Pondicherry

The inherent ambience of Pondy, as Pondicherry is fondly called, becomes most evident in the oldest part of the town, which flanks the seashore boulevard. Colonial buildings, some which trace back to the 18th century, line along a grid of straight clean streets and house the French institutions, private homes and businesses, and the sprawling premises of the famous Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Mellow colours of cream, yellow, pink and grey greet the visitor with flamboyant bougainvillea bursting over gates and compound walls of cool courtyards.

Quiet beaches and peaceful resorts to the north and south balance the town's bustling, yet easy going life.

But Pondy hasn't only its own special attractions to offer. It is a perfect base to explore the rich destinations around it, even in daily trips: Auroville, the international City of Unity; the imposing Gingee Fort, the holy temple towns of Kanchipuram, Tiruvannamalai and Chidambaram, the heritage sculptures and magnificent rock temples of Mamallapuram, and the cool and lush hillstations of Yercaud and Kodaikanal.

The Government Park is the center of old colonial part of the town and it provides a cool and lush green anchor around which most government buildings are situated: the Lt. Governor's Palace, the Legislative Assembly, Government Hospital, but also the Ashram Dining Room in a beautiful Villa, the Cercle de Pondichery, which is a private club, and an old Hotel Qualité.

The oldest streets start from the Park as well as J. N. Street, the main shopping artery, which connects into the tamil part of the town which was formerly divided form the French quarters by a now covered canal. Monuments abound in Pondy and each one has a story to tell. The Aayi Mandapam at the centre of the Park is the most well known monument. Built during the reign of Napoleon III in France and named after a 16th. century courtesan, Aayi, who demolished her house and built a watertank instead. This was to appease a passing king who had mistaken her candle-lit home for a holy place. This reservoir served French engineers later to bring water to the town.

Like any other place in India Pondicherry has its own unique festivals with its own colourful ambience, like The International Yoga Festival in January, Maasi Magam in February - March at the beach of the Fishing Village and Fête de Pondichery in August.

Pondicherry is best accessible by road from Chennai, Bangalore and even from Kerala. Chennai has an international airport, which directly connects to the highway to Pondy. And good transit hotels are available in the vicinity for travellers who arrive in the night.

Pondicherry has a wide choice of hotels for most visitors: beach resorts for the easy going tourist and families, heritage hotels for those who want to experience something else, high class commercial hotels for the corporate visitor and the neat Ashram Guest Houses for the spiritual seeker. And ambient restaurants serve a rich variety of French, Indian, Asian and continental food, with the latest pizza for an American bite.

For the shopper, Pondy has a lot to offer and is fast becoming a favourite shopping destination of the southern metropolitan cities. Pondy is soft on your purse with taxes low or non-existent. It is known for its traditional doll making and textiles and silks. But it is also the birthplace of several world-class brands in leather, pottery, aromatics, fashion and handmade paper. These excellent products came to renown solely by their superb quality. A new trend is the proliferation of exquisite decor boutiques and export-quality antique furniture galleries.

For further information log on to http://www.tourisminpondicherry.com

General Information

Weather - For the greater part of the year Pondicherry has a hot and humid climate with temperatures ranging between 26 and 38°C. The main rainy season is in November-January and the 'small' monsoon in July-September relieves Pondy from the summer heat with light showers. Though there is usually a high humidity in Pondy, during the months of May and June there may be at times a hot and dry wind blowing.

Temperature - The summer runs from March till July. The skies are cloudless and temperatures are soaring up to 40 degrees and beyond in May and June. The monsoon on the west coast brings some relieve in July-August with milder temperatures and occasional showers, which may last till October. The winter starts in November (some years mid-October) and the northeast monsoon cools the days and nights with the rains it brings along. Temperatures hover around the 30 degrees and the evenings are usually pleasantly cooler. This is the best season in Pondicherry, especially for the foreign visitor.

Clothing - Cotton clothes are the most comfortable choice. Pondicherians are used to western style casual clothing within limits. Chappels and sandals are practical and there is a wide choice, in case you didn't bring with you. During the monsoons a light raincoat or umbrella are useful and are locally available. It is advisable to wear long sleeves and pants in the evening to beat mosquitos. Mosquito repellants are available in different varieties.

Telephone Access Code : 91 413

Language - In Pondicherry Tamil is the official local language and French too is spoken by a section of the population.

Access

Air - Chennai airport is 135 kms from Pondicherry and flights connect to major cities in India and directly to many other international destinations.

Rail - Pondicherry is connected by rail to Villupuram (36 kms), which connects to Chennai and Madurai/Trivandrum. The trains to and from Pondy are slow and few. Another possibility is to take a train from Bangalore to Cuddalore. But you'll end up having to take taxi or bus to reach Pondicherry.

Road - The best choice for getting to Pondy from Chennai (150 km) and Bangalore (320 km) is by taxi or bus. Buses depart from Chennai at the Tamil Nadu State Express Bus Stand on a regular basis and take about four hours to reach Pondy's bus stand. If you have a choice of buses, the East Coast Road is more scenic than National Highway 45. Buses going through this route will have "ECR" written on their destination boards

Accommodation

The Anandha Inn
Tel: 0413 - 330711 - Fax: 0413 - 331241
Email: checkin@anandhainn.com

Hotel Mass
Tel: 0413 - 204001 - Fax: 0413 - 203654
Email: hmpl@satyam.net.in

Friend's House
Tel: 0413 - 225815

Heritage Villa Helena
Tel: 0413 - 226789; Fax: 0413 - 227087
Email: galleryhotels@pondichery.net

L'H?tel de L'Orient
Tel: 011 - 461 6145; Fax: 011 - 462 1112
Email: sales@neemrana.com

Patricia Guest Houses
Tel: 0413 - 335130; Fax: 0413 - 332776

Villa Pondicherry
Tel: 0413 - 334677; Fax: 0413 - 334230
Email: villapondicherry@altavista.net

Hotel Pondicherry Ashok
Tel: 0413 - 655160 (8 lines), Fax: 0413 - 655140

St. James Beach Resort
Tel: 0413 - 655174, 655275

Chunnambar Beach and Backwater Resort, a PTTDC enterprise
Tel: 0413-330532

Executive Inn
Tel: 0413 - 224422, 330929

Fillo Hotel
Tel: 0413 - 339427

Hotel Jayaram
Tel: 0413 - 227191

Hotel Ram International
Tel: 0413 - 337230 (7 lines)

Red Carpet Residence
Tel: 0413 - 251253, 341812, 253321, 251207

Hotel Sooriya International
Tel: 0413 - 336856, 227485 (9 lines)

Hotel Surguru
Tel: 0413 - 339022 (5 lines), 227290 (7 lines)

Aristo Guest House
Tel: 0413 - 336728

Ajantha Guest House
Tel: 0413 - 337756, 338757.

Hotel Continental
Tel: 0413 - 339501

Hotel Qualité at the Park.
Tel: 0413 - 334325

Hotel Satsanga
Tel: 0413 - 225867

Shanti Guest House
Tel: 0413 - 336473

Kanchi
Tel: 0413 - 335540

Naresh
Tel: 0413 - 339221.

The Government Tourist Home
Tel: 0413 - 358276-78

Yatri Nivas (PTTDC)
Tel: 0413 - 339460

Park Guest House
Tel: 0413 - 334412
Email: parkgh@auroville.org.in

International Guest House
Tel: 0413 - 336699 and 221812

Cottage Guest House
Tel: 0413 - 338434

Places of Interest

Aurobindo Ashram - The main building comprises the houses of Shri Aurobindo and The Mother (Mirra Alfassa, a French woman who accepted Aurobindo as her spiritual mentor and guide and later became his most important disciple). In the courtyard are the samadhis of Aurobindo and The Mother where their mortal remains have been enshrined. Visitors are allowed to visit the samadhi between 8 am and 6 pm everyday. The other places of interest in the Ashram complex are the International Education Centre, guesthouses, libraries and the cottage industries.

Beach - The 1500 metre long beach that borders the town on the eastern side is clean and is an ideal place for swimming and sun bathing. There are two monuments of historical importance on the beach. One is the 4m. tall statue of Mahatma Gandhi and the other is the War Memorial, built by the French in commemoration of the soldiers who died in the First World War. The Light House, which stands 29m. high is further down the beach and is over 150 years old.

French Institute - Situated on Dumas street, the renowned French Indologist Dr. J. Fillozet established this internationally acclaimed institute in 1995. The institute has separate sections on science, technology, ecology, cartography, pedagogy, Indian languages and culture. The Romain Rolland Library has a collection of over 60,000 books, some of which are rare French volumes. The institute conducts research in arts and sciences and is perhaps the only permanent link with France in Pondicherry.

JIPMER - This is one of the foremost medical institutions in the country. JIPMER, which is short form for the Jawaharlal Institute of Post-graduate Medical Education and Research, was established 20 years ago and is one of the most prestigious institutions of its kind in the country.

Botanical Gardens - Just off West Boulevard, the gardens planned by C.S. Perrotet in 1826, have a good collection of exotic flowering plants from India and abroad. There is also an aquarium here, which has some rare species of ornamental fish.

Museum - Opened in 1984, this museum has on display some fine antiques apart from sections devoted to archaeology, geology, sculpture, handicrafts, objects of art, printing and armaments. Among the exhibits on display are the bed used by Dupleix, a palanquin and a pousse-pousse, which resembles a rickshaw.

Churches - There are a number of churches that are worth visiting and one of the most beautiful is the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus located on South Boulevard. It is built in the Gothic style and has three stained glass panels in a corridor behind the altar, which depict the life of Christ. The Eglise de Notre Dame des Anges on Rue Dumas was built in 1865. The church has an oil painting of Our Lady of Assumption that was donated by Napoleon III. The Eglise de Notre Dame de Lourdes situated in Villiyanur on the outskirts of Pondicherry is built on the same pattern as the Basilica at Lourdes in France. The church festival conducted in June every year draws devotees of all faiths. It is probably the only church that has a temple tank.

Temples - There are several temples in Pondicherry that were built by the Cholas between the 10th and 12th centuries. Most of them are dedicated to the local goddesses of the villages where they were constructed. There are also quite a few temples dedicated to Lord Vinayaka or Ganapathy. The Varadaraja temple, built sometime in the 12th century, has inscriptions which tell of a Sanskrit university that existed at Thirubhuvanam. The Manakula Vinayaka temple is also very popular with both the locals and visitors for it is believed that Lord Ganapathy, the presiding deity, favours his devotees with success in whatever they do. The Masi Magam festival held during the full moon day of Tamil month of Masi(February-March) attracts a large number of devotees.

The Thirukameshwarar temple in Villiyanur was built during the 12th century and dedicated to Lord Siva. Thousands of Pilgirims visit this temple during its annual car-festival held in May-June.

Around Pondicherry

Auroville (10 kms) - This city of dawn was designed by the French architect Roger Arger and was started as an experimental commune where people of all nationalities irrespective of caste, creed or religion would live together in harmony.

About 550 people from different countries live in the 40 settlements of Auroville. It is advisable to hire bicycles to look around, as the village is too large to wander through on foot. Surrounded by lakes and gardens, the sphere shaped Matri Information Centre at Promesse the first stop is here, a 25 hectare farm and orchard where organic agriculture has been practised successfully. The produce is used in the kitchens of Auroville as well as the Ashram in Pondicherry.

Among the settlements that attract tourists most are Fraternity and Harmonie, which are the art and handicraft centres. A boutique at Harmonie displays jewellery, hand-made paper and incense among other handicraft items.

Excursion

Tiruvannamalai - Situated at the foot of a hill in Tiruvannamalai is one of the most important Siva temples in the south. The Arunachaleswara temple is dedicated to Lingodbhava or Jyothy Lingam i.e God incarnate as Fire. The tall imposing outer gopurams of the temple are a magnificent sight, conveying as they do, an impression of great dignity and majesty.

Among the contributors were the Cholas, the kings of Vijayanagara, the Hoysalas and the Nayakas of Thanjavur. The beautiful thousand-pillared hall of the temple is noted for its intricate carvings. During the Karthigai Deepam festival celebrated in November-December, a huge flame is lit atop the hill and devotees flock to the temple and to the ashram of saint Sri Ramana Maharishi which is 3kms from the temple.

Sathanur - The dam here is built on the River Pennar and is situated amidst forested hills. Apart from its scenic beauty and cool climate, other attractions are a swimming pool and a crocodile park.

Gingee - Gingee is one of the finest forts in South India. Its origin dates back to the 9th century when it was a stronghold of the Cholas but the fort as it looks today is the handiwork of the Vijaynagara kings who made it an impregnable citadel. The fortified city is built on the seven hills, the most prominent of which are Krishnagiri, Chandragiri and Rajagiri.

Surrounded by high walls, it was so strategically planned as to make enemies think twice before they attacked. Strongly guarded by a triple gate beyond which lay equally heavily guarded courts, the summit of the Rajagiri could not have been easily attained by any of the enemies. Today, the summit can be reached after a two-hour climb, still a strenous task, but well worth the effort. A place of great historic interest, Gingee, no longer an unsurmountable citadel, is one of the most interesting centres on the Tamil Nadu tourist circuit.