Pondi

Pondi a.k.a Puducherry is a peculiar Indian/French coastal town existing as an ex-colony boasting various institutions such as the French Lycee, Alliance Francais as well as a range of restaurants such as Le Club serving European cuisine with an Indian twist.


7 years ago when I first visited Pondi I did not really take to it well, for me the thought of eating croissants in India was ludicrous especially after having been to more authentic places such a Delhi. I had also been longing to be by the sea after enduring a 3 day train journey (north – south) and hanging around in hectic urban metro-poles, so understandably the rocky shores unfit for bathing in did not suffice.

However times have changed and so have I, so far during the month of June 2010 Pondi has proved to be an accommodating and charismatic place. On the first day which was a pretty full-on orientation, we walked along the beloved coastline which had not transformed into an idyllic beach but noticeably a place where locals socialise, couples look out into the waves, young men sit as close to the edge as possible without being dragged out and of course most importantly where the numerous ice-cream and fruit vendors make a living. Whilst marching around in the intense humidity, we came across the filming of what looked like an advertisement...free entertainment for the whole town!

Day 2 we went to the infamous Sri Aurobindo Ashram, where people go to worship 'The Mother' who was the brainchild of Auroville which I shall definitely be finding myself wandering around soon with details to follow. Not forgetting the beautiful Sri Vinayagar temple which has an elephant standing at the entrance ready to bless those who hand over their rupees. We ventured into the Sunday market desperately looking for fresh fruit and veg which were nowhere to be seen amongst the paraphernalia until a man with a plastic bag full of delights was spotted and he pointed us in the right direction, breakfasts and lunches in the flat sorted! Along the way we came across a Mother Theresa centre and later witnessed a birthday celebration apparently for a Minister of some sort.

In this short space of time, Pondi has grown on me and seems like quite an appealing alternative, which is lucky as I will be residing in this peaceful little neighbourhood for a few more weeks...time to get stuck into work now.

Arrival

After a mammoth 24 hours of travelling from London, I finally arrived in Chennai (Madras) in the evening where I was met by the oven heat and a true Indian welcome as I peered from the cab to see the hectic, noisy city and remembered how overwhelming they really are. 

Following much debate with the driver over the location of my destination, I thankfully found myself at the right hostel down a dark and dusty road lined with street dwellers which seemed to be predominantly women and lethargic children. So at Broadlands Lodge I met Harriet, my colleague to be for the next 6 months who I had asked to wait for me in view of the flight cancellation and it was great to see a friendly face. After a catch up and realisation that I had arrived in India when I saw our bathroom across the way, finally after all the build up and frustration backed by a long journey I relaxed and slept deeply under the whirring fan...

8am rise to catch the bus for Pondicherry where we would be planning and conducting the volunteer orientation training week. The process of getting from the hostel to the station and beyond seemed to flow remarkably smoothly, despite a bit of haggling with the auto-rickshaw and getting stuck inside it with my oversized backpack. 3.5 hours and more sleep later we jumped out at the bus station in Pondi and called our landlord to signal our arrival. Outside the Handmade Paper Factory was our meeting point and where we were greeted by Mr P, a lovely man on a moped who to my surprise took us one by one on his vehicle showing the route to the flat along the way. The flat itself is more then I could have asked for really, nice living space comprising of two beds, kitchen and table (our office) and a bedroom including another 2 beds with access to balcony overlooking the neighbourhood and bathroom. Perfect, a place to call home!

InDiA

I have just over 1 week to go before embarking on a new exciting adventure in the fascinating country known as India! What will I be doing there you are probably wondering, having previously travelled pretty much all over India during my 'GAP' year sometime ago, the prospect of being able to return and give something back by working there is an amazing one!
So along came Development in Action also known as DiA, a UK registered volunteer and youth-led charity which exists to promote global citizenship by improving understanding and encouraging engagement in development issues amongst young people in the UK. These aims are achieved through the India and UK Volunteering Programmes as well as other activties which you can see for yourself by visiting the website.
Every year volunteers are recruited by DiA for its India Volunteer Placement Scheme. Volunteers particpating in the scheme opt for either a 2-month or 5-month placement during which they are placed with Indian Partner Organisations who focus on grassroots development initiatives and require additional support with their valuable work. My role with DiA offically titled as India Volunteer Coordinator will be to coordinate the India Volunteer Placement Scheme from the ground, alongside another lovely lady acting as the first point of contact for all of the volunteers and partners for the duration of the programme! We will be training the keen new arrivals and ensuring that all runs smoothly by monitoring both the partner and volunteer side of things, carrying out numerous assessments and evaluations. As if this didn't sound daunting enough, the placements which the job requires frequent travel to are pretty scattered around the country. Initially I will be based in Pondicherry for the first few weeks after which I will be working on the move and the office will become our backpacks!
So watch this space people, IVC's in InDiA coming soon...