Puducherry

Overview:

Situated on the Coromandel Coast, the Union Territory of Puducherry is famous for its wide boulevards, palm-fringed beaches, seafront promenades, backwaters, a popular ashram, and remnants of French architecture and culture. The city traces its history back to the revered sage Saint Agasthya. Excavations near Pondicherry have also revealed that a Roman settlement existed here 2000 years back. It had been under the rule of the Pallavas, the Cholas, and the Muslim rulers from the North, and was even a part of the Vijayanagara Empire for a brief period of time. Pondicherry had been a French colony for almost 300 years, and was the capital of French India. It had also been under the control of the Portuguese, English, Dutch and Danes, and has witnessed many battles. Formerly known as Pondicherry, it emanates a Mediterranean aura with ornamental gardens, elegant houses and chic streets. The city holds many visual treats for its visitors. It attracts numerous tourists from across the globe, who generally avail car rentals or hire taxi cabs to go around the city. Nick named and usually abbreviated as Pondy, Puducherry makes for a great weekend getaway for residents of nearby cities. A wonderful beach town, it allows people to go for long walks along the coastline and spend a few precious moments with their loved ones. It has four main beaches – Serenity Beach, Paradise Beach, Auroville Beach and Promenade, each of which has a charm of its own. The restaurants here serve a variety of cuisines, and the sea-food here is awesome. A tropical climate prevails in Puducherry throughout the year. The months between October and February are considered as the best period for visiting the coastal city of Pondicherry. However, the heaven’s open up in November and Pondy experiences torrential heavy rains. While visiting South India, some tourists also like to undertake a short trip from Bangalore to Pondicherry by car. Puducherry is located at a distance of about 322 kilometers from the capital city of Karnataka, and the ride from Bangalore to Pondicherry is easily covered in 7 hours by Bangalore taxis. Tourists also prefer hiring cabs in Bangalore for their travel to Puducherry, as it ensure that the journey is fast and comfortable. People can also opt to hire a car for the entire duration of their trip so as to ensure that they always have a vehicle at their service, which makes travelling within the city at any point of time easy.

Places of interest:

The Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry is one of the wealthiest and most well-known ashrams in India. It was established in 1926 by one of the most renowned philosopher-poets of the country, Sri AurobindoGhose. Tourists from all over the world come here for spiritual salvation. Yet another tourist spot in Puducherry is Auroville. Designed by a French architect Roger Agner, it was built with the idea of creating “a futuristic city where people of goodwill can live together in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities.”

Pondicherry also has a few temples and churches that tourist must visit. ManakulaVinayagarKoil is a 300-year old temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha. Its walls portray forty different avatars of the presiding deity. VaradarajaPerumal Temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, and dates back to 600 AD. This typical Dravidian-style temple has sculpted pillars and a vividly coloured ‘gopuram’.

The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus with its neo-gothic architecture is one of the finest in Pondy.

The Church of our Lady of the Angels, built in 1852, boasts of a Greek-Roman architectural style.

Car rentals and cabs are very popular among tourists when it comes to travelling in and around Pondy. This is because cars ensure that people can have a relaxed and comfortable ride when travelling from one tourist spot to another.

Things to do:

Tourists can rent a car to visit the tropical paradise of Chunnambar, which is located at a short distance from Pondicherry. It is flanked by a calm brook on one side. One can sail downstream and put up a cosy tent for spending the night. There are also a few tree-houses on its bank where one can have a great outdoor experience.

Pondicherry is famous for its good quality batik fabrics, apparels and accessories made out of leather. High end leather goods can be purchased at the internationally acclaimed Hidesign.

The months of December and January are prominent months for the Christian population of the region who celebrate Christmas and New Year with aplomb. These are also the months when activity at the Ashram increases because of the birth and death anniversaries of Shree Aurobindo and The Mother.

Visitors may also undertake a class in the ancient art of yoga from the numerous yoga centers which are run by qualified yoga teachers in the union territory. The special event called as the International Yoga Festival is held each year in January and attracts hordes of visitors.

Tourists can get absorbed in the merriment during the various festivals of Pondicherry which includes the Festival of Pondicherry, and the Villianur Temple Car Festival. Pongal, Easter, Dassehra, Diwali and Christmas are also celebrated with great fervor and enthusiasm at Puducherry.