As a Pondicherian it is the open spiritedness that I would like to pass on to people who ask me what is special about Pondicherry.
When someone says we are going to Pondicherry, I always tell them, you should visit Pondicherry during rainy season or when there is cyclone and I feel more Pondicherian in saying it. I still remember my cyclone days in Pondicherry, it is when the complete beauty of rock beach is seen, it is bright and gloomy, with sea breeze and rain, it’s the perfect time to go for a black coffee in Le Café watching the waves changing colours. I have also witnessed the black beauty of the rock beach during late nights, the midnight walk on the beach always reveals the belle vision of “Nôtre Dame des Anges” church facing the fishing boats on the beach. The same Bay of Bengal can be seen from a lighthouse located in Dubrayapet, it is one of the best locations for a bird’s eye view of serene Pondicherry, just a few kilometres from the lighthouse is a great place, a pleasing white desert connecting the beach, some go for sand run, some bring their dogs to give them a bath there, it’s a pleasant place to practice swimming in the sea and it’s a place of togetherness.
The other side of Bay of Bengal stretch takes us to Bodhi Beach or Serenity Beach. This beach altogether gives a different feel from the rest because I used to challenge the waves here, and there is a long walk path which starts from the shore—the path grows long enough with huge rocks holding the walk path on both sides, while one can easily get to the edge of the path and can walk on the supporting rocks to witness the ferociousness and the velocity of the waves. One may even feel a heartful connection with the ferocious waves. The other reason I visit Bodhi Beach is that I can see surfers trying to persuade the waves with their surf boards, sometimes Bodhi Beach also feels like Miami because you can see a lot of foreigners having a great time out there on the beach. I always feel that going to Bodhi beach can lead to a mini trip, though Auroville is just about 10 minutes from there, but when I take that long road with trees on both sides, especially cashew trees, it sure does feel like a mini trip, it will always lead us to Dinesh café, it is usually not known to the outsiders. Its again a place where you sit and reflect to feel the freedom in open space but if it is not Dinesh Café we would end up in visitor centre (Commercial centre) for it’s brownies; and for Aurovillians, they prefer solar kitchen (a community restaurant specifically for Aurovillians). I would say Auroville is the place of open spiritedness because there is something for everyone. The tourists who visit Auroville, they usually come to visitor centre and visit mantri mandir there but they don’t get to experience its silent beauty in late darkness because it’s a place with minimum artificial lights in late evenings, sometimes it is pitch dark and the moon is hidden, and still the calmness of the place can be felt.
As a Pondicherian I have been to almost all the places in Pondicherry, in all these places I have always felt that open spiritedness; and this open spiritedness is the connection I would like to pass on to people who ask me what is special about Pondicherry.
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