French culture

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I was sorry to leave Mahaburipuram. I would go back there. We had a friendly guide for Auroville and Pondicherry. Auroville is a strange place- a sort of social experiment that has not really succeeded. There is little to see, but you walk to a viewing point for the Matrimandir which is a gold circular shaped building which is intended to symbolise the heart of the community. Our hotel was in the Tamil Nadhu area of the town, but not far from the French quarter. The hotel was a heritage house with a courtyard at the centre and stained glass window sections over the courtyard. Our afternoon tour of Pondicherry included fairly modern RC churches, French mansions now used for government buildings and posh shops, the Ganesh temple, the ashram and the beach. We were able to go to the sanctum of the temple for the ritual with lamp, bunches of grass or flowers and the priest blessing. For a treat we dined in the hotel. Before dinner there was a cooking demonstration making a dish Okra. We tasted the results. There was another couple at the tasting and we had dinner with them. Sunday is a day for fish in India, so the main course was two types of fish, one was a red snapper or similar. Pondicherry in the tourist areas is green and clean and fairly quiet, so it has a different feel. Indian tourists from the big cities also come for this reason.

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