Little had I known before embarking on my journey to the Mother's and Sri Aurobindo’s place that I will come across such vistas which will soothe my soul and encounter such inspiring people who will enrich my mind too. Pondicherry is also called Puducherry, the French interpretation of the original name “Puducheri” meaning “new settlement”.
After landing at Chennai airport I was looking for public transport vis-a-vis a bus which could take me to Pondicherry. Browsing on the internet I had realised that one can take a bus on the East Coast Road which takes to Pondicherry with a fare of about Rs 200 rupees while the taxi cab charged 600 rupees per person. With a desire to explore the area, I got out of the Chennai airport and a lady driving the Golf cart offered me help to drop me near the metro station from where I had to catch the bus. Thank god she could understand my language. Since everyone was speaking Tamil, I asked from where she learnt English, she said she could manage with the language as this was her profession. She directed me to ask for the Guindy train station from where I could catch the bus. Metro train ticket was for rupees 40 and getting down at Guindy station, I had to walk for about 10 minutes crossing the subway to reach Guindy bus stand. Here unlike North India, the state owned buses are air conditioned and well maintained. After nearly four hours of journey I reached Pondicherry bus stand and my room was booked in Cottage guest house through my spiritual friend Dr Rajmeet. I reached my room with the help of the receptionist. I was told that I could take meal coupons at 6 am in the morning going downstairs. A 50 rupee coupon gives you three meals a day and that too consisting of banana fruit, cocoa milk, curd etc.
My desire to deliver a research based book of my friend on Sri Aurobindo took me to various libraries in the region traversing through the grand colonial mansions, blessed promenades, boulevards having French names, I reached the Secretariat which was on the coastal area of the sea. It is on Goubert Avenue, Beach Road, White Town.
In a strong contrast from North India, I could simply walk down to the secretariat and inside the rooms of the Additional Secretary to the Government of Puducherry, ADC and other officials. For a few seconds I was taken aback whether I was really in the Secretariat because in North India especially Uttarakhand where I stay, we have to pass through so much of Babudom to reach any official and take prior appointments to meet them and here I was just walking in the secretariat without any appointment. I checked up with the security guard and he said yes I could meet anyone so that I could give the book of my friend Meenu Sodhi on Sri Aurobindo to be kept in the library.
Meeting with the librarian, K Oumabady, was an equally peaceful experience as was the place. He told me many things about Sri Aurobindo and he was elated to have me coming all the way from Haridwar. He said my face resembled the young Mirra Alfassa known to her followers as The Mother and so was all courteous towards me. That library seemed to be very functional as students who prepared for the civil services examination came to access the library books. He advised me to give a copy of the book to Sri Aurobindo’s library as well, for the young researchers who work on the writings of the seer. Overwhelmed, he started telling me about the importance of the place at the time of Tsunami floods, when there was huge devastation and that was the only place which was untouched by the sea waves. The killer tidal waves of ‘Tsunami’ triggered by a series of earthquakes had struck the coastal areas of the Union Territory of Pondicherry in the early hours on 26th December, 2004. Most of the people who had partied hard on Christmas night woke up never to be alive again. But the ashram was intact and so were the residents.
Fact File: Union Territory of Puducherry comprises the former French establishment of Pondicherry Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam which are scattered at different places in the southern part of India. Pondicherry was under French rule for 138 years; in November 1954 French positions were transferred to the Indian Union and it became a union territory. It was only in 1963 that Pondicherry became officially an integral part of India where I was now to celebrate Christmas on 25 December 2022.
The original headquarters of the French in India, Pondicherry is 162 kms south of Chennai. It seemed the original capital of French India was still the little France of India, with much retained spiritual vibes, carrying the French flavor on its roads and public places. I could recollect the French names which I had learnt long back during my graduation in MCM DAV College Chandigarh - Rue for the street, marine meaning the sea and so on. A temple of Ganesha built in Tamil style near Sri Aurobindo’s Samadhi Mandir and the roads wearing French names bore the wonderful combination of Franco Tamil architecture. Skillfully laid down and planned, I walked the clean streets to reach the Auro beach located on the Coromandel coast of Bay of Bengal.
