Happy Easter!!! It was time for another weekend break. We decided to go to Pondicherry over Easter and had a fabulous time. It took us about 6 hours to reach Pondy, which is 320km from Bangalore. It was a stressful 6+ hours in the Indian traffic and with our driver that sometimes forgets that he doesn't drive a milk truck anymore.
We had lunch at Le Cafe, a lovely French restaurant whilst trying to sort out our accommodation (notice, I'm not complaining)! Once we found another place to stay and our motorbike (Honda 125) was delivered to the door we could relax and start enjoying the welcomed getaway. Marc was in his element on the back of the motorbike and I, nerves at first enjoyed the ride around this really great town once I got in to it.
We spent the weekend cruising around the former French colony, soaking up the sun (Marc has the farmers tan to proof it), chilling in restaurants, a swim in the Bay of Bengal, a visit to Auroville
http://www.auroville.org/ which was very strange but interesting...rather fascinating, check out the website!
We had breakfast on Sunday morning before heading back to Bangalore. The return trip was even more nerve wrecking as Nagraj decided to try a different rout. 7 Hours later we arrived home safe and sound, which is always something to be thankful for.
Looking at the photo's of the weekend the traffic stress was soon to be forgotten.
We made a quick stop at the Gingee Fort
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gingee_Fort So well fortified was this place that
Shivaji ranked it as the "most impregnable
fortress in India" and it was called the "
Troy of the East" by the British.
If it's not cows, tractors, water Buffalo's, bicycles it's the occasional elephant on the side of the road that always makes for good scenery.
We stopped in Tindivanam to get Marie biscuits and bananas to sort out the sugar levels, and to stretch our legs in order to minimize the stress levels, but it didn't seem to help.
In Pondicherry: We drove around town looking at antiques e.g. beautiful carved doors, dowry boxes, brass pots etc. These are all items we hope to purchase during our stay in India! We'll just have to make sure that we are not being hackled when we do so!!
This was another nice restaurant Le Terrasse, very basic. No decor, they've got plastic chairs and tables without table cloths but yet it just has a great feeling about it and the food was good.
The '
Rangoli' (drawing on the ground) is a sanskrit word which means a creative expression of art through the use of color. In ancient India, rangolis were used to decorate the entrances of homes, a floor-painting which provided a warm and colorful welcome to visitors. In Indian cultures, all guests and visitors occupy a very special place, and a rangoli is an expression of this warm hospitality.
We stood outside this Hindu temple and watched people being blessed by an elephant.
She takes the coins and then places her trunk lightly on your head. I decided to feed her instead but she didn't like the Rs 10 grass and tossed it one side. I also didn't get a blessing out of it. She clearly knows the difference between money and grass.
Walking out was like running the gauntlet with street sellers and beggars on all sides. Of course being the "tourist" that I am, I fell for it and bought a set of paint powders and stamps to make my own bindi's. Just a petty it doesn't work like he demonstrated. I'm sure they show you how it works, using decent stamps but the stamps they sell you are useless. I wonder if the paint isn't just coloured spices too.
We then took a ride to
Auroville which is approximately 14km from Pondicherry town. These are a few of the funny things we saw along the way:
One to many "full kicks" (wiskey and rum) I think.
A couple of goats using the heap of furniture as a jungle gym.
This guy climbed off his bicyle to smile for the camera.
Fish anyone?
Not quite sure what to expect, we reached
Auroville. "an universal township where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony..."
Inside the library where they have the history of Auroville on display, quotes from the Mother and photographs of this fascinating but strange place.
The memorial to Mahatma Gandi on Pondicherry's Beach Road.
Pondicherry by night, on a motorbike... What an experience!
Le Cafe on Dumas Road - Nice restaurant.
The trip back:
How funny... I wish there was, but there aren't many of these around India. And sadly, if there is a bin they don't make use of it.
This is what the roads look like. If it's not a railway crossing, it's weat being laid in the road for the cars to drive over.
Every couple of kilomiters people are sweaping, sifting the wheat which they apparently use to make ragi mudde (A meal, be it breakfast, lunch, or dinner, includes ragi mudde, which is a round ball made by boiling raagi in water). Hey, 100% for ingenuity. I'm sure it beats thrashing the wheat by hand!
What is supposed to be a river....The Monsoon season can't come soon enough.
South African Legend...We stopped behind this auto in Bangalore! We thought this was pretty cool!
If your interested...
PONDY : FACTFILE http://www.pondichery.com/english/Pondicherry town is the headquarters of the Union Territory of Pondicherry which comprises Pondicherry, Karaikal, Yaman and Mahe - four widely separated towns, the first two enclaves in Tamil Nadu, the other two enclaves in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala respectively, made one by their French connection.
Legend associates Pondicherry town with the Sage Agastya, who travelled from the north and settled here. Recorded history talks of Pondicherry being, for almost 300 years, the centre of Anglo-French conflicts, and, later, the retreat of Indian freedom fighters, including Sri Aurobindo.
Pondicherry became a French colony in 1675 and stayed with them till 1954, when Pondicherry merged with the Indian Union. Pondicherry belongs to history - at one time an obscure village, later a centre of trade with the Romans, then a place of learning.. Francois Martin, Dumes and Joseph Francois Dupleix were the most famous Governors who administered Pondicherry, which still retains its French character.
Today, the Pondicherry of the French is to be found in the policemen's red kepis, on quaint signboards, in a few houses, in the statues of Dupleix and Joan of Arc, libraries and in the accented Tamil, English and French still to be heard. But this oval-shaped township, with the streets aligned at right angles is not like any other Indian town either. Its skyline from offshore is typical of the French-influenced Mediterranean settlement as is its town-planning.
Neat, pleasant, and charming, Pondicherry has a beautiful beach and a sea that is always warm and refreshing. It has been made world-famous by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and its offshoot, Auroville. And in what still remains of its French connection there is a uniqueness that makes it different from the rest of India.
