Puducherry

Puducherry or Pondicherry is a Union Territory. Although it does not come under Tamil Nadu, we included this place because it lies on the way from Mahabalipuram to Thanjavur. It is a good idea to cover Pondicherry while on a trip across Tamil Nadu. So, we included it in our itinerary.

Auroville

Before entering Puducherry from Mahabalipuram, lies a popular getaway destination of Auroville. Auroville is a township established in around 1968 by Mirra Alfassa (popularly known as the Mother). She was the spiritual partner of Sri Aurobindo Ghosh who dreamt of a concept like Auroville. Some part of Auroville lies in Tamil Nadu while some in Puducherry.

The township needs exploring both physically and spiritually. Its concept is based around finding human unity. So, everything this place has to offer circles around that basic concept. This place offers many programs, events, functions related to yoga, spiritual activities, meditation etc. Anyone who wishes to explore this place can either visit it for a day or plan to stay here and get involved in the day to day life of people here. You can also become a volunteer here.

Maitrimandir

There are several areas to be explored here. Main attraction is the Matrimandir, a beautiful piece of architecture based on the concept of a Kalash. It is nothing but a meditation hall. Its design was conceptualised based on the kalash kept in the exact same location on the day of inauguration of this place. It is a dome structure with pathways spreading radially from it. On the edges are brick structures shaped such as they appear as the dome is placed atop the mound just like a kalash would be kept on top of a soil mound.

You can reach the viewing point from where you can get a full view of the Matrimandir and the surrounding lush gardens. The pass to reach that point is available at the visitor centre just as you cross the parking and enter the area. If you wish, you may also enter the Matrimandir and the gardens, provided you get yourself a pass available on this link. Please keep in mind that the inner chamber of the Matrimandir is only for individual meditation. It allows only one person per booking on a single email id and visits only in the mornings for which you need to report at 8:15 AM. The Matrimandir stays closed on Tuesdays and Sundays.

Tips

If you plan to stay in Auroville you may book stays here. This will enable you explore it entirely. For a day visit, you can either take a 1.5 km walk to the viewing point or take help of the free buggy ride available at the centre. Depending on the availability of time you may go for either option. We only went for a 2 hr trip on our way to Puducherry so, we could only see the Matrimandir from the viewing point.

Puducherry beach

On arrival at Puducherry we set out for a leisure time to the Puducherry beach. All the beaches in Puducherry are continuous. On the left of Puducherry beach lies the Rocky beach and on the right is the Promenade beach. All these beaches are rocky and you enjoy the waves from a height. If you go further you come to the sand beach where you can play with the ocean water and waves. The beach road does not allow cars and is perfect to take a stroll along the coast and enjoy the evening. There are several restaurants on this road where you can enjoy your dinner.

Mahatma Gandhi statue

The Mahatma Gandhi statue is on the beachfront and is a gathering place for meetings or small crowd assemblies. There is street food alley where you get all sorts of snacks and food items including sea food. However, the alley is quite congested and you may feel suffocated due to all the smoke and crowd. The beach area is vendor free to keep it quiet and clean.

White Town

This is just a locality in Puducherry near the beach. It is a locality filled with French era colonial houses, cafe and eateries. It looks quite upscale and the buildings are well kept which warrants a stroll on its streets. You may have breakfast or evening snacks at any on of the cafe to get a feel of the French style of living.

Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Cathedral

This is a beautiful church near the white town. It is one of the places to visit in Pondicherry. If you go early, you may attend a mass or just admire the architecture of the building and its interiors.

Bharati Park

This park is just opposite to the Mahatma Gandhi statue. It has a large campus full of trees and seats and other attractive sculptures. At the centre is a monument called Aayi Mandapam, which is a French style structure. If you want to spend an evening relaxing from all the walking you did while exploring Puducherry, this is the place to be. Kids can play around here while you take a break in the tree shades.

Indian Coffee House

This eatery is in Pondicherry since 1958 run by Indian Coffee . It is a historic chain of coffee house whose purpose was to serve coffee to Indians whom the English cafeteria did not allow to enter. Although the first coffee house came into existence pre independence, the current name came into existence much later. This Puducherry coffee house became popular after the movie ‘Life of Pi’. As per the maker of the movie, he story of the movie is based on the story told to him by a person he met at this eatery. He was so inspired by the man’s story that he decided to turn it into a movie.

It is not a fancy cafeteria like many modern ones. Just a simple cafe serving basic food by members of the co-operative. The food here is regular, very much in the budget and worth a try. If you plan to stay in the area, you can keep this eatery in your bucket list.

We set out in the second half from Puducherry because, most of the temples in Tamil Nadu stay closed from 1 PM to 4 PM. Since, our next two stops were to fall on the way to Thanjavur, we ensured that we arrive by 4 PM at our first stop and set out for our next stop before dark.