gave us a lot of information
about the Shri Aurobindo Ashram as well as Auroville.
The scenery outside was
typical of the Deccan plateau. Striking red soil and deep green
vegetation, consisting mainly of cashew, palm and neem, made a
stunning landscape. Uncle K.A. was surprisingly quiet. When asked,
he replied that he was “recollecting.” However, we knew he
would tell us some interesting stories when the time came. We
finally passed JIPMER, the medical institute and entered Pondicherry.
It was no different from any other city—restaurants, rickshaws,
buses, crowds and lots of bicycles.
We took an auto rickshaw
and were whisked off towards the International Guest House. This is
one of the many reasonable forms of accommodation run by the Shri
Aurobindo Ashram. K.A. had booked it without telling us. “You
can never get lost here,” he said and certainly this area seemed
more organized.
The township is planned
on a grid system, which is to say that the roads meet each other at
right angles. Our guest house was on the seaward side of a long
canal known as Petit Canal which divided the French township lying on
the side facing the sea with the predominantly Indian/Tamil one on
the other.
Later in the day, we
walked down to the Samadhi. Shri Aurobindo arrived at Pondy us
a freedom fighter. It was here he pursued the higher truth and
attained enlightenment. The Mother, as she was first addressed by
Shri Aurobindo and his followers, of Shri Aurobindo’s
philosophy. Both his and the Mother’s influence is clearly felt
in today’s Pondicherry. We strolled across to the Ashram’s
hand-made paper factory where we saw and bought the most wonderful
items. The Ashram also had departments selling hand-painted sarees,
ties, and dress material and each one was better than the other. Our
our way we noticed that people were playing a strange game with iron
balls. We were informed that this was a French form of amusement.
To our surprise we also
found many locals speaking only French. Chatting later, with a few
people we got an explanation. The French, while leaving Pondy, had
given the locals the choice of citizenship. Quite a number chose to
become French nationals. Some of them were resident in Pondy, but
could study or work in France as well. We finally followed the
boulevard and proceeded towards the sea.
The boulevard went past a
distillery which could undoubtedly be recognized from miles away by
the smell! However we were soon near the beach, and here we could
only smell the fresh salty air. The beach road is like the mall of a
hill station, where everyone comes for a stroll. There was no shop
or restaurant here. The footpath was decorated with trees, flower
beds and had lots of benches. One could just walk or sit by the sea.
The sea, except to the northern end, is too rough for swimming we
thought, though there were expert swimmers of all ages braving the
rough sea and the huge breakers. We also spot a few colourful
surfboards skimming over the waves. We wished we could do the same!
Here one can even take ride in a catamaran by requesting the
fishermen, as was the practice. We noticed several mansions
overlooking the sea. The most striking of these is one called Marie.
I thought it was a hotel but Geeta pointed out that though it was
built in the French style it was actually the Municipality office! We
discovered that several buildings were reminiscent of the French
architectural style: the Samadhi, French Institute, Ecole Francaise,
Raj Niwas, to name but a few.
As the day wore on Geeta
began to get rather hungry. We had partaken of a simple meal at the
Ashram dining hall and she now wanted to try some Chinese cuisine.
Pondy has its share of eating places and after enquiring from people
about where we could get a good meal we settled on the Blue Star
restaurant which was situated in a quiet street exactly parallel to
the beach road. Rue Dumas it read. This set uncle K.A. off at long
last!
“This was the first
street to be built here—as early as 1706!” said uncle. We
were fascinated and finding a comfortable corner in the restaurant,
we pestered uncle to tell us more. We were all shooting questions at
him: “What was Pondy like before the French came?” “Were
they the first to arrive?” “How was the city planned in
such a systematic way?” Over the food, uncle explained. “Not
much is known about Pondy before the foreign settlement started.
There are evidences of the Pallava, Chola and the Vijayanagar empires
around the city. It heard there is a temple nearby, maybe it’s
the one near the Ashram, which was present before this township came
up. What is interesting are the relics of Arikamedu, the famous
archaeological city with a port through which major trade was
conducted with the Roman Empire. It is through this port that India
used to export silk, spices, even birds, lions, elephants to the
Roman Empire in exchange for gold.” Hearing all this we decided
to visit Arikamedu the next day.
By this time we had
finished dinner and had strolled northwards till we came to a large
park. Uncle continued. “This is Government Square,” he
said. We sat down on a bench eager to hear more. “In the 16th
century, the Portuguese first arrived here and then the following
century the Danes made a appearance. In 1673, the French arrived.
Till then Pondicherry was a weaving and fishing village. It is here,
at this very place that they built a small fort and a church. The
French quarters started along the sea to the north of the fort, where
we just came from and later extended to the south, all along the sea.
The city slowly emerged with the fort at its centre. The town
planners tried to implement this grid system methodically. It
required the reconstruction of many houses, mostly those of the
Tamilians. It also required the strict implementation of
regulations. In all it took the French almost a century to implement
the plan—that of the present concentric pattern with the fort at
the centre and boulevards surrounding it. It has, however, expanded
beyond the boulevard in recent years.
Today, some adjacent
areas which were previously villages have been included within the
city limits. Around the 1760’s, the city including the fort,
was destroyed by the British. When the French reoccupied it, most of
the buildings were reconstructed but not the fort. The empty place
where the fort stood, is where we are sitting. The Petit Canal was
also constructed during the same time,” uncle K.A. stopped. It
was now time to return. We were still dwelling in the past. The
monument in the centre of the park was dimly lit and the soft strains
of Richrad Clayderman filled the air. We walked back slowly.
The next two days were
hectic. We went to see Gloria, Lake, Auroville and the fossil tree
at Tiruvakkadai. Both Gloria and Lake are managed by the Ashram.
Gloria is a farm supplying mainly fruit and milk to the Ashram. It
practices only organic farming and hence does not use any chemical
fertilizers or pesticides. It also generates power from the bio-gas
plants installed here. It was hard to believe this success story
without actually seeing it and when we did we were very impressed.
Auroville, about 10
kilometres away from Pondy, is a unique experience. The place has
been transformed into a lush green cover from a highly eroded area,
by 25 years of sheer hard work. When we visited Lake, Anu heard that
both Ousteri and Kaliveli near Pondy were a birdwatchers’
paradise as was the marsh near the lighthouse. Our early morning
routine for the rest of our stay was now decided. In Kaliveli we saw
flamingoes while Ousteri was great for observing water birds.
We spent most of the
fourth day visiting Pondicherry town. It is the birth place of the
famous writer Bharatidasan. We went to Nehru Street which is full of
cafes, exquisite boutiques and sweetmeat shops. We still cannot
forget the taste of rasgollas from ‘Super Snax’,
raskadam from ‘Honey Dew’, sea food au gratin from
the ‘Seagull’, crab facci from the ‘Blue Star’
and chowmein from ‘China Town’.
It was on this day that
we discovered that Pondy has wonderful leather and pottery goods. Be
it jackets, slippers, ceramic crockery sets or lamps the list is
endless. We even found a made-to-order footwear shop which took a
week to deliver! We shopped for a lot of gift items: bags, bed
sheets, paper lanterns, to name a few. Each street had a speciality
of its own. Nehru Street was specially attractive because of the
trendy T-shirts which were being sold at the roadside stalls. We
bought quite a few and then decided to look around as the houses here
were unlike most in either Dumas Street or near the Ashram.
Decorated wooden doors opened on to large courtyards surrounded by
rooms—so different from the French architectural style.
Late that afternoon, we
decided to take a swim and the ambience was so delightful that I
insisted that we spend the night at the beach and watch the sunrise.
After dinner, we strolled towards the statue of Duplex. Quite a few
people were taking a walk and enjoying the night air. We met a group
of students from the university who were spending the night in the
city. We sat and chatted awhile with them till one of them suggested
we get something to eat. At this late hour I was rather skeptical of
getting a hot meal, however, to my surprise I discovered that near
the Botanical Gardens you could get hot idlis and egg parantha
both of which were delicious. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Our time in Pondicherry
had literally flown past. No longer is Pondy an old French settlement
and no longer is it just characterized by the Ashram. Today’s
Pondy is very cosmopolitan. People from all over India have settled
here and still maintain their individuality and lifestyles.
As we were leaving, tiny
fishing boats were returning to the shore with their fresh catch.
The sun was making its appearance in the eastern horizon and
Pondicherry was awakening to a new dawn.
AROUND PONDICHERRY
There are exciting bird
watching excursions at Kaliveli Tank, Ousteri or the lighthouse
marsh.
Gingee is about 50
kilometres south east of Chennai main. There is a very interesting
enclave of forts that were constructed around the 1200 A.D.
Also close at hand is the
fossil tree—Tiruvakkadai, Ramana Maharishi’s Ashram at
Tiruvunamallai. The backwaters of Pichavaram and Chidambaram are
full of mangroves and birds too. South of Pondicherry, at
Chidambaram, the temple complex is a highlight of Dravidian
architecture.
World famous for its
shore temples, Mahabalipuram is a pleasant little village—an
ideal place for relaxation. Besides the temple relics, you can visit
the Crocodile Bank too.
The Gulf of Mannar Marine
National Park has living coral for you to see. The temple cities of
Thanjavur and Kumbakonam are also close at hand from Pondicherry.
FROM THEN TO NOW
The Tamil city of
Pondicherry was perhaps a quiet little fishing village with weaving
as its only other occupation. Recorded evidence of this early
settlement doesn’t exist. However evidence of its trade links
with Rome and Mesopotamia have been found in the archaeological site
at Arikamedu (located near the present day port on the Cuddalore
road) and at Bahur 20 kilometres south-west of the city.
The Portuguese were the
earliest European travelers to land here, followed by the Danes in
the 17th century. The site was offered to the French for
commercial establishment in 1673. With a European population of 200
people in 1690, building activity increased rapidly from just a fort
to houses, bazaars, fruit and vegetable gardens. The Dutch
reoccupied to between 1693-99, after which it was returned to the
French, who built ramparts around the city, a new church and named
the first street “Rue des Francais”, known today as Rue
Dumas. 1825-54 saw the grid-system being implemented resulting in
the eviction and re-building of several houses, mainly of the native
Indian population. By 1730 the street plan was already what it is
today, and the European population had risen to 1 lakh. Public
buildings also started coming up in the southern quarters of the
city. In 1761, in retaliation to the French capture of Chennai, the
British laid siege to Pondicherry and after four months, captured it
and razed it to the ground. It was only with the return of the
French in 1765 that reconstruction activity began along the previous
lines. Soon Government Square and Government house, today’s Raj
Niwas, were also built. In the latter part of the 18th
and early 19th century, Pondicherry again fell into
British hands and all construction activity came to a standstill.
Most of the present day buildings came up in the 19th
century, which also marked the advent of water supply in the city and
the railway link with British India. By the 20th century,
the city had expanded to include many neighbouring villages, although
few changes were made in the inner city.
This French colony became
a part of the Indian Union in the early 1950’s, with the French
voluntarily relinquishing control.
Today, the Union
Territory of Pondicherry includes the other three French enclaves of
Karaikal (in Tamil Nadu), Mahe (in Kerala) and Yanam (in Andhra
Pradesh).
DON’T YOU MISS…
Suppose you land up in
Pondy and have only two to three days to explore and enjoy yourself.
Then remember that there are certain things you simply cannot miss!
Now what about a ride in
a country-made catamaran? There is no commercial catamaran ride in
Pondy. You have to request a fisherman… he’ll give you a
short ride in his wonder vessel in exchange for a small sum.
For birdwatchers there is
no time to waste. You have many places to go to and many birds to
list and study. In Pondy itself, the lighthouse marsh is an ideal
site. And of course there is Ousteri and Kaliveli. So get ready,
set your alarm, pack your lunch and set off…
What about those of you
who are city people and would like to shop a bit, buy souvenirs and
eat the occasional good meal? Don’t miss… Ashram Paper
Factory, it has a fantastic range of products which include writing
paper, file covers, cassette racks, baskets… all hand-made! For
souvenirs, in addition to the batik department of the Ashram, you
must visit Arhan Craft and La Boutique de Auroville. At Arhan Craft,
you’ll get paper and cloth lamps terracotta animal figures etc…
which are ideal decorative items. I bet you’d love the puppets
kept there and the chopsticks and wooden spoons. Kids will definitely
love one particular souvenir from La Boutique… wonder stones.
These are actually small pebbles, which open like a box and the
inside sparkles with tiny chips of crystal.
If you are really on a
shopping spree and have an eye for the exclusive, don’t miss
Hide-Design’s range of leather and pottery products, Golden
Potteries and Hablik’s bags and carpets.
And now, lets concentrate
on food. No one can miss the range of French, Tamil and other
cuisines at Pondy. They are so many—they’re difficult to
list. Let me try: Seafood Au gratin at ‘Seagull’, Crab
Facci at ‘Blue Star’ Chow at ‘China Town’, Vadas
at ‘Reddiar Mess’ (near Ajanta cinema), Cauliflower Uttapam
at ‘Surguru’ (near Ajanta cinema)… its an endless
list. While you are shopping or strolling around if you want to have
a drink or something sweet, you simply cannot miss the grape juice at
“Lallu’s’ (Nehru Street), the Raskadam and Cashew
Toffee at ‘Cottage’ or ‘Honey Dew’ and the
Rasgullas at ‘Super Snax’ (Nehru Street).
Pondy however stands for
something else. Even in a short span of time you will feel an air of
peace and tranquility overtake you. The sound of the waves, the walk
on the beach road and meditation at the Samadhi or Matri Mandir. It
will be a great loss if you don’t have time to experience and
enjoy these.
FOODWISE
Pondicherry has some
really excellent places to eat Indian, Chinese ad even French food.
For speciality foods, the
Seagull near Park guesthouse is good for fresh sea food. South
Indian food is excellent at Suruguru or Reddiar Mess both close to
the Ajanta cinema. For Chinese and French food, your best bet would
be at the Alliance Francis and China Town both close to the beath.
We also recommend the food at the Blue Star on Rue Dumas. For light
refreshments or easy and simple meals, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram
dining hall and Le Café are both good.
VISITING PONDICHERRY
Location:
South India. 200
kilometres south of Chennai.
Climate:
Warm-humid, mean
temperature 28-30 degrees C. Summer and winter monsoons prevalent.
Languages:
Tamil, French and
English.
HOW TO GET THERE
Airport:
Pondicherry—Vayudoot
link with Chennai.
Railway station:
Pondicherry—metregauge
link with Chennai via villupuram (Pondicherry Express).
Bus Station:
Tiruvalluvar bus stop
Pondicherry and State transport bus stop. Good connections with most
of south India. Chennai—Pondicherry 4 hours travel time.
SHOPPING
There is a lot o shopping
to be done in Pondicherry. Many handicraft shops sell excellent
hand-made goods including leather work, pottery and children’s
clothes.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Street includes
La Boutique de
Auroville (handicrafts from Auroville)
Hide-Design
(leather, pottery, fabric)
Arhan Craft
(terracotta, lamps, handicrafts, puppets, bags…)
La-tienda
Kalki Boutique
Green connection
(fruits and vegetables from organic farms, cheese, jam and lots more
from Auroville)
Others:
Auromirayan
(Rangapillai Street)
Golden Bridge
Potteries (near the bus-stop)
Auroshikha
(agarbattis, perfumes)
Hablik (woven goods)
The Tibetan Centre
(carpets)
Ashram departments,
including marble section, fabric and embroidery, hand-made papper
unit.
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