Visit to Pondicherry 12

(sorry if repeat)
Farther down the ECR from Mamallapuram about 2 hours is the city of Ponducherry. It was originally the French HQ in India and the scene of lots of history in the 1600s -1950s when it voted to join India. As a result, this city is a state within India and the city is a bit different. The buildings are colonial white or yellow painted mansions and other government buildings and French cuisine has been mixed with Indian spices to create some rich dishes.
We were booked into a chalet called the Dupleix which was the former residence of a governor of the same name. The building has a rich heritage and it is very pretty with a huge tree growing in the large court yard entrance and lots of water ponds covered with flowers within the courtyard. Exactly what Governor D did to get recognized is not exactly clear to us. This is typical of India; there is not a lot of information about the historical context of buildings or objects etc.

We walked around Pondi, toured the local museum and visited the beaches, the medication centre and feasted on the cuisine. The museum has a mix of colonial furnishings and some archeology; bits and pieces of Roman pots. The pots can be traced to various points in the Mediterranean area so it is clear that there was trade ~2000 years ago; long before any of the other Europeans reached this area in the 1600s. Many of the Hindu temples have an elephant at the gate and he will bless you by taking a coin and tapping you on the head. We have all been well blessed and we are happier for the elephant’s kiss.

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The beaches are beautiful vistas onto the ocean but the sand is littered with junk as in other parts of the country. However, the water was great and a welcome relief from the 35-40 C temperatures.


The fishermen were bringing in their boats while we were there. The boats are shaped like dragon boats with high bows and small little engines that can be tilted as they run and it was fun to see them surf into shore. The fishing villages are right beside the ocean so there were hard hit by the huge Tsunami in 2005. Some of the boats show that World Vision and other groups donated to fund new boats etc for the villages.
Jack walked thru the local market in the evening and it was a great site. A huge sea of people in small stalls selling everything used by the local population; from spices and flowers to pots and clothes. And just outside were the cows and goats to ‘cleanup’ the left over vegetables etc. There is also a beautiful monument to Ghandi on the waterfront promenade. The promenade is another French quirk; a huge # of people walk along the ocean front promenade every evening and they shut down the streets to cars so that everyone can walk.

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