A Girl in Puducherry

Trips with friends are a big no-no in our family and Solo trips are just a myth! Wherever we go, we go in a bunch of 5 people… me, my parents, and my younger siblings. Two people from the lost generation, two teenage kids, and me, a 20-something trying to fit in. Recently I've been trying to figure out a way to have a trip without my family. One day this perfect opportunity knocked on my door.

One of my cousins planned an "only cousins" trip to Pondicherry! At first, my father was not a fan of the idea but my mother and I found a way around it. And finally, I was all set for Pondicherry!

Pondicherry is known as the White Town of India. It is one of the most colourful places I've ever seen. To reach Pondicherry we travelled via train (Chalukya express). I boarded the train at Miraj junction. I'll be very frank; I am not a fan of public transport. I and my family have been too far and wide places in India and we've (almost) always travelled with our private vehicle. The part I was most scared and disgusted about was the train.

Even during the pandemic days, the train was running with full occupancy. People were not wearing masks and hygiene was an old wife's tale! Due to last-minute reservations, we couldn't get an AC couch and so the general couch, the COVID, the people, and everything were overwhelming for me. I have a self-diagnosed mild OCD. I like clean things, I become a hygiene freak at times, I wash my hands a thousand times a day, and I can't stand the smell of myself sometimes! Imagine my agony and irritation on that train. It still gives me chills (and disgust). 

Even worse things become bearable and enjoyable if you have good company by your side. Fortunately, I had great company with my cousins. We are almost the same age, and from the same family background and that made us bond quickly. I was finally going on a trip with people of my age! After the train part, the entire journey was memorable (until I had to board the train again for the return journey).

The best time to visit Pondicherry is October to March. We took a risk of going there in July. Fortunately, the weather was not terrible. The city was covered with clouds but there wasn’t any rain, which was a relief. We stayed in Nomad house. It is a hostel in Pondicherry and it was the first time I was living in a hostel. (I know I did a lot of things for the first time.) There are a lot of hostels in Pondicherry and the rates are reasonable. We booked bikes for wandering around and the exploration began.

We started with Auroville. Auroville is a place in Tamil Nadu which is just 12 km away from Pondicherry. It is an all-religion, all-gender praying centre founded by The Mother (Mirra Alfassa). Filled with lush greenery, the tranquillity of the place can calm down anyone. The sphere-shaped Matri mandir is at the heart of Auroville. It is only open to true devotees and meditators. Unfortunately, we could not visit the Aurobindo ashram due to COVID’19 restrictions.

After the calming journey to Auroville, we decided to explore the cafes in Pondicherry. Pondicherry has tons of beautiful cafes. The colours and décor are so vibrant that it captures you. My favourite café was Café de Arts. All these cafes in Pondicherry cater to authentic French dishes and drinks. Pondicherry was ruled by French people for a long time and their imprints are still seen. All these cafes are situated in the French colony. It is a colourful and bustling place. You get lost in the lanes and the colours.

While we’re talking about Pondicherry, we cannot forget the beaches. There are a lot of beaches in and nearby Pondicherry. We visited three famous beaches there: Promenade Beach, Serenity Beach and Veerampattinam Beach. The sand on these beaches is different from the beaches in Goa. It was very soft and rich. The most surprising and good thing was the beaches were super clean. We spent some memorable time sitting on these beaches, talking about life, the future, family and whatnot. To this day those chats on the beaches make me smile and cry simultaneously.

I spent two days completing my scuba diving course with Temple Adventures. The entire experience of that course gave me a different perspective on life. I have written about this experience in detail you can read it here.

In total, we spent 4 days in Pondicherry, which were some insightful days of my life. My heart was heavy while leaving Pondicherry. I promised myself that someday I’ll be back and reunite with this beautiful place. Hoping for that day to come soon!