Pondicherry is a coastal city located about two hours drive South from where we live. The city was ruled by the French until the 1950s, so has some different street-scapes and architecture than what we see in Chennai. We stayed for a long weekend.
Eglise De Notre Dame Des Anges (a Church).
Enjoying the pool at the hotel.
Statue of Ghandi. Most cities seem to have a statue of Ghandi. Interestingly, I met a lady recently whose father was one of Ghandi's freedom fighters. She had some great stories, that were particularly interesting to Ethan who has studied Ghandi at school.
Enjoying the food. The food was fantastic! Multiple times since our trip to Pondicherry we have rued that some of the restaurants we visited don't have branches in Chennai. Two hours is just a bit too far to drive for lunch.
Determining if the surf might be good. There is a surf school near here.
Ethan returned to Pondicherry later in the year for his school camp. All of the high school kids pick from different options of camps that can take them all over India. Last year Ethan went on a camp that required a solid day of travel at either end - a plane, a train, a bus and a 4wd to get to the location. This year he decided that he wanted to minimise the distance. Ethan picked 'surfing and service' in Pondicherry, and had a great time. I'll write more about his camp later.
At the Matrimandir in Auroville.
I'm not sure where to start with describing Auroville. I've heard some describe it as a cult. I don't specifically get that impression. It's an international community that is based on the idea of 'divine consciousness'. People from around the world of any race can join the community, with the aim that they are creating a cash-free non-religious society. It was founded by 'The Mother' (a French-Indian woman who is kind of like a spiritual guru - she was also involved with an Ashram in Pondicherry that we visited).
About 2500 people live in Auroville, coming from more than 50 countries. And that was the appeal to us for visiting, because they have services that cater to all of those nationalities. There are some great bakeries (which we don't have in Chennai), surfboard shapers (who were born and have lived in Auroville their whole lives, but are Spanish heritage from memory). There are some cool clothes and handicrafts. Great wooden furniture made by a German carpenter.
Having said all of that, the kids found Auroville to be hot and uninteresting, but did enjoy their bakery items and the gelato.
The Matrimandir is a place designed for deep meditation. The residents can go inside, we did not. We did however see models of what is inside. There is a large crystal ball and lots of white marble.
Passing some baby cows on the road.
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