Pondicherry
For me anything with a cherry at the end has a sensual and romantic feel, amongst the Chaos of the Tamil streets you find a little piece of Pondicherry with a French and Portuguese influence that takes you away from the crowds and sometimes the stench of a large city. The large seafront not one for bathing in but definitely good for sitting on the rocks and feeling the much sought after gusts of wind on a hot humid day. The boutique feel of the shops shows a creative and a nurturing of home grown talent in an expressive and playful way. Art combined with humour is what I found at a shop called Play Clan and some French elegance at Via Pondicherry. My stay at Villa de Creole was beautiful and really clean based round an open house there are only five rooms all decorated in a colonial French style with beautiful textiles and very reasonable at 500 rupees a night, if you want to stay you will have to book a place fast!!.
For me anything with a cherry at the end has a sensual and romantic feel, amongst the Chaos of the Tamil streets you find a little piece of Pondicherry with a French and Portuguese influence that takes you away from the crowds and sometimes the stench of a large city. The large seafront not one for bathing in but definitely good for sitting on the rocks and feeling the much sought after gusts of wind on a hot humid day. The boutique feel of the shops shows a creative and a nurturing of home grown talent in an expressive and playful way. Art combined with humour is what I found at a shop called Play Clan and some French elegance at Via Pondicherry. My stay at Villa de Creole was beautiful and really clean based round an open house there are only five rooms all decorated in a colonial French style with beautiful textiles and very reasonable at 500 rupees a night, if you want to stay you will have to book a place fast!!.
A visit to
the Sri Aurobindo ashram is a calm meditative place as you walk around in
silence. More prominent to this place is a French women known as the Mother who
married Sri Aurobindo originally of Bengali origin and settled into a life of
meditation and yoga in Pondicherry. Flowers are her essence and the shrine is
decorated in fresh flowers centred around a large courtyard, I walk around and
feel the beautiful fresh smell of the flowers I stay here most of the day:
I take a
visit out to Auroville not far from Pondicherry I tag along with two polish girls and a guy and somehow we end
up riding in a large truck with the locals, not much space to sit! we end up
close to Auroville and walk the rest of the way….what we realise is there are
no directions and no signs Auroville is a fairly secretive town, one largely
based on different communities whom have occupied a piece of India but run separately
with their own bank and taxes: there are creative communities, yoga
communities, Italian, French Russian communities. I got the feeling that people
were hiding: what is wonderful to see is the Banyan tree where everyone from
Auroville gather to meditate and the solar kitchen where all meals are
prepared. Its an interesting concept. Also great shops with individual art and
pottery. I head back to Pondicherry this time on the back of a local man’s
motorbike…I’ve ditched the polish friends… nice to be riding the wind in my
hair again.
No comments:
Post a Comment