Tradition
A paradise called Pondicherry

Pondicherry needs to be discovered. And the best way to discover it is by hiring a bicycle for Rs 15 a day. Pedal past chic boutiques, beautiful flowering trees, nicely restored buildings. Meditate in the Aurobindo Ashram or just soak in the flavours of this stunning town on the Coramendal coast where the French dreams of an Indian Empire began and ended, says M. Khosla

IN the first place I didn’t know how I got involved in a cricket match in Pondicherry. The story goes something like this... A team of Delhi journalists was invited by Chennai scribes for a "friendly" cricket match. The Delhi team ran short of men and I was hastily included for the match whose venue was scenic Pondicherry, 160 km from Chennai.

The match turned out to be anything but friendly. Even as the Delhi team began its batting, bouncers started hurling at them making everyone pine to go back to the safety of our homes, limbs intact. The realisation dawned on me rather belatedly that the Tamils take their cricket rather seriously.

As I walked out to bat at number six, my legs were swiftly turning into jelly. Local lads who had collected to watch the match cheered at the sight of another potential victim taking his guard. The only consolation was the loud chanting of what sounded like bhajans from an adjoining temple.

At the Delhi airport our "captain" had gingerly told me it was a great chance to see the famous outpost of the French who had ruled this Pearl of the South for almost 300 years. Needless to say this wasn’t my idea of a junket.

Sure I was in the right vacation spot but for all the wrong reasons. And definitely in the wrong part of the town. This was the crowded part where, during the colonial past, the "natives" lived.

The French stayed on the Riveira, the Ville Blanche, or white town, as that part was known where neatly laid out streets are aligned at right angles, and the skillfully planned township is distinguished by a 2km-long espalanade which skirts the town.

Raj Niwas, the magnificent Governor’s mansion was the palace-like mansion where Dupleix once lived. And along its side is a garden with a sculpture of Lord Vishnu as the Varaha avatar (boar incarnation) alongwith Goddess Lakshmi.

Here the Government Park is resplendently laid out with flower beds and fountains, one of them dating back to the period of Napoleon III (1852-1870). The Botanical Gardens, conceived in 1826, boast a variety of rare and exotic plants from India and abroad.

But none of those pleasant thoughts of a cup of coffee in one of those French-type cafes on the elegant seaside walkways, drove out the fear of those missiles coming my way. There has seldom been more joy in my life then when I was clean bowled facing my fourth delivery. I virtually sprinted back to the dressing room for fear that the umpire may reverse his decision.

Feigning severe stomach cramps I excused myself from fielding and decided to spend a pleasant half day taking in this town where French dreams of an Indian Empire began and ended. But there still remains an amazing French influence here simply because Pondicherry has the largest number of French citizens outside of France.

In fact, the vestiges of the French rule are all around. High-goofed villas, tree-lined boulevards and even a war memorial in memory of French soldiers who perished in World War, I a statue of Joan of Arc and a monument called Place de Gaulle commemorating the French leader who never wanted to let go of this Indian territory.

Pondicherians are as proud of their past as the French are of their Eiffel Tower and Arc De Triomph. The telltale sings are all around. Policemen still wear the traditional uniforms of the French gendarmes complete with a flat-topped hat called Kepi. The well-heeled locals’ favourite pastime is the French game of boules. In many schools French is still the medium of instruction.

But it is not just the French connection which draws people to this architecturally stunning coastal town. There are over 350 churches, temples and mosques in Pondicherry making it a virtual Mecca for the devout of different religions.

One of the most striking and now universally famous religious centre is the Aurobindo Ashram, founded by Sri Aurobindo in 1926. A poet-philosopher with a brilliant academic and political career, Sri Aurobindo set up this ashram in Pondicherry to practice and promote integral yoga.

Here he wrote his best works. Life Divine, The Human Cycle, The Synthesis of Yoga, Savitri and interpretations of the Vedas, Upanishads and the Bhagawad Geeta. After his death, the Ashram came under the spiritual control of a French lady known as the "Mother", who died in 1973.

Visitors throng to pay homage to the samadhis (final resting place) inside the premises of this Ashram which attracts thousands of devotees — not only Indians, but also foreigners — because of the doctrines taught here are based on a fusion of modern science and yoga.

Legend associates ancient Pondicherry with the great Hindu sage Agastya. Excavations in the Arikamedu area near Pondicherry reveal that a Roman settlement existed here about 2000 years ago. In fact, Pondicherry has been variously referred to as ‘ Poduke’ and ‘Podukay’ in the works of geographers and historians of the first few centuries of the present era.

But Podicherry, as it is today, had its genesis only with the arrival of the French in 1673. The town fell to the Dutch in 1693 but was restored to the French in 1699 by a treaty. In 1742, Joseph Francois Dupleix became the Governor of French — India. At about the same time, war broke out between France and England. The situation in Europe as much as the ambitions of Dupleix triggered off Anglo-French conflict in India.

For the next seven decades, Pondicherry survived in a state of perpetual disturbance as when control over the territory swung between the French and the British, Pondicherry finally returned to the French in 1814 and stayed with them till 1954 when it merged with the rest of Independent India.

During those years, the contribution of French Indians to La Delle France and her colonies was considerable and even today many of their descendants work in France or in French dependencies overseas.

But the times they are a — changing. Unlike the earlier generation which grew rich on generous French pensions, a new class is emerging which comprises software experts, doctors, engineers and technocrats who are thriving here.

They are the ones you see filling up the promenades in the morning jogging in their latest Nikes, headbands and walkmans, or in the evenings in jeans and sweatshirts coming out of their luxury cars for a walk down the seaside or a leisurely cup of coffee in one of the many restaurants.

Eateries in Pondicherry are an experience in themselves. Apart from French fare and dosa-idli joints, on offer are Chinese, Italian and even African delights. My favourite was Seagulls a waterfront cafe run by the state tourist department which has an old world kind of bar overlooking the sea.

Pondicherry needs to be discovered. And the best may to discover it is by hiring a bicycle for Rs 15 a day. Pedal past chic boutiques, beautiful flowering trees, nicely restored buildings and eucalyptus planted everywhere giving off the rich scent of their oils.

When you cycle past shops and more shops and don’t forget to buy a doll. For the uninitiated, the dolls of Pondicherry are the pride of this town. The terracotta, papier mache and plaster of paris dolls popularly known as Puducheri Bommai are available all over.

There is prosperity all around even as markets and shops glitter with the latest gizmos and restaurants and hotels are never short of customers. Tourists can choose from swank luxury hotels where the vintage French wine is served with gourmet French food. Or settle for places like the International Guest House where the food is strictly vegetarian, drinking, smoking and even loud talking are banned.

It is contrasts like these which makes Pondicherry unique, something quite different from the rest of India. The French connection, the serene atmosphere influenced by the Aurobindo Ashram and the beach combine to make Pondicherry a fascinating destination.

— Newsmen Features