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.