Day 224 of Indian places giving smiles – the French influence at Pondicherry
We were excited to get away from the hectic life of the city and go to a place in India that is nicknamed-the French Riveria of the East-Pondicherry city. I saw French names on the road signs like promenade or boulevard and this unmistakable French influence is what surprised me first when I visited this Union Territory. It even has French as one of the official languages. My country continues to amaze me with its true diversity.
Our hotel was located on the famous beach front road and our room had a lovely view of the seafront. We just had to take a long walk on the beachfront promenade. We walked past the Pondicherry Municipal building, which looked like one of the quaint French houses. Pondicherry also has French Memorial dedicated to the soldiers who fought in the World War. We clicked our picture next to the Gandhi statue and also saw the Nehru statue across it. At the edge of the sea we saw the old lighthouse that is not in use in the present times.
We drove past the architecturally inspiring Govnernors house and the French looking buildings with the distinct gates, arches, and French sounding names. There was be a canal running through the city and we were told that on the eastern side of the canal was the French section. In fact this part of the city seemed to have an old world western charm about it (Though there is a Tamil section also, we did not have time to explore that part of the city which was on the left side of the canal).
A lot of devotees from around the world flock to get spiritual solace at Aurobindo ashram. We visited the samadhi of Shri Aurobindho and the Mother at their Ashram where they had worked for many years. We interacted with some of the children in their school that follows a very unconventional method of teaching. We were supposed to eat in silence as we had a simple lunch at the Ashram dining room. But for dinner we decided to sample exotic French cuisine at one of the famous authentic French restaurants in the city.
In the next morning we decided to follow a guided tour bus in our own car. We were taken to the Pondicherry museum and more out of a sense of duty, at every stop we just had to make some purchases. We were tempted by the uniqueness of the products and the comparatively lower prices because of the fewer government taxes in this region. After every live demonstration of how the local products were made, we ended up buying handmade paper products, candles, aromatics, food and medicinal items, etc. We even brought branded leather products at much lower prices. Even the fuel prices were much lesser in Pondicherry!
Auroville
Our next visit was to the city of Dawn- Aurovile. I remembered the wordings of the famous song ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon where he talks about a world without boundaries. This city was founded on the same principle, when 128 youth from different countries, poured soil from their native places into one common container. This was in pursuance of the vision of the Mother towards creating a city dedicated to international understanding.
We were first taken to a room and given an audio-visual presentation about Auroville. We had to respect the discipline and the serenity of the place. We then walked in a single file towards the imposing circular dome shaped building, the Matru Mandir. Even our slippers had to be placed in neat rows. The more the volunteers gestured all to keep silent, the more difficult it was for my children and me to control our giggles!
However, as soon as we sat inside the dome, we automatically became speechless at the sheer spiritually uplifting experience of the place. I stared at the urn symbolizing the human unity and wondered when we will actually start considering All as One. This principle of Vasudai Kutumbam has been a part of Hindu culture since Vedic times, and Auroville was a place to see it in reality with people from numerous countries living together in harmony.
We drove around the peaceful and sprawling complex, went to the souvenir store, had some refreshments at the cafe. Frankly the silence and the tranquility was just too much for me at that time and as I left Auroville, I was looking forward to getting back to the hustle and bustle of city life!
So, which Indian place made you smile today?
Please share your own experience of visiting Indian places.
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