Feb 25, 2005 10:05 AM
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(Updated Feb 25, 2005 10:05 AM)
Pondicherry as is popularly and fondly nicknamed as ?PONDY? is a Union Territory with lot of attractive places and a combination of diverse cultures of the world. I have been visiting Pondy regularly for the past 15 years and still it continues to be one of my best places of interest?!!! Pondicherry is about 3 hours of journey (by road) from the metro-city Chennai.
First-Sight at Pondy:
? The moment you step into Pondy, you could breathe an excellent Air of Cleanliness. The roads are exceptionally clean and tidy.
? You would be able to find Traffic Policemen in White Uniforms with a Red Colour Cap, which makes the roads very eye-catching.
? You would find flamboyant Bougain-villae bursting over gates of the house on both sides of the roads, which makes Pondy a really colourful spot.
? Pondy is one of the best shopping places for the foreign travellers, where you could purchase varieties of skirts, kurtas, shorts, T-shirts etc. at a very very economical expense. So, on both sides of the Boulevards you could find Street-Shops (but they don?t call it encroachments like us).
? Pondy is a very small place and you could go round the entire city by cycle in just about 3 hours.
Language:
Since Pondy houses many French Institutions, almost every resident of Pondy knows French and it is also taught to the children as part of their syllabus in schools. Since the region of Pondy is South India, 90% of the populace are Tamil Speaking. But mixture of other religious people are also found across the Civic.
Mode of Transport:
As for the inter-city transport, apart from buses and the autos, you could find Autos-like Vehicles called ?Fut-Futs?who charge a very low rate to take you from one place to another within Pondy. But the maximum people possess Bi-cycles to travel across the City. Even you could find numerous foreigners travelling by Bi-cycles.
Places I love at Pondy:
Since the travelling time from Chennai to Pondy is just around 3 hours by road, I generally don?t stay at Pondy over night. My trips to Pondy are customarily onward & return on the same day.
Well, which are the places of interest for me at Pondy ? I have furnished them according to my preference.
SRI AUROBINDO ASHRAM: I love to visit the Aurobindo Ashram and it is really my place of SOLACE. I feel at home at the Ashram. My family had been the ardent devotees of ?Sri Aurobindo? & ?The Mother? for many years.
The Ashram was founded in the Year 1926 by Sri Aurobindo and Madame Mirra Richard (who is now known as the ?Mother?). The Ashram consists of the Samaadhis(Graveyard would be a colloquial word, ?Square? would be the most appropriate word, devotees please forgive me if I have been wrong) of both of these people which are adored & worshipped by people. For the believers / followers, The Ashram is a temple. I firmly believe and feel the presence of ?The Mother? in all my acts and deeds. Meditation and Integral Yoga are practiced at the Ashram and there are a number of residents at the Ashram?s Mansions & Guest Houses who live for the Ashram and maintain it. The in-house residents of the Ashram are mostly Bengalis & French.
AUROVILLE: Auroville is located 10-Km northwest of Shri Aurobinda Ashram and there are lot of transportation from the Ashram charging around Rs.35/- per person to take you there. It takes around ½ an hour by road to reach there from Pondy.
Auroville is popularly called ?The International Township of Harmony?, which embodies the World?s Largest Glass Crystal weighing 600 Kgs brought in from GERMANY. The meaning of Auroville is ?CITY OF DAWN?. The chief attraction of Auroville is the GLOBE SHAPED 30 Mtrs High ?Maatri Mandir?, a very large modern architectural marvel here, which is considered as a very divine place. This is a temple and sloping path lead to the Circular Shaped Meditation Hall. You require a special permission to enter into this divine place between 2.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. everyday.
Another most attractive feature here is, there is the Ampitheatre Auditorium near the Maatri Mandir where Speeches reach 3,000 audiences clearly without the help of mike.
Due to space & time constraints, I just brief the other places of interest at Pondy now.
The BEACHES here are just simply superb and the sea-waters are too cool and soothing. Just in about a very few minutes of travel from Pondy, you could get to various beaches viz., Serenity Beach, Plage Paradiso, Karaikal Beach & Mahe Beach. Each of these beaches are really marvelous & astounding in their own way. There are many travel agents taking the travellers from Pondy to all these Beaches.
If you plan to stay at Pondy and visit the various exciting places in and around Pondy, then the following are the names of a few good hotels at Pondy:
? Hotel Soorya International ( I don?t recommend this one)
? Hotel Annamalai International (P) Ltd.
? Hotel Mass Private Limited (pretty good)
? Vatika Guest Home
? Ajantha Hotels
? Hotel Pondicherry Ashok
? Jayaram Hotel
International Festival Of Pondicherry: An International Yoga Festival is held at Pondy from 4th to 7th of January every year. International Yoga Master & Yoga Enthusiasts from all over the world arrive at Pondy at this season.
Some of the other important places of interests include the Pondy Church, Pondicherry University ( I may write a separate review on this excellent university), Ananda Rangapillai Library and the Backwaters. The Backwaters are really too good a place of enjoyment for people visiting Pondy with their families.
Ur RRCing is most welcome?? which always keeps me going on & on !!!!!!
P.S.: Pls. don?t nag me if I have left out any special place of interest at Pondy. But keep me informed about them via our comments section. To write on PLACES, Mouthshut should give the writers a space of at least 50,000 words (After a lot of cutting shorts, I am finally submitting this review).
