Le Pondicherry

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Thanks for all of your thoughtful comments on my last entry! This entry is very different. Today is Monday, and I spent Saturday and Sunday -- after attending TKV Desikachar's lecture on Saturday morning -- in Pondicherry. TKV is the foudner of Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM) and he speaks every Saturday morning at 8:15 at the school. Last week he spoke on symbolism (he started the lecture by explaining the symbolism of the KYM logo) and about the student-teacher relationship this week. He is a very engaging speaker and I find the things he says are simple and profound. Plus, he has lovely, calm, happy energy and he uses colourful examples ot illustrate his points.

So, not wanting to miss his lecture, about eight of my fellow students and I boarded a very comfortable A/C bus after the lecture and drove south to Pondicherry. Pondy, as it is locally called, was a French colony until the British won the "colonial war of India." Like Chennai, it is on the coast, but there the resemblance ends. Pondy is not even in the state of Tamil Nadu (of which Chennai is the capital). It is its own Union Territory, though it is quite small (about 200,000 people).

Apparently there is no place like it in India, for several reasons. One, part of it still retains its French colonial charm; it is dominated by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram (also known as the ashram of The Mother, a French woman who helped found and run the ashram in the 1950s); and just outside its borders is the alternative international community of Auroville, which was founded about 50 years ago by Sri Aurobindo.

I didn't go to Auroville -- they discourage day-trippers, though you can go and stay there for a week or longer -- and I spent only about 30 minutes at the ashram (visiting the sannidhi of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother). Most of the time I was there I spent walking on the seaside promenade and down leafy streets lined with charming French-inspired buildings, churches, guest houses, shops and restaurants; or eating. You can get French and European style food in many restaurants in the French part of Pondy. And as I am tired of south Indian food (which is not agreeing with me), I was delighted -- though the quality was uneven.

Altogether I had a very agreeable 24 hour trip. We stayed in a lovely guest house run by a warm, gregarious man, named Lalit, who is originally from the Punjab. He loves art and music and is very active in the cultural community. He also has an interesting story. Many years ago when he was six years old, his uncle, who was at the ashram in Pondicherry, showed his picture to the Mother and she said he should come to the ashram. So he did and he has been part of the ashram community ever since.

For almost the entire weekend, I stayed below the canal which separates the French colonial part of Pondy from the Indian part -- which is just like any other Indian town or small city. But the French part is really lovely. Quiet, relaxing, European. I think my favourite memory was sitting up on the rooftop of the guest house at midnight, by myself, watching the half moon shine on the water. This part of Pondy was so quiet I could hear only the waves on the shore, some birds and the occasional dog barking. The clean air, qhiet, and starry sky are completely missing in Chennai so I was really appreciating it. I had a completely peaceful hour, communing with the moon. The only peace I have had in many weeks.

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Photos

in Pondy
Here I am walking down one of the many leafy, European-esque streets in charming Pondicherry

on the beach
Standing at a war memorial on the seaside.

the promenade
The beach in Pondy is rocky -- no trees, no sand, no swimming. Truly a promenade.

the ubiquitous MG
On Saturday at the Mahatma Gandhi statue was a gathering of young people, calling themselves "the human chain."

lunch at Splendour
Here are several members of my KYM class, enjoying a delicious brunch at a fabulous restaurant across the street from the seaside.

charming church
This is an RC church in the centre of Pondicherry. There are quite a few RC churches in Pondy, because of the French influence.

dressed for dinner
I like to call this my Prince of Pondicherry outfit.

coconut grove
Lalit took me on a ride on his scooter to see his private coconut garden, by moonlight. He was hoping we would use it to do yoga. We didn't ... but it was a magical experience.

dancing on the roof
I went up on the roof Sunday morning and danced to Holly Holy by Neil Diamond (inspired by a movie called Holy Smoke.)

from the roof
I took several pictures of Pondy from the roof of the guest house, which though only about six stories was one of the tallest buildings in this part of town!

picturesque
Hoestly, this is what the French part of Pondy really looks like on Sunday morning.

getting romantic
Men hold hands all over India, not just in its most romantic city.

Claire and Piki
Claire and Piki and I went to a beautiful spot for breakfast -- though they were out of croissanrs. (Piki is her nickname -- her real name is Marie Helene, the French version of Mary Ellen, and she is from Quebec)

Le Club
Here si the shady courtyard where we had breakfast. There are many such places in Pondy.

Comments

[Marianne]

Checking in
Pondicherry! Where Life (of Pi) begins. Did you see a zoo anywhere? Tigers roaming loose? Really, really busy these days, cousin, but I never miss an entry. You look great. Love, M.

[Vic]

thoughtfulblog
Lemon, I think your last blog was very interesting (although this French colonial town looks really great!)and it really provoked some good discussion. I guess you hit the blog sweet spot! Blogs are supposed to inspire such exchanges aren't they? I'm not exactly sure why misery is more "real" than joy.... but perhaps that is another blog! Off to Vancouver until March 1st, my first trip out there!!! Love you.

[cynthia willemsen]

namaste
you have no idea how much i adore your missives!! every day i read your entries with eager anticipation and it takes me right back to india!! your words are so evocative and the photos excellent in quality and choice. thank you for sharing your journey with all of us lucky observers. tell us more about the yoga if you can. just a note re: auroville, where i have been longing to go - i'm doing a gurdjieff course and my teacher just got back from a month in south india and found auroville highly disappointing. he reported it was insular, unwelcoming and they just had 2 incidents of women being attacked!! so sounds like you're not missing much. when are you back to delhi? cyn

[mychael]

looks like bahut fun!
absolutely lovely photos. India is almost as beautiful as LA... only we have more yoga and vegetarians here.

[chrissy]

holding hands
Ah, interesting. Andrews father always holds his hand and I have often thought it to be such an endearing gesture... of course, its cultural! I should have known!

[AC]

Uh not really
>getting romantic. Men hold hands all over India, not just in its most romantic city. Growing up there, it is common, but not romantic. And homosexuality was rare as that seems to be the inclination here.

[Pravin Gupta]

Pondi, Life of PI, and other details..
Hi Lemon, and Marianne, There never was a zoo in Pondy. I should know, I have been living here for 40 years! As for the other landmarks, yes the India Coffee house is still here, and still serves very good coffee. And there is a Botanical garden, where there is a mini train which runs between two tiny stations. One tidbit of infm for you, I was a lad of 10 when the train service was introduced for the public at the Botanical Garden, and I was the chappie who was dressed as a Train Conductor and flagged it on its inaugural run..There is small establishment called the Jawahar Bal Bhavan inside the Botanical Garden, and I was a member of this school for talented children. I am happy that Lemon found Pondy a fascinating and peaceful place. Yes, the culture and society of Pondy is unique, and a visit to Pondy is a must for every traveller to India. Pravin Gupta [e-mail]

[Bahu Virupaksha]

The Other side of Pondicherry
I live in Pondicherry and therefore am able to see a side of Pondicherry that you as a tourist did not, or could not grasp. First, Pondicherry has the highest suicide rate in the country and the goons who are in Government in that place are hardly bothered about it. Second, almost the entire politics of the state in the hands of two or three families and there is no real concern about the future of the place. Because Pondicherry is a small place, everyone has access to the politicians and even murder gets covered up by the politicians on the basis of the ususal monetary consideration. In Pondiocherry Univerrsity, a number of crimes have taken place but there has been no serious inverstigation. In fact even an employee was murdered so as to protect the higher ups in the University. And in another case a dalit girl was done to death and the University turned a blind eye. So before you glirify the place see around and you will reaslise that all is not well.

[chandra sekhar]

nice
nice to read your experience.i am from pondicherry.

[ram]

bonjour
hii friend,i am from bangalore and my native is pondicherryy,,,ur blog is very nice to read ,,,,,,i have added you ,plzzz add my blog to ur nice blog......merci my URL:http://yogaandchat.blogspot.com/