You could say that Pondicherry (Pouducherry) is the New Orleans of India. It has a French quarter and the French controlled it until 1954 even though India gained independence from Great Britain in 1947. The res of the city is condiered Tamil (the state I'm in) and Muslim quarters. As history would have it; the French quarter used to be call White Town and beyond the canal in Tamil/Muslim quarters was called black town. Most still refer to White town as the French part of the city.
The Hotel De L'Orient where I"m staying is a former school converted to a hertiage hotel. At first, I was offered an attic room, which sounded interesting, but they insisted I look at it before confirming I would take it. I'm glad I did. It was not the steep stairs up to the room that worried me, although, there was no safety percaution for falling down them in the middle of the night should I wake up disoriented. It was the low ceiling and the claustrophic feeling of having no window. Most places here don't have smoke detectors, so I didn't relish the thought of being trapped up here in a fire or falling down the steps. It was a no.
Of course, they had a courtyard room available for an upcharge. the only windows it had, opened to the court yard, so I wasn't going to have the shutters open, but at least I could if I wanted to. It had a high ceiling and it was much better suited for a tall person.
On the way down, I had made my arrangements for tours and today was a walking tour. I woke up early and headed down to the beach where I found a pedestrian only path where I could put in a two mile walk and try to catch a sunrise. Then it was back to the hotel for traditionaly Indian breakfast and to meet Moni at 9 am.
Moni arrived exactly on time and we were off. Just a few steps away form my hotel was a home for indigent women where they were taught to make crafts for sale to support them. There was a beautiful garden entry as so many of the French homes have here. We stopped at the Notre Dame de Anges, or Mother of Angels Basilica designed by Louis Guerre, which is ironic since guerre is the French word for war. As it turns out, he designed most of the iconic buildings in Pondicherry.
This includes the light house and customs house which are both encircled with an exterior circular stairway. We passed the police headquarters where I learned that the traffic police wear white and red hats similar to gendarmes in France. The combat police wear khaki uniforms and I'm not sure what to call the hat. The numbered squares are not for street fair vendors as I suspected, but for rongola or rongoli compeitions. They are the designs the woman of the house draws on the doorway to the house either every morning or just on special occasions to bring prosperity and health to the home.
There was also a war memorial to all of the Indians who fought for the French as well as a residency for the French dignatieis when they come to visit. He pointed out an all concrete buidling designed by two American architects. The louviers that can be opened and closed are even concrete. There is no AC in the building due to the cross ventiallation and the concrete which keeps it cool. It is part of the ashram here where elderly people live.
The ashram is a big deal here started by "The Mother" and Sri Aurobindo. He was a former political agitator for Indian nationalism who sought refuge in Pondicherry from the British in 1910. She was born into a Sephardic Jewish family, but through visions and many experiences traveling she became associated with the occult before coming to Pondicherry and meeting Sri who she said was seen in her vision when she was a teenager. They formed an alliance which most claim was not romantic but rather only a collaboratoin on what thye called integral yoga where yogis as not living in monastaries or other secluded environments. The Mother was well acquainted with Indira Gandhi from the time she was quite young.
I was able to enter the ashram as long as my phone was completely turned off. There is a lovely garden area and a silent area where people pay homage to Sri and The Mother. On the way out, is the bookstore and as hard as I try not to buy books, I just can't help myself. I got a phamplet on yoga sequences and their book on integral yoga. I apologized to the guide, but he was actually liked that I took some time in the ashram.
From there we were off to the Tamil/Muslim quarters. The canal sadly was not at all scenic but filled with trash and very polluted. The level of litter in general ramped up here and the crowdedness as well. The guide took me into the market where you could buy anything food related. He said not to touch or sniff anything and warned me that it would be a bit messy. It looked like markets I've been to in other countries and messy is defnitely relative here. there were fruits, vegetables, flowers, and spices. It was a place I'd come to every other day or so if I lived here and I would thrive on all the fresh ingredients. Thankfully, he didn't take me into the fish section -- that can be really smelly.
because I opted to walk back to the hotel and not take a tuk tuk, I got the bonus of seeing the Immaculate Conceptoin Catherdral. So for my friend Anthea, I'll include plenty of photos. The Jesuit fathers came here as missionaries in 1689 and by 1692 had built a church. It was subsequently destroyed by the Dutch, rebuilt, fell apart, rebuilt, destroyed by the British, and finally the fourth version was started in 1765, which is the basis of the structure still standing. Mother Theresa visited here when she came to Pondicherry.
After the tour ended, I headed to Le Petit Four cafe where I got beautifulbluc mocktail, a watermelon and feta sald, and a hummus plate. My next stop was the botanical garden. That was a fruitless expidition because my GPS took me to what must be their centrla office, not the garden itself. After I went around in cirlces for awhile, I abandoned the mission. I thought I would find Bread and Chocolate place that everyone recommended and get a light dessert. However, it was a full menu place and that was more than I wanted so I opted to get a gelato -- one scoop each mango and strawberry.
Then I headed back to my hotel for a rest before dinner. As the night before when I went to Villa Shanti for seafood, I dressed for dinner to go to the Villa, a well reviewed French restuarant. Again the GPS was having fits, and I had to stop and ask for directions. Everyone here does it; their streets are so unpredictable, many addresses include a landmark. They brought me an amuse bouche on the house, and I savored every bit of that fresh, authentic French baguette. The main course of fish was beautifully displayed andjust the right amount. The apple tart for desssert was a bit of a disappointment. It was heavy and not that flavorful. I did have a little cognac with dessert. The meun said they had Remy Martin and Henessey. I ordered the Hensessy but was told they only have the French Remy Martin. As if I should have known.
It was a nice way to end the day, and I made an early night to prepare for my trip to Cuddalore on Sunday and Auroville. I set my alarm to get up for sunrise.
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