Summer Soulstice @ Enchanting Pondicherry – Part 2

I can’t begin to describe how thrilled my confidante was on the day she received her ticket to paradise – at least that’s how she described it.  Her first step towards a stairway to heaven, so she said.  I couldn’t fathom what element it was that fostered her happiness, but it made me smile too.  The rest of the day elapsed in a blur of feverish excitement, as we turned towards another part for visiting places in Pondicherry.

Paradise Beach

I remembered visiting the Promenade from the day before.  An idyllic setting, worth a memory recall.  We went there again, across the long stretch of beach, not crowded as we expected.  There were cars parked at the White Town from where we made a breezy stroll to the beachside.  I vaguely remember sipping a hot cup of coffee which is quintessential to Pondicherry.  There were beach bums who chomped on soggy French fries and slurped on colas.  I couldn’t resist chuckling at the peculiarity of French fries not being French enough in a French town.  A few metres away, sat a couple immersed in a romantic escapade as common to most beaches.

Gandhi statue

A leisurely sunset walk showed us the way to the prominent French War Memorial.  We also stopped by the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in front of which we took a few snapshots.  After all, it is the largest Gandhi statue in all of Asia.  The Square in which the statue stands is known to hold cultural events, but we didn’t attend any.  From a distance, we could see the Old Lighthouse and what we think was the statue of Marquis Dupleix.  The beach was a long stretch, almost a kilometre and a half away.  Too indolent to walk all the way there, we stayed put on this side of the beach.

After a leisurely dinner and a Tambola Night at the resort, we decided it was bedtime.  My eyes stayed open for a while, as they usually are in anticipation of newer visiting places in Pondicherry the next day.  The next morning we had the driver take us around the city, to complete whatever was left to be seen.  I mean, what was left in the touristy sense of the term, though we intended it not to be a touristy trip.

We started our day at Sri Aurobindo Ashram, in the central city, quite close to the French Town.  The ashram is unlike Auroville and is known to have once housed Sri Aurobindo himself.  A quaint cottage that now holds a “samadhi” of the saint.  There are strict rules and timings to be adhered to, and complete silence to be observed.  You are silently led through a cottage and into a courtyard where people silently meditate around marble shrines.  The samadhi is covered in fresh flowers whose sweet fragrance permeates the nostrils.  You tend to fall in line and sit quietly, absorbing the peace that silence and sweet smells beckon.  My friend, she shut her eyes and felt into what I think was near deep sleep as her face lines smoothened and breathing evened.  Perhaps I’d even heard a snore.

Soon after, on our way out, she stopped to pick up a few holy pictures from the little souvenir shop that most sacred places are known to have.  I watched her touch what she explained were the “lotus feet’, reverently drawing her hands to her eyes and doing all the religious bending and bowing customary to devotees. 

The next stop was at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  It is among the 21  Basilicas in India, approximately two kilometres away.  Not surprising that it was set up by the French missionaries in 1908 having been conferred with the status of a Basilica only in 2011.  Its exquisite Gothic architecture had us enthralled.  As we sat down and stared up at the high ceilings, we felt an awe that comes with beautiful carvings.  Gothic it was, typical of French architecture which I recall from my visits to the Notre Dame and other sights of France. The French connection yet again.

Tranquillity at Botanical Gardens

Next door were the Botanical Gardens which boasts of an aquarium with exotic sea life as well as a variety of rare plants species from all around the world.  As we walked through it, we couldn’t help but marvel at the beauty and bounty of nature.  And Pondi seemed to be blessed with it all.  The feeling of being lucky to catch these sights emerged in seeing natural creations.  Indeed, God’s canvas.

The good thing about visiting places in Pondicherry is that most sights are within proximity of each other.  Barely ten minutes away was the Sri Arulmigu Manakula Vinayagar Temple.  It has the shrine of Vellakkaran Pillai, also known as Lord Vinayaka or the famous “Ganapathi”.  At the entranceway, we were “blessed” by an elephant which my friend assured would do us good.  The humongous “blessing” cost us Rupees 10/-, oh for the commercialization of Gods! Sigh.

Sri Arulmigu Manakula Vinayagar Temple

This colourful temple is nearly five centuries old and has an architecture to reckon.  It is primarily known for its golden chariot and ornately carved stone walls.  Quite vibrant and crowded, it has stalls selling “prasad”, prayer thalis, gaily colourful garlands, bangles, chains, trinkets, etc.  For those who worship that God, the frames and little idols could serve as memorabilia.

As we made our way inside and rang a few temple bells, we were offered “tilak” and “prasadam”.  There was a board offering prayers and “abhisheks” to be offered on devotees/ behalf on certain days.  Each at a different price.  But this was not what I had in mind for a soul-enriching holiday.  Apart from the novelty of the elephantine blessings, mine was not a ceremonial journey but one of exploration.

It was time for a leisurely lunch at La Chateau in White Town, where we enjoyed some wine and grilled prawns in butter garlic.  I noted that the wine was chilled to the exact temperature as recommended, which isn’t common to the tourist restaurants.

Interior of Church of Immaculate Conception

We then saw the majestic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception with its Portuguese architecture and the golden statue of the Jesus Christ.  We followed this by a visit to the Old Lighthouse, after which we took a sunset walk down Paradise beach. Having had a long day, we returned to the resort, ordered a light dinner from room service and then retired for the night.  We knew my friend had to sleep early to be able to wake up on time to set out on a spiritual journey at Auroville, which is recommended to be done alone.

She woke up at the crack of dawn, took along a packed breakfast, which was pre-ordered the previous night.  She set off for Auroville to explore the place on her own, but I accompanied her as there was nothing  I could do on my own at that hour.  It was an unknown town, but with frequent travellers as us, there was no fear of losing one’s way.  Just an anticipatory feeling keeps one from being cocksure though.

After having dropped my friend at Auroville, I turned back towards the hotel.  It was a good 28-30 km away, but I wisely used the time in admiring the early morning sights.  With not many people awake at the time, it was refreshingly calm to hear the sounds of nature without any interference by noisy tourists or honk happy traffic. 

Auroville

As for my friend, upon reaching Auroville, she was driven to the starting point where a film depicting the lives of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother was shown.  She was walked past exhibits depicting their journey.  Soon after, a minibus was arranged, to take them to Matrimandir, which was ten minutes away.  As they arrived at the destination, mobile phones and other belongings were placed in lockers at the entrance gate itself.  Someone led the people on a slow walk, to soak in the sight of the Golden Dome at close quarters.  This is something I missed. They were then silently ushered up a gentle marble slope and sat around a massive crystal in the centre.  This was the Centre point of Matrimandir.  Incidentally, this is not a “mandir” per se, but a meditation zone.  There must have been around fourteen participants in all.  No one spoke a word, and whatever was expressed was done through silent action. They sat there for a while, soaking in the quiet surroundings, and of course, the sheer magnitude of the crystal seemed to hold a power of its own. An energizing power.

Soon after, they were provided socks to wear and taken inside and up to what is known as an inner sanctum.  It is a meditation chamber of sorts.  They entered a bright white room which had two rows of large soft cushions spread on the floor.  It was a circular room, one that was right under the dome.  It was dimly lit, which allowed them to close their eyes with concentration, to feel the energy in the room.  Some described that they could sense a presence and even went so far as to attribute it to being The Mother.  No one will ever know, but the feeling of being blessed by a holy presence must be quite something.

Auroville Township

She told me that it was for less than ten minutes that they were in the room, but those minutes apparently stood still.  Breathing slowed down, and when it seemed like she was the only person in the room, there was a pat on the shoulder.  Time to move said a voice.

Everyone emerged with a grateful heart and followed the others who lay flat on the ground or hugged a tree. She sat under a tree too, for a while, until it was time to be ferried back to Auroville and after that back to the hotel.  Tears glistened in her eyes as she described the gratitude that she felt.  In fact, many people visit Pondicherry every year to experience spirituality with a difference.  Having said that, most of them visit for commercial reasons or purely to tick off a place from their to-do list.  To merely check the majesty of the Matrimandir, which only a few go to lengths to stand in queues to pick up passes for an experiential tour of what’s called the “City of Dawn”.

The best part of our trip was that two heads got together, conversed on various topics ranging from religion to spirituality, science to metaphysics, politics to literature.  We discussed books and authors, cracked jokes, solved riddles, sang and danced, dined and wined like there was no tomorrow.

A journey with a friend with divergent backgrounds and viewpoints contrasting can be mind-altering and soul-stirring. A wonderful link to explore more would be www.pondytourism.in