Introduction

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller

I chose to quote travel writer Henry Miller because his one line summed my experience of visiting Puducherry. In my vertical growing years I had visited the seaside tourist town but never alert enough to imbibe its sights and sounds completely. Now as an older and more horizontally expanding adult, I was determined to digest everything (even if it was for just a short period) and rediscover what Puducherry meant to me.

My steed of choice- the Nissan Micra, equipped with the XTronic CVT gearbox and in a shade of lovely cherry red, which as you will see in the photos, seemed to blend in with the shade of the East Coast Road. Its compact dimensions and auto box meant we were easily able to navigate all of Puducherry’s ancient and historical streets without losing a single beat. Keeping in tow was my sister-in-law who was our tour guide and the magical hands behind the lovely pictures that you see in the feature.

Image credit: Ashima Shenoy photography

On the East Coast Road

We left Chennai city at 7:30am and thanks to the early hour and ‘warm’ April morning temperatures, we were able to hit the East Coast Road in just under an hour. We soon began to see buildings and locations that each marked the different stages of what the outer boundaries of Chennai city were in the past.

I still have clear memories from more than 20 years ago of my father driving all of us in his golden Premier Padmini to the restaurant outside VGP Golden Beach every Sunday morning to feast on idllis, dosa, pongal and samabar that for some reason always had large pieces of boiled ladies finger floating around in every cup.

This memory sat so clearly in my head as I passed the VGP resort and now non-existent restaurant because at that point of time I could not possibly imagine someone living this far away from the city centre, a belief reinforced by the fact that I could hardly see any forms of civilisation beyond the resort. Now though, the route is dotted with a plethora of commercial establishments, houses and botanical nurseries that cater to the many villas that have sprung up along the way.

Having been on the road for a while now and quite famished, we decided to stop and grab some breakfast and made our first halt at Sangeetha Restaurant near Muttukadu. Despite the early hour, it was this stop and having to get out of the car that made us realise the effectiveness of the Micra’s climate control. This prompted us to set it at a comfortable 23c for the rest of the trip.

Coming back to breakfast, despite now embracing the full Mumbai life, I am still a Chennaite at heart and so took the rare opportunity to demolish a guilt-free mini-meal complete with filter coffee and sooji halwa.

We hit the road after stuffing our faces and were soon rolling on the ribbon-smooth tarmac of the East Coast Road blasting our way to Puducherry. We also found the 2-DIN music system quite good as it was quite effective in playing the bass heavy music that my sister-in-law had loaded up on our travel playlist.

As we raced past the turn-off to Mahabalipuram a.k.a Mahabs, we found quite a few spots on the way, to stop and take pictures of the car. It was during one of these halts that I took a moment to reflect on my surroundings and for the first time noticed that the sky above us was almost a cartoonish blue. It had been a long time since I had seen such a clear sky.

Having done a chunk of my driving on the hilly roads of the Maharashtra, it was a pleasant change to enjoy some of flat roads of the Eastern Coast all the way to town.

There was a brief moment that we experienced just before civilisation came into full force where we drove through some beautiful tree-lined stretches. The Xtronic CVT gearbox which had been a little slow to respond on the fast stretches came into its own as we were able to keep comfortable cruising speeds while also being able to admire the scenery that sped past us.

Image credit: Ashima Shenoy photography

Welcome to Puducherry!

Our first sign that we had reached the famous former French colony apart from the sign boards and toll booth was a giant arch with the words welcome to Puducherry in English and Tamil.

We crossed over and soon made our way to our hotel which was located in the modern part of Puducherry. After checking-in and dropping off our luggage, we made our way to the lovely promenade along the rocky beach. It was a sight to behold even after so many years and it still looked as lovely as ever.

Image credit: Ashima Shenoy photography

Doing touristy things

We parked the car in one of the quaint little inner streets and made our way to the legendary Le Club restaurant to grab a quick brunch before heading off for some sight-seeing. Perhaps, it was our timing or just the fact that it was not meant to be our day as the food turned out to be quite mediocre and we left the restaurant quite unsatisfied.

We drove around for a bit sticking mostly to the French quarter as going to the other side was literally like being back in Chennai City. In a physical sense, the French quarter and the more modern Tamil side are separated by a series of small bridges which pass over a canal. It is perhaps one of the most symbolic representations of the way the city has expanded itself to suit the needs of its burgeoning population while maintaining its beauty and French splendor.

Deciding to come back once the sun got a little lighter, we made our way to the famous Auroville commune about 12km outside the city. We drove back to the East Coast Road and soon took the turn that would lead us to Auroville. However, about 25 minutes into the journey, we discovered that we were just going round and round in circles thanks to the lack of road signs and very similar looking foreigners riding Bullets or mopeds.

This little excursion on the off-beat path also gave us the chance to make full use of the Micra’s comfort oriented suspension. Except for a few major potholes and bumps, we did not feel much of the disturbances in the cabin. It also seemed to reveal the fact that NVH insulation for the cabin was a good package.

Back on the road, we re-plotted our course and finally made it to the entrance of Auroville only to reach the parking lot and be told that we would have to park outside and walk around in the main campus. Not wanting to bake some more in the heat and having seen the beautiful Matri Mandir in the past, we left but not before making two stops. The first was a dairy where we purchased some freshly made cheddar cheese and then at a small Italian restaurant where we munched on some wood-fire pizza and fresh orange juice.

By this time, the sun had reduced its intensity giving us the opportunity to head back and explore more of the French quarter. As we reached the area near Bharthi Park, I spotted something familiar and comforting. For years, there had always been a solitary book store that as far as I can remember was always conducting a 50 per cent of sale on its books. The younger me always saw many books over the course of innumerable visits but was always hesitant to buy anything due to the price and size (that is not say that that I did not get most of what I wanted). Now, with my own funds in hand, I was excited to go out and purchase as many books as I could and not have to worry about cost, content or even size.

Our day ended on a rather funny but cute note. After enjoying some good dinner, we approached the auto stand near the beach to head back to our hotel. After fixing a ride, we got in and were about to leave when a black dog climbed in with driver.

On enquiry, we found out that the dog named Kaurpah (Tamil for black), was an active member of the rickshaw stand who kept the drivers company and woke them up if a fare came by during the wee hours of the morning. He has been under their care for the last 10 years and in a real sense seems to have earned his badge number and khaki coat. It’s another story that he refused to pose for a single photo for us and got extremely uncomfortable when we made second and third attempts to click him leaving us to keep him in mind and heart rather than on a memory card.

Image credit: Ashima Shenoy photography

Back to Chennai

We left Puducherry at 10 am and had planned to visit the Aurobindo Ashram and Church of Sacred Heart as the last destinations to visit before we headed back. However, the oppressive heat and foodie nature of our family meant our ultimate destination was a fine foods restaurant called Baker Street on Bussy Street. It was a bread filled paradise and a must visit for anyone with an obsession for carbs.

Exiting Puducherry, we hit the East Coast Road and sped back to Chennai the same way we came. Having got a hang of driving the car, we were able to cruise back in a lot more comfort thanks once again to the climate control and diminutive proportions of the hatchback. What we found a little lacking in the package was the response of the CVT box with regards to fast overtakes on the single lane setup of the East Coast Road. The rubber band effect commonly associated with CVT boxes and higher amount of traffic than the previous day meant I had to plan my overtakes well in advance before executing them.

Image credit: Ashima Shenoy photography

Where to stay and what else to do in Puducherry

We stayed at the Citi Business hotel located on Nidarajapayer Street. It has clean rooms, good tariff, allows you to books rooms online and most importantly has basment parking. There are more expensive hotels on the promenade which have better amenities and obviously an incredible view of the sea.

Apart from all the places that I have mentioned you can go without an agenda and just roam around the French quarter to soak in the surroundings and enjoy the old world charm of the area. If you do not have a vehicle, the auto service is pretty efficient but you can also rent out motorcycles and scooters from various shops across the city at very nominal prices.

Image credit: Ashima Shenoy photography