Pondicherry Trip: "Give Time a Break"

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Pondicherry: Trip Log 

Members: Mukul, Sushil, Varun & “Raja Hindustani” (the auto-driver)

Start time: 01:45 AM, Tuesday, 23^rd June, 2009

End time: 07:15 PM Tuesday, 23^rd June, 2009

Total travel: 200 Km

Total trip in city: 40 KM (auto), 4 KM (walk)

Total expense: 2500 INR (approx) 

What went great: “Raja Hindustani” – the auto-driver. He showed us the full Pondicherry with full warmth.

- Passing night @bench – awesome adventure experience

- Covered everything on low budget in Pondicherry

- No hotel-checkin done

What went wrong:

- Time – Reached Pondi at around 3:45 AM without any pre-plans

- High price cab booking – Booked a taxi on very high rate from Manamai to Pondi (1600 INR)

Total duration: 1 days

Going: Mahabalipuram – Great Lakes - Pondicherry

Coming: Pondicherry – Great Lakes

Weather Conditions: Very hot/Humid

Vehicle: Car, Auto, Bus

After a long time...I am back to back-packing mode. It was slightly strenuous for my leg which is still recovering after accident. But still it was quiet a good exercise and check before getting into trekking trails.

Mukul and I were planning to go to Pondi after exam on Monday but somehow due to sleep deprivation because of exam lot of “promisers” did not turn up and even we cancelled our program with a poor group strength.

Went to Mahabalipuram in evening (5 guys), took few “bottles” and reached to the Mahab beach. Had the gala-time there. While coming back to Great Lakes, Sushil who was in FULL MOOD after having the “Som-Ras” declared that he’s not going to college instead we will all go to Pondi. He was sponsoring it and we will be the organizers. What a TREAT?

We all booked a cab on an extravagant rates, on which no one would have ever gone to Pondi. Finally, an “Ambassador”, that too non-AC came to Great Lakes gates (At least should have given the AC car on such a price…huh no value additions). I hurriedly put my (or rather Bharat’s camera, which I am not giving him back shamelessly…LOLzzz) cam in a bag, also took sunscreen, goggles, phone-charger and few first-aid medicines.

Finally at 1:45 AM we 3 (sushil, Mukul, Varun) were talking to air and sleeping “non-sensely”.  Driver asked me where to drop us, I told him on beach. :D

Reached at around 3:45 AM to Pondi @Prominade beach. There was “Le Cafe” – 24 hrs coffee shop nearby. We went there but oops there was nothing in the café till 4:30 AM. What a 24 hrs café?

Anyways we went to a 24 hrs tea shop nearby (India is still a bigger service provider than those western services, there was no board on tea-shop about 24 hrs service but still it was giving service more than it might be promising. After tea-session, we returned back to beach and quickly slept on the benches on beach near Le Cafe. Thanks to Pondi Government. It was around 5:00 AM by then.  By the time, Nupur’s and Sandeep’s group was there in Le Café. I took a quick stroll at the place keeping Sushil on bench. Took some pics with Mukul and alone. The place where we were is called a Promenade Beach.

Promenade beach 

The 1.5 km long promenade running along the beach is the pride of puducherry. There one can relax or take a stroll at any time of the day. On the sea front are several land marks. The War memorial cold and dispassionate throbbing the memory of last dreams, the statue of Joan of Arc blazing an inspiration, the heritage town hall, the statue of Mahatma Gandhi standing tall, Dupleix statue, old light house, the remains of the old pier, the old customs house, speak the splendor of the by gone era. The well furnished tourist information centre is situated in esthetically heritage building facing the sea to cater to the need of visiting tourists.

I took few pics of the place and again slept on my bench ;D. People, dogs and crows were all around us. Even then, the hangover on all 3 of us was keeping us in full confidence for lying there….LOLz..

At 8:30 the sun became unbearable to me and I asked both guys to make next plans. Sushil was in big time difficult mood and wanted to take more rest. We decided that He will take a room in hotel while we both guys will explore Pondi.

Pondicherry Tourism office is on the Promenade beach. I enquired there and came to know that bus starts at 9:30 AM. We freshened up ourselves in the restrooms in tourism office. I must say that toilets were really clean and well maintained. Generally we don’t expect such things in govt. Then we started searching for a restaurant for breakfast. Sushil in the meantime started searching for Hotel to sleep. Oopps…Hotel rooms were too expensive…none less than 1500/day…Sushil finally gave up the idea to take a room…We made a big mockery out of him. Bechara!!!

After breakfast, reached back to Tourism office and found 3 giggling south Indian girls on reception. Hmmm.. .govt is playing smart here. The ticket for local trip was of 250 INR and bus starts from there only if there are 10 people. We waited for 7 more people to come but no body appeared. Disappointed and cribbing in front of those girls who were still giggling…huh…we came out after waiting there for 1 hour. As soon as we came out, a autowala came and finally at 400 INR, he decided to show us the Pondi. The auto driver name was – “Raja Hindustani”. He knew Hindi and  English very well and boasted about roaming whole of the India in an auto. During that time we never knew that was the best decision we took after coming in Pondi. J

10: 15 AM - The puducherry Museum

Reached to Puducherry museum where lot of collection from Chola dynasty and others have been kept. I generally like museums and took a lot more time to explore and kept both guys waiting for me.

The puducherry Museum is located on Saint Louis street and is open on all days except Mondays and national holidays between 1000-1700 hrs. The museum is located in the former Law Building. The museum has a collection of rare bronzes and stone sculptures from the Pallava and Chola dynasties and artifacts excavated from Arikamedu (an ancient port just 7 kms. from city that had trade links with the Roman empires).

 

     The Foyer and Courtyard have various stone statues and a fossilized tree trunk.

 

     On the ground floor, the major attraction is the central space with 3 curious transport mechanisms - a coach, a palanquin (sedan chair) and a pousse-pousse (an earlier version of the rickshaw) which required two attendants, one to steer and one to push.

 

     The bronze gallery displays the images of gods and goddesses together with a wide collection of temple lamps; used across different dynasties down the centuries.

 

     Pre-Christian relics which you will find here, such as remnants of Greek and Roman jars, pieces from the Tsung Periods in China and beads made from glass and precious stones were dug out from the Arikamedu site, just south of puducherry.

     The museum also has a Geology room, a shell and fossil room and a collection of handicrafts, coins, church relics and French furniture.

10:45 AM - Manakula Vinayagar Koil

The Raja Hindustani took us to  Manakula Vinayagar Koil temple. There is an elephant called Lakshmi outside who blesses if you put coin in his/her trunk. Somehow I managed to get the photo clicked. I was little bit afraid but later felt too happy to get the pic.

     This temple is more than 300 years old and is dedicated to Ganesha. It has a golden spire and walls portraying forty different forms of Ganesha. The temple also has a smaller shrine dedicated to Lord Murugan, who is Ganesha’s younger brother. Over 5000 devotees flock to this site everyday. The temple compound also plays host to ‘Lakshmi’, the temple elephant, who uses her trunk to dispense blessings and to collect coins from the devotees.

11:15 AM - Shani Temple

Later we have been taken to a very new temple of “Shani Dev” coming up near Pondi. The temple does not show up in Pondi tourism but it was Raja Hindustani’s idea to show the temple to us. The temple contains 9 planets Gods with Sun in between. The temple is very new but very amazing. Truly it was worth watching to see the temple. 

12:00 PM  - Auroville

Reached to Aurovile at 12:00. Raja Hindustani told that the place is mainly meant for foreigners and Indians are less inviting to participate in Auroville. We had a lot of fun talking about Auroville. On entering, we have been shown a video about Auroville. Later, we started out “trek” to Golden Gobe which was around 2 km away from gate. Golden globe remain open for public only upto 1:00 PM. We  rushed for the place as it was already 12:30. Too hot, peak hour of heat. This small trek seriously drained out everything out of all of us. Thanks to Mukul who kept on motivating us to walk fast and reach before time. Finally we reached to Golden Globe and took few pics there. 

 Auroville - or the ‘City of Dawn ’ - was conceived as a place of research into the ideal of human unity by the Mother, the spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo. The idea is to build a futuristic city where people of goodwill can live together in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. Auroville came into existence in 1968. Its Charter says, “To live in Auroville one must be a willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness”, and describes it as “belonging to nobody in particular, but to humanity as a whole”; as a place “of constant progress”; and as “a bridge between the past and the future.”

     Located around 8 kms north-west of Puducherry, Auroville was designed by the French architect Roger Anger. Around 2,000 people live there in settlements with names like Grace, Fraternity, Fertile, Certitude and Transformation. Nearly two-thirds of the residents are non-Indians.

 

     Architecturally speaking the buildings are a combination of modern western and traditional Indian elements, set in a rural landscape of deep red earth and widespread forestation, with narrow earth roads linking the settlements. The residents are involved in agriculture, administration, commerce and handicrafts, alternative technology, education, healthcare and development projects, the latter including AuroRE Systems, an international award winning unit involved in solar photovoltaic and thermal systems.

     The central Matrimandir, which is not a temple but a place for individual silent concentration, is set in an area of 62 acres at the centre of the emerging township, and is seen as “a symbol of the Divine’s answer to man’s aspiration for perfection. Union with the Divine manifesting in a progressive human unity.”

     During the inauguration ceremony of Auroville on 28th February 1968 , soil from 124 countries was placed in a lotus-shaped urn and mixed to symbolize universal oneness. This urn is today sited at the centre of an Amphitheatre in the Matrimandir Gardens . The Matrimandir’s 12-sided white marble Inner Chamber has a 70 cms diameter optical-quality glass globe at its centre, onto which a shaft of sunlight is focused by way of a roof-mounted heliostat. The light falling on the globe acts as a focal aid to concentration.

     The Auroville Visitors Centre (Ph: 0413 – 2622239) is located near Bharat Nivas, the Indian national pavilion in Auroville’s International Zone, and is open from 0930 to 1730 hrs every day. This Centre has a permanent exhibition on the history and philosophy of the project, an Information Service offering books, brochures and leaflets on various aspects of Auroville, three boutiques, a bookshop, and a cafeteria providing refreshments and international cuisine. Introductory videos on the township and the Matrimandir can be seen at the Centre by request.

While coming back we took few pics at Big Banyan tree which is the main centre of whole of the Auroville estate. I managed to take few more pic here and there while both guys were waiting for me outside. :D

Badly exhausted due to 4+ km of “sprint”. We were truly hungry and had our lunch at a decent restaurant near to Pondi Beach.

 3:00 PM Paradise Beach :

After dinner to went to Pondi sand beach, and passed a serene time there for around 30 min

    

Located 8 kms. from the town, along the Cuddalore Main Road this beach can be accessed from the Chunnambar Resort. Flanked by a quiet flowing creek on one side, the beach can only be accessed by boat

3:15 PM  - Sri Aurobindo Ashram

Reached to Aurobindo Ashram and took blessing from at Samadhi.

The Sri Aurobindo Ashram located on rue de la Marine, is one of the most well known and wealthiest ashrams in India, with devotees from India and all over the world flocking to it for spiritual salvation. Its spiritual tenets represent a synthesis of yoga and modern science. It is open to the public daily between 08-1200 hrs and 1400-1800 hrs. Children below 3 years of age are not allowed into the ashram and photography is allowed only with permission of the ashram authorities.

 

     The Ashram was set up in 1926 by Sri Aurobindo Ghose, one of India’s greatest philosopher-poets, who originally came to Pondy to escape persecution by the British. It was after arriving in puducherry, that he was drawn into the spiritual realm and discovered the power of yoga. His philosophy deeply rooted in yoga and his writings inspired a number of followers.

 

     One of them was a Parisian mystic, painter and musician called Mirra Alfassa, who was so inspired by his philosophy that she stayed on in puducherry and was instrumental in establishment of the ashram. After Aurobindo’s death in 1950, the running of the Ashram was entrusted to his chief disciple and companion, Mirra Alfassa, (also known as ‘The Mother’). The idea of Auroville or the “City of Down” was conceived by ‘The Mother’. She died in 1973 at the age of 93.

 

     The ashram’s influence can be felt in most of puducherry. The main ashram building is where the mortal remains of Aurobindo and the Mother are kept. Their ‘Samadhi’ or mausoleum, which is generally surrounded by supplicating devotees, is in the central courtyard under a frangipani tree and is covered daily with flowers.

     Some of the ashram’s facilities like the Library and the Main Building (during collective meditation) can be accessed, only after obtaining a gate pass from the Bureau Central or some of the Ashram Guest Houses.

3:40 PM - Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Reached to the beautiful Church.

Located on Subbayah Salai, this white and brown neo-gothic church is one of Pondy’s finest Catholic churches. It was built by French missionaries in the 1700’s in a contrasting Neo-Gothic manner, with towers flanking a central gable and stained glass windows on the side. The church has an imposing entrance and the beautiful stained glass panels depict incidents from Jesus Christ’s life. Further along the southern boulevard is the cemetery which has some interesting tombs with ornate marble decorations.

We were completely exhausted and asked Raja Hindustani to take us to Liquor shop to buy some syrup  for us back to college. Raja Hindustani in auto itself showed us few more monuments most of us which were on beach road and we already had a glimpse of them in early morning. Simply putting the description as got from tourism website.


Children’s Park & Dupleix Statue

   It is a seaside park with a statue of a Dupleix. Marquis Joseph Francois Dupleix was an integral part of puducherry’s colonial past. He was the governor of puducherry between 1742 and 1754. The 2.88 m tall statue of Dupleix stands at the southern end of the park. Even though Dupleix left puducherry in 1754, French recognition of his contribution came only in 1870, with the commissioning of two statues-one in puducherry and the other in France.

The Mairie

   Located on Goubert Avenue, this charming white building, facing the sea almost transports you to France. Use your imagination a little and you could very well be on a French sea side resort. Today it houses the offices of the puducherry Municipality.      

Le Café
It was once the port office when the railway ran along Beach Road from the South Boulevard to the old 240 meters iron pier. A cyclone in 1952 largely destroyed the pier whose remains can still be seen poking out of the water.

Gandhi Statue  

This is a highlight of puducherry. A four-meter statue of Mahatma Gandhi is surrounded by eight magnificent granite pillars, which were supposedly brought from Gingee, a fort some 70 Kms. from puducherry.

French War Memorial
The French War Memorial on Goubert Avenue is solemn reminder of those brave soldiers who laid down their lives, for their country during the First World War. Every year on the 14th July (Bastille Day) the memorial is beautifully illuminated and homage is paid to those brave martyrs.

19th Century Light House

This light house was used for the first time on July 1st 1836 and continued to be used upto the year 1979. This now- abandoned lighthouse stands on the edge of the sea.

Daaroo time

Finally came the most important part. Buying “Daroo”. Pondicherry is among the few of the places in India where you get duty free liquor. Raja Hindustani took us to a good liquor showroom from where we bought 4 Half, 4 quarter of Signature, 4 King fisher can. Gave one beer can to Raja and he took us back to beach. We sat on beach and had a gala time with beer. We rolled our cans in newspaper so as to keep public eye away from us. I think it was the best part of whole of the Pondi trip. Sitting on rocks, at beach, waves splashing water on you with a beer in your hand. J

After passing a leisure time at beach we packed our bags finally to go back to college. Asked Raja to drop us at bus stand. Had few pics with him to keep the moments with him memorable.  At 5:00 PM we caught the bus for Chennai. By 7:15 PM we were back to college. Amazing, unforgettable trip.

Truly, as Pondicherry tourism says – “Give time a break”. We gave a full break to our “time” J

References of visiting places: http://tourism.pondicherry.gov.in