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“Bienvenue en France” (Welcome to France)
Well, you are not in France but in Pondicherry (renamed as Puducherry in 2006). It is a town that gives you an opportunity to enjoy a beautiful, preserved piece of France right in India!!
Introduction: Puducherry, flavour of France
To get a flavour of France and French culture & cuisine in India head to Puducherry. Many call it an Indian version of beautiful Riviera of France. It has beautiful beaches, rich cultural heritage, French colonial architecture, old French style cafes, majestic churches & colourful temples. In addition, water sports, spiritual & mediation centres, hospitable people, all combine to make Puducherry an interesting tourist destination. Far away from the hustle & bustle of the metros, Puducherry is so peaceful, laid-back yet fascinating & enchanting. It moves at its own slow rhythm but oozes a certain energy. As it was under French control for 250 years, it has been stamped decidedly with French character. The French reluctantly surrendered their prized possession after prolonged period of unrest, protests & agitations by freedom fighters. Despite that the French presence continues to linger on in more ways than one.
Our visit to Puducherry:
Puducherry (formerly known as Pondicherry) and affectionately known as Pondy is located on the eastern coast facing Bay of Bengal. We visited Puducherry in February 2019 after visiting Mamallapuram. After a relaxed breakfast, we left Mamallapuram around 11 am and reached Puducherry by 1 pm. We checked in at the Sea-side Guest House. The sight of the endless sea from the balcony of the room uplifted my spirit.
I personally enjoyed my Puducherry stay immensely, soaking in its old world charm and the old French Colonial architecture. The place is definitely a photographer’s delight, and I couldn’t resist from clicking hundreds of pics. Puducherry was like a dream destination for me. The other family members were a bit disappointed, probably as the youngsters find Goa to be a more happening tourist destination. Experiencing Puducherry allows you to quickly understand and appreciate the wonderful architectural contributions the French Connection made to this amazing sea-side town.
History of Puducherry:
The area around Puducherry then known as Arikamedu was a flourishing trading centre from the 1st century onwards. Scholars are of the view that it had trading relations with the Roman Empire. From the 4th century onwards it came under Pallava control, then under Cholas in the 10th century and subsequently under Pandyas in the 13th century. Thereafter, it Delhi Sultanate ruled it for a brief period and then it came under Vijaynagar Empire till 1638.
French rule in Puducherry:
The Portuguese, Dutch and Danes arrived in Pondicherry in the 16th century for the purpose of trading. Surprisingly, it was the French who came the last. They got so enamoured with the place that they purchased it. French East India Company established Pondicherry as their headquarters in India in 1676. It came under Dutch control from 1693-1699. The British controlled it for three brief periods between 1761 to 1816, amounting to a total of 25 years. Due to the signing of treaties, it kept coming back under the French. From 1816 onwards it remained under France till they allowed its merger with India in 1954. It officially became a part of India in 1962 and became a Union Territory.
During the French rule, a canal divided the town in two parts. The French settled down in the area near the sea & beach, while the natives (comprising of Tamil people) lived on the other side of the canal. White Town was the area where only Whites were allowed to live.
Name of the town:
The original name of the place was Putucerri (a combination of two Tamilian words ‘Putu’ meaning new and ‘Ceri’ meaning village). The French corrupted the name to Pondicherry. In 2006, the government officially changed the name from Pondicherry to Puducherry. Despite the change, the name Pondicherry still remains popular with the tourists.
Exploring Puducherry
The French influence is still discernible in the White Town area. It has many villas, houses, hotels & cafes which exhibit colonial French style of architecture!! Many streets in White Town still bear French names such as Romain Rolland, La Bourdonnais, Saint Louis, Saint Gills, Rue Dumas etc. Many hotels and cafes continue to sport French names. When one moves around in the French Quarters one gets the feel of being in a small town of France!! Many old residents of Puducherry can still speak in French. The moment you cross the canal to the other side, you see a different face of Puducherry. It is like being in any other town of India – all chaotic with narrow streets, crowded markets and lot of noisy traffic. Smell of coffee & fish pervades.
How to explore:
The best way to explore the town is on foot or hired cycle or scooters/bikes. I chose the first option and enjoyed every bit of my exploration of the town. The buildings, alleys, gardens, monuments, museums, temples, churches & cafes were fascinating. The charm of Puducherry is eternal …… I loved those picture postcard houses from another era. Take this pictorial tour.
Bougainvillea flower:
Colonial styled buildings with arches of colourful bougainvillea draped over the gates are a common sight in Puducherry. It may come as a surprise to you to know that the colourful Bougainvillea flower is named after a French Admiral & Explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville. In 1766, the French government commissioned him to go around the world on a voyage to identify new territories which could be brought under French control !! He saw this flower for the first time in South America and introduced it to France. No doubt French people took a fancy for this flower!!
Rock Beach /Beach Road /Promenade
The town has four boulevards. The one in White Town near the beach is known as Goubert Avenue. It is also known as Beach Road and the 1.2 kms stretch is closed for vehicular traffic everyday from 5 pm. to 8 am. That makes it a hub of tourist activity. Panoramic view of the sea provides the perfect backdrop for music concerts. No vehicular traffic makes the Beach Road ideal for walking, picnic with family, snacking & shopping. Come evening and the place looks like a sea of humanity with people of all ages engaged in various activities.
Monuments on the Beach Road:
The 1.2 kms of the Beach Road begins from the War Memorial at one end and ends at the memorial statue of Joseph François Dupleix on Goubert Avenue. Dupleix was the Governor General of the French territories in India. He was an able commander and a great administrator. He had almost succeeded in his dream of establishing French empire in India. It was his bad luck that his rival Robert Clive of the British empire defeated him in the decisive battle. That changed the course of Indian history. Otherwise, probably we would have been speaking French instead of English !!
Gandhi Mandapa is located at a prominent place on the Beach Road. Tall carved stone pillars from an ancient temple around the Mandapa add to its beauty.
Walking on the Beach Road:
The Beach Road is also known as Promenade. I enjoyed my morning & late evening walks. Since I am a sunrise & sunset chaser, it was a wondeful experience watching them from the Beach Road. In many ways the Promenade at Puducherry gives the feel of being a mini Marine Drive of Mumbai.
Sri Aurobindo Ashram:
No visit to Puducherry is complete without visiting Sri Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville. It has an overbearing presence in one section of the town.
A little brief about Sri Aurobindo & the Ashram
I knew very little about Sri Aurobindo before coming to Puducherry !! Sri Aurobindo was a nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru & author. Born on August 15, 1872, Aurobindo spent his early life in England and after return to India joined the services of Maharaja of Baroda. He came in contact with Lokmanya Tilak & Dr. Annie Besant and took plunge in the freedom movement with critical writing against British Government. He was in jail a couple of times. In jail he had spiritual revelation. After his release, he moved to Puducherry in 1910 and settled down here. He moved towards spirituality & divinity and his followers started growing.
The Mother -a French lady
One of his followers was Mirra Alfassa, a French Lady. She along with Sri Aurobindo became instrumental in setting up the Aurobindo Ashram in Puducherry. Sri Aurobindo developed a method of spiritual practice he called Integral Yoga. The central theme of his vision was the evolution of human life into a life divine. Mirra was henceforth called ‘The Mother’. Some of Sri Aurobindo’s well known literary works are ‘The Life Divine’ & ‘The Synthesis of Yoga’.
The samadhis of Sri Aurobindo & The Mother are within the premises of Sri Aurobindo Ashram at Puducherry. We visited the Ashram and paid homage at the samadhis. We also visited the bookshop inside the premises and bought a couple of books on Philosophy & Spirituality and also few handmade cards. Photography is not allowed inside the premises.
Auroville, the universal township
Sri Aurobindo died in 1950 and the mantle fell on The Mother. It was her brainchild to establish an International Commune at Auroville, 10 Kms from Puducherry. Her idea was to attract people of all nationalities to come and live harmoniously in Auroville. People from 129 countries participated in the inauguration ceremony. They brought soil of their land which was mixed and kept in an urn. The most well known landmark in Auroville is the ‘Matrimandir’. The Matrimandir took 37 years to build. It is in the form of a huge sphere with twelve petals. The Geodesic dome covered with golden discs reflects sunlight. This gives the structure its characteristic radiance. There is a meditation hall inside the central dome. It is known as the inner chamber – this contains the largest optically-perfect glass globe in the world.
The Matrimandir, and its surrounding gardens in the central Peace Area, is open to the public with prior appointment. The participants attend spiritual & meditation courses. To reach the Matrimandir one has to trek for a little over 1 km through shady trees.
Auro Beach: We enjoyed the visit to the Auro Beach at Puducherry early in the morning. The beach was clean & pristine but it was sad to see litter in the surrounding areas. The sea is rough so swimming or taking bath is out of question.
The Churches of Puducherry
The missionary movement of the 17th/18th century led to the establishment of many highly embellished churches in Puducherry. These elegant churches with Gothic architecture and beautiful stained glass images are captivating.
I visited three prominent churches in Puducherry. (1) Lady of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral. The French established it in the year 1686. It was destroyed twice – first the Dutch & later the British destroyed it. The French rebuilt the Cathedral in 1790. (2) Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The French established it in 1908. It became a basilica in 2011. (3) Church of our Lady of Good Health. The Armenians built it in 1673. This quaint little church is on the outskirts of the city.
Temple tour of Puducherry
I wonder how little we know about our own cities. It came as a surprise to me to know that Pondicherry is home to some ancient majestic temples. I visited 3 of them and came back mesmerized. These temples are the typical South Indian temples in vibrant colours. They are also wealthy temples as there is use of gold plating extensively inside the temples
Manakula Vinayagar Temple:
The first temple that I visited was a Ganesha temple known as the Manakula Vinayagar Temple. It is more than 400 years old. I have never seen so many Ganeshas of different shapes & forms in a single temple. Just outside the main entrance, the ceiling of the porch has a beautiful gigantic painting that depicts the wedding of Ganesha with Riddhi & Siddhi. As photography was not allowed inside, some pics clicked from the entrances would give you glimpse of the grandeur of this temple.
Late in the afternoons an elephant known as Laxmi stands in front of the main entrance and blesses the devotees. She is the star attraction and large crowd gathers everyday. There are many shops selling puja material & flower vendors on the roads.
Vedapureeswarar Temple
The second temple that I visited was an ancient Shiva temple. It is known as Vedapureeswarar Temple or Easwaran Dharmaraj Koil Temple. The temple has a five tiered beautiful gopuram. The French troops destroyed the original temple in 1748. A new temple was built in 1788 with public contibutions. Within the premises there are several smaller shrines dedicated to Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha, Murugan, Shani & Durga. I was amazed to see more than 100 bronze statues dressed differently. Each statue was around 12 inches in height. I wonder what they represent ? The ceiling all around the temple premises had murals painted in bright loud colours.
Varadaraja Perumal Temple
The temple I visited last was a beautiful Vishnu temple. Known as Varadaraja Perumal Temple,
it is the oldest temple of Pondicherry. It has been in existence for
more than 800 years. There is a water tank behind the temple. Another
interesting aspect is that when you enter the temple premises from the
rear door you come face to face with a shrine dedicated to Narsimha. The main idol of Vishnu is believed to have been unearthed more than 800 years ago. It is a tall black statue of Vishnu with a smiling face. This temple also has murals which due to their bright colours remind you of the calendar art of Sivakasi !!
The
most interesting aspect of this temple is the presence of a structure
which has French Colonial style of architecture and which has a weighing
scale used for ‘Tula-daan’.
Food at Puducherry:
Being a cosmopolitan town it attracts many foreigners too (including a large number of French tourists). Due to Sri Aurobindo Ashram, lot many Bengalis also visit Puducherry. There are a number of restaurants and cafes offering a wide range of cuisines including Continental, Italian, Mexican & Chinese.
Villa Shanti
It is a 15 rooms and suites boutique hotel in White Town area with a restaurant & a café bar designed in the French colonial architecture. The restaurant has a nice ambiance, the crowd is sophisticated and service & food are excellent. It gets 8.7 (out of 10) rating for stay and 4.5 (out of 5) for food on most of the sites. We enjoyed our candle light dinner on one of the evenings.
Adyar Anand Bhawan
It is a South Indian restaurant near Manakula Vinayagar Temple in White Town. It was at a walking distance from our Guest House. As it serves delicious, South Indian snacks, it became our favourite joint. South Indian & North Indian thalis are also available here. We visited it twice for breakfast & lunch.
Cafes
You can hop into one of the many quaint cafes dotting the White Town area for some delicious French croissants, cakes, pastries, tarts, waffles, crêpes etc. along with hot or cold coffee.
Other attractions:
Water sports:
The young & adventure seekers can indulge in activities such as scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking, canoeing, cycling, surfing quad biking, rock climbing, rafting, boating, and camping.
Keralya Ayurvedic Massage Centre:
A visit to this Centre across the canal for a 60 mins body massage was a relaxing experience for the weary legs.
Shopping:
Puducherry is a shopper’s paradise – dotted with many curio shops & boutiques. It offers locally made earthenware, stunning fabrics, handmade paper products, leather goods, incense sticks, wood carvings & paintings. We bought few things from a curio shop for gifting and keepsake.
In the old city near Vardaraj Perumal temple, I found number of shops that sell branded, packed cashewnuts, cardamoms, cloves & black pepper. As the price was much lower than in Mumbai, I picked some quantity of each.
Our Guest House: Our Guest House was located right on on the Beach Road. It is managed by Sri Aurobindo Society. It is a no frills hotel with comfortable spacious AC rooms and balconies facing the sea. There is no online booking facility. One has to book the rooms well in advance – either on phone or through e-mail. The guests have to adhere to certain guidelines like no alcohol, no non-veg food in the premises and be back at the guest house latest by 11 p.m.
There is no dearth of good hotels in Puducherry ranging from luxury to mid range to budget. Dormitories or home stay options are also available.
Connectivity & Best season to visit
Direct flights (small airplanes) connect Puducherry only with Bangalore & Hyderabad. Rail connectivity is with all the major cities in India. The best way to reach Puducherry is to take a flight to Chennai and drive down to Puducherry (3.5 hours). One can decide to make an overnight halt at Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) on the way. Puducherry trip can also be combined with visits to the temple towns of Kanchipuram & Chidambaram.
The best season to visit Puducherry is from mid November to mid March.
Regular updates:
I have clicked all the pics (except my pics and pic of our hotel room)
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Disclaimer: I have made sincere efforts to provide you the correct information about all the places that have been culled out from various sources. I do not take any responsibility for any errors that might have inadvertently crept into the narration. There is no intention to hurt the faith or religious sentiments of any person or community.
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