Pondicherry Reveries

Everything that you imagine about France is everything that you can seep in the French town of Pondicherry, situated along the Coromandel Coast.One could find it really daunting to perceive all the French aura mirroring in the architecture, the happy-go-lucky faces, the mouth-watering wood-fired pizzas sumptuously drifting in the air when these are the minute things that adds to the hustle bustle. Yet, somehow all these little things sums up the benevolent memories of my visit there.The flight to Chennai was a long, tedious journey leaving me all weary, but all the happy, hazy memories strike good feelings anyway. Chennai to Pondicherry was travelled on car. One must be very delighted to fathom every intrinsic details of the Coromandel Coast- long rows of coconut trees, the enticing dry, sandy winds and wide-spread salt farms are random sights to behold.And when the highway twisted to the ancient town of Mamallapuram, my family and I nodded to stop over there. Mamallapuram is a new name for our tongues, it had always remained Mahabalipuram for us. Even if the name seems new, this historic town never lost its ancient charm.Be it Mahabalipuram Light House or the Shore Temple or the Golden Beach, each monument was a scoop of delight for the eyes. Visiting the bewitching Light House for viewing the breathtaking panorama of Mahabalipuram and the heavenly merging of the sea and the sky definitely did not fail to leave us open-mouthed.Time hardly favours anyone. We had to steer to Pondi on that day, and adding to our utter surprise was that that the iconic Beach Road was made into a walking zone. And sometimes strolling in such a serene, tranquil place in a random evening can stir up a plethora of indelible memories.The waves lashing on the lava rocks of the Promenade Beach, the dimly flickering blue and yellow lights, the broad streets flanked by huge mansions the White Town and the cafés, the illuminated Gandhi Statue and the shops lining the footpaths are such scenes that drafted an inexplicable joy in each our hearts. It is a kaleidoscope of bustling town, hard to grasp still.Auroville is another marvelous destination, although a few kilometres away from Pondi. The Golden Maitri Mandir was a humongous temple situated amidst a big plot of land. One could walk or use a cycle to reach there; I suppose as long it’s eco-friendly, you’re allowed to explore this area.The journey was not as long as this post (if you consider it). Even in such a tightly packed routine while balancing jobs and family life, on top of it, vacaying was the last option in my parents’ mind. Changing their minds to enjoy life was, indeed, a shocking but welcoming idea.Well, Pondicherry just doesn’t merely holds travel memories now, it helped to bridge the uncontrollably extending gap between my family. And if learning is a part of travelling, I guess, my ma and papa learnt that there’s more to life than monotonous and mundane jobs in offices, and so did I.