Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry)

Pondicherry is now known in the Tamil language as Puducherry and was established as the former capital of the French territories in India in 1674. It is located on the east coast of Tamil Nadu and is now the administrative capital of a union territory founded in 1926.

After checking into our hotel, we cross the now dry canal (originally the demarcation between the French and Tamil areas) into the French Quarter; Pondicherry remained under French rule until 1954, and the French Quarter is laid out in a grid pattern.

We visit the Sri Aurobindo Ashram; this is Pondicherry"s best known landmark and is a restful retreat - inside, there is strictly no photography, and absolute silence has to be observed. The focal point for disciples and followers of Sri Aurobindo is the flower festooned samadhi (his memorial) in the main courtyard under a frangipani tree.

Next, we go to the Manakula Vinayaker Temple; this Hindu Temple is dedicated to Ganesha and has walls portraying his 40 different forms. It is very interesting inside, with good music but no photography.

We walk through the attractive French Quarter, with its colonial buildings and street signs in French, to the Goubert Solai, the main promenade along the Bay of Bengal. We walk along this to the Old Lighthouse; close by is the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. We then see the Church of Our Lady of Angels (Notrre Dame) before going to the Rendezvous Restaurant at the top of a building for food. Another good day.Read more