in India

Arc; from magnificent edifices such as Hotel de Ville (Town Hall), Raj Nivas, the former French Governor’s residence, the grand French Consulate and Alliance Francais Office; and via historic monuments like Aaya Mandapam, a white cenotaph built by Napoleon III to honour a local courtesan, and the French War Memorial which is brightly illuminated during Bastille Day in July, a celebration which brings back reminiscences of France into

The French-built churches are an equally significant memoir of the past. There are several of them; however, the Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, the Church of the Sacred Heart and Norte Dame des Anges, modelled on the Basilica at Lourdes in Southern France, are the ones regularly thronged by locals and visitors.

Seeking one’s self

Similarly, there are hotels like De L’Orient and Le Dupleix, the former resident of French Mayor in Pondicherry that eloquently exudes fragrances of the past.

However, I noticed that large groups of international visitors, many from mainland France stay at Sarovar Group’s Promenade Hotel, perhaps because of its seafront location and opulent facilities. When sitting at its outdoor restaurant, guarded from the afternoon sun by the 1876-built lighthouse positioned almost inches away from the hotel, I don’t see much of India other than Kingfisher beer on the table.

It is here that I met Evon, a middle-aged woman from northern France. Her ancestors used to live here and she is keen to trace their trail. Her impression of this serene settlement is very interesting. She says, while there is lot to see, there is more to feel.

Perhaps that sagacity of ‘feeling’ comes from Shri Aurobino Ashram, Pondicherry’s internationally reputed site of spiritual pilgrimage, to which people from far and wide flock to learn yoga, meditation and Indian philosophy.

Aurobindo Ghose, a Cambridgeeducated Bengali freedom fighter turned yogi, who in 1910 moved to French Pondicherry to avoid a British-issued arrest warrant in Calcutta, founded this iconic institution in 1926 in collaboration with one of his most ardent disciples, Paris-born Mirria Alfassa, famously known as Holy Mother. She came to Pondicherry in 1920 and remained there for the rest of her life. Under her care the organisation has grown into an abode of peace and harmony. Today a 2000-strong diversified community lives and works in its several sections ranging from schools, farms, engineering units to libraries, bookshops and guesthouses. This refuge gives them a soulful meaning of self offering, which ultimately results in a sense of divine fulfillment. Short stay visitors try to get a feel of that devout consciousness from the surrounding ambiance. One of Mother’s remarkable achievements is the creation of Auroville, an international township dedicated to the ideal of human unity. Located 10km away from the Ashram, it was built in 1968 using soil from several countries, symbolizing international brotherhood.

It is a ‘must-tour’ destination for all visitors to Pondicherry, though authorities do not tout it as a tourist attraction. Unless you are a dweller of the township or have special permission, it’s not possible to go inside, perhaps considering that outsiders may desynchronize this experimental lifestyle.

Still it’s worth a visit to the locale to soak in its peaceful vibes. You can drop in at the well-serviced visitors centre to pick up all the information you need on Auroville, browse shops that sell handicrafts manufactured by the township’s populace, meet people from all over the world, and finally see from a distance, the 40m high Matrimandir, an enormous sphere covered with gold plated discs where Aurovillians go to meditate, or in Mother’s words, to try to find one’s self consciousness.

As Evon said, surely there is lot to feel in Pondicherry.

Travel noTebook

PONDICH e RRY

Getting There

Pondicherry is 3 hours by road from Chennai. Singapore Airlines (www.singaporeair.com), has convenient flights from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane Adelaide and Perth to Chennai via Singapore.

ACCOM M ODATION

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts (www.sarovarhotels.com) with 56 hotels across 39 destinations in India and overseas is one of India’s fastest growing hotel chains. They have two properties in Pondicherry: The Promenade (38 rooms) overlooking the sea, and Le Dupleix (14 rooms) with its opulent French character.

G Etting Around

Local residents use bicycles and scooters; however taxis and three wheelers are easily available

S HRI AUROBINDO A SHRAM AND AUROVILLE

Entry is limited for outsiders, unless staying as an ashram guest or with special permission. Check www.sriaurobindoashram.org and www.auroville.org for details

MORE INFORMATION

Check www.tourism.pondicherry.gov.in or www.incredibleindia.org or call Incredible India on 02 92219555.

What impressively strikes the visitor is the physical layout of the ovalshaped townscape which depicts the emblematic French way of town planning, similar in essence to perhaps nice or Cannes.

Perhaps that sagacity of ‘feeling’ comes from Shri Aurobino Ashram, Pondicherry’s internationally reputed site of spiritual pilgrimage, to which people from far and wide flock to learn yoga, meditation and indian philosophy

Clockwise from Left: Welcome to Pondi

Sacred Heart Church

View of Sri Aurobindo Ashram

A Pondicherry street

An Aurovillian.

Notre Dame De Agnes