People, heat and humidity! These are the words to
describe my trip to Pondicherry. This doesn’t mean I did not enjoy the time out
there in Pondicherry, a town tucked away on the Eastern seaboard of India. This
is the former French colony and almost always referred to as ‘Pondy.’
We (We, as usual, referring to I and my hubby) reached
the place on December 25, yes, Christmas Day! Thought we would celebrate
Christmas there. So, as soon as we reached the place, we rented a two-wheeler
from the hotel and went directly to Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. And
imagine what we found! Beggars and beggars everywhere…The church has some
beautiful architectures but people had made the place so dirty that we didn’t
want to stay there for long. The first thought that came to my mind at that
point of time- why the church was not properly maintained? I mean, for God’s
sake, the church is being listed as one of the top tourist places in Pondy. People,
like us, who rely on Google and Lonely Planet to do some basic research before
visiting any places would come to the place for sure. And what would they
find?? Litters and loitering beggars everywhere, Hmmm…Disappointing!
Anyway, our next stop was again a church, this one is called- Eglise de Sacre Coeur de Jesus Church. I liked this church much more than the first one- a pink coloured church with attractive stained glass panels, and to our delight, much cleaner with no litters and beggars around. We sat inside the church for some time and tried to imbibe the peace emanating from the place. J
After wandering for quite some time in the so-called
French Colony, characterized by small lanes lined with colourful buildings and
shops, we headed for the Promenade. Oh, how thrilled we were to see the vast
expanse of water! So much worth coming to Pondy for this only! We couldn’t wait
to go to Paradise Beach after seeing the first glimpse of sea. Before that, we
had breakfast at the famous Le Café to quest our hunger and more so, refueled
our energy for the next destination.J Nice view of the sea from this
restaurant, could sit there for eternity to enjoy the breeze and the view. But
with so many people thronging the place and waiting for anybody to make the
tables free, we could not be so selfish. So we left the place and drove to the
main place for which we went to Pondy-The Paradise Beach.
OMG! I had heard that this beach is an isolated one
where fewer people visit. But to our horror, we found a long line of peoples
waiting to buy tickets for the boat that would take them to the island beach.
Adding to our woes was the hot and humid weather which was proving too much for
people like us who hailed from the northeast part of India and who had been
staying in B’lore. Hmm…what can we do but wait, so wait we did. After standing
in the line for more than 1 hour, we finally boarded a boat and reached the
beach. And what a Delight it was! Oh, I so loved the place, the water, the
sands, everything. We played in the water, took snaps, watched people playing,
and sat there for long just watching the sea. Then, a sudden fear hit me by
thinking that the water which we were enjoying at one moment can turn out to be
destroyer in another second. Just thinking how powerful natural forces can be
gave me goose bumps. Tsunami, earthquake, cyclones and other natural forces can
destroy this beautiful earth in a blink. But, who are to be blamed for all
these? Obviously, we are the culprits who have disturbed the earth’s natural
environment for our selfish interests. Who gave us the right to play with
nature and disturb the natural cycle. We urgently need to adopt some practices
to reverse all these and follow them to the core.
Coming back to the original track, we bid adieu to the
place after spending a really wonderful time and headed to our hotel to get
some needed rest. Next day’s plan was to go to Mahabalipuram. In anticipation
of another nice day ahead, we hit the sacks after having a French dinner at one
of the French restaurants in French Colony. So many French things going on J
which is obviously normal since we are in the "The French Riviera of the
East."
