Pondicherry - A Slice of Paradise

One year. That's exactly the amount of time that it took me to get my lazy butt outside my house and finally explore the southern parts of India outside Bengaluru. A long weekend beckoned and the prospect of spending another weekend locked in a smelly, dank apartment loomed ominously. That was when a couple of my colleagues suggested a getaway to Pondicherry. I was eager to get out of the city and when you talk about Pondicherry, the first thought on your mind is that magic word: beaches. It took about 1 second for that word to pop into my mind, and one more for me to make up my mind. So Pondicherry it was! By the end of the day, all the preparations were done and all that remained to be done was to wait for the D-day.

Road to Pondicherry

Pondicherry - now known as Puducherry - is one of the seven union territories of India. Situated on the east coast of India, it one of the most scenic places in India with plenty natural as well as man-made marvels to see. Situated at a distance of around 350 Kms from Bengaluru, both these cities are well connected by road. And as any bike enthusiast will tell you, there is no better way to enjoy a scenic ride than on a bike. Feeling the wind brushing your face, the road disappearing underneath the tyres of your ride, and the nature welcoming you with open arms is a feeling that is paralleled by very few experiences in life. Unfortunately, yours truly does not own a bike; hence we had to rely on the humble, yet largely reliable, services of K.S.R.T.C. Now there are two ways to travel by bus to Pondicherry. One is directly between Bangalore to Pondicherry, and the other is by taking a bus to Chennai and then catching the Volvo buses that operate between Chennai and Pondicherry hourly. We took the former option while going to Pondicherry and the latter during the return journey. And as it turned out, it was the right decision to take, as the road between Pondicherry and Chennai is one of the most beautiful ones that I have seen; the only roads that are better being the ones present in Konkan.

Finding a Roof

A roof to hide our heads

As mentioned earlier, we took a direct bus from Bengaluru to Pondicherry. When travelling by bus, a night journey is recommended since travelling by day would mean that most of your day will be wasted (unless you are going for a long vacation). The only disadvantage of a night journey is that, you miss out on the road side exhibition of natural beauty that is on display. But the destination more than makes up for that. And so, having undertaken an overnight journey, we arrived in Pondicherry during the wee hours of the morning. Small, white arched gates welcomed us to the city. Getting down at the local bus stand, we had managed to find our lodgings easily, thanks partly to some over-enthusiastic Rickshawallas (some things never change no matter where you go). There are several options to stay in Pondicherry. The first one is the Auroville Township, situated about 10 Kms north of Pondicherry city. It's a peaceful and serene community founded by Mirra Alfassa. However, more on this subject later. Another option is to stay in regular hotels and resorts scattered over the city; some in the interior parts of the city and some facing the beaches. One more option is to go for the small guest houses run by some of the French settlers here. As you must probably know, Pondicherry was a French colony which was later usurped by the Britishers. As such, you can still find a lot of French and British population living here. Many of these people have converted their old, multi-storied houses into guest houses. Else, they buy old houses from the Indian people living here, renovate them, and then re-open them as guest houses. We went for the last option since the first two options would have burned a big hole in our pockets. Though if you have a fairly big budget, I would definitely recommend the Auroville Township.


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Further account of this trip continued in the next post.


Click here for snaps.
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