My Trip to Pondicherry……..
How about the adage 'Well begun is half done'...... I agree with it.... but yea... on the contrary.... wouldn't really agree with the converse.... coz that's how the story, a non fictional account of my trip, or for that matter my 'first' trip to Pondicherry is framed...
A trip that was planned, but not so planned a month prior to the departure date. Ever since I had come to work in Mysore, and then to Bangalore, I had one thing stuck up my mind - A Trip to Pondy.
As it would be expected out of me, I planned this trip as a trip that would be a part of my life that I have lived in Solitude. But was later joined by my good.. and first new friend @ college, Nishant.
The day arrived, and I had all planned up, with prints taken of places worth a visit, beaches worth a 'day' and restaurants worth more than a 'bite' (Information collected after hours of googling plus info provided by a friend). Worked early... from 6 in the morning until 2 in the noon.. and left for home.. while parallely staying in touch with my companion for the trip... Nishant. Packed up.. got ready... and there I was....on my way to the 'BUS STOP'...taking for granted ... that I certainly would get a 'few' options to choose from. But the dream didn't last long and I found myself, right in the middle of the chaos @ Bangalore Bus Stop....
Nishant.. still on his way from Mysore....
I just held my calm.... stayed in peace.... even after realizing that a bus to Pondy.. was not even a 'distant' dream...and suddenly... some one tried to help me.... I was told that I could take a rather not so uncomfortable detour and reach Pondy Via some place called 'Vellupuram'. and So... I waited for Nishant @ Platform 17 to inform him about the same.. and never bothered to book the 2 seats on the bus to Vellupuram .. After all who on the planet could have thought that even those tickets might just be 'House Full'...
After Nishant had his touch down.... I informed him... and then spent some effort that was going to be 'futile'... to get just 'TWO' tickets on ANY bus to Vellupuram... not even pleading would have helped 'm sure.... The trip was already seeming like a 'MISSION' by now... but ME... was just determined more than any thing ... to have my breakfast.. the next morning in 'Pondy'....
After enough of those efforts.... We decided to head off to the 'RAILWAY STATION'... just across the road (lucky us.. and thank those planners :-) ) and try our luck at the other medium... Post enquiry... we figured out and concluded that our only ticket to our destination was through 'INDIAN RAILWAYS'... and there I was.. @ 11 in the night.. standing at the 'GENERAL TICKETS' Queue @ Bengaluru Railway Station.... and yea. I surely felt like the luckiest person on the planet after realizing that I was the last person to have gotten the tickets from that window for the day... Yes.. right after me... It was game OVER for all behind me... :-)
Hungry like any thing... we headed out to Comesum @ the Station.. and just filled ourselves with whatever we could find... and rushed back to the station....
On reaching the station... we just rushed to the platform 'fearing' missing the train.. the day that it had been... it was 2340 Hrs by this time..@ the platform... we looked for the TTE... and tried speaking to more than just a couple of them.. looking forward to get one of those AC Berths for 'any amount'.. We desperately needed some sleep... but... the day that it had been.. we could have guessed what was in store... ONE REPLY from all of them 'NOTHING'S AVAILABLE'....and were asked to board the 'General Car'
We didn't know how to react to it... but.... finally boarded it... looking for relief... I called a friend of mine. 'Ady' to know what he would have to say.. knowing our position... we did nothing but..'laughed' our miseries....:-).... there's a saying 'misery hardly has friends..'.. and here I was... defying it.. Nishant....Ady.. were my answer to it.... we kept standing all through the journey... to get off the train for a while @ a station @ around 3 in the night... I needed caffeine.. Nishant sat at one of the benches while I was
busy fuelling my passion for clicks..yea.. I was busy clicking.. and drinking coffee... tired of the current cab... we changed to another one.... which was relatively 'vacant'.... As the train left that station... we just found some place around the gate...and sat right there... slept off... and the next time we were in our senses... was 1 hour from that time.. at around 0415 Hrs... got off the train on the next station.. for my next shot of caffeine... came back... and kept standing @ the gate of the moving train... while I also indulged in
clicking some pics... coz as I would say... when you are doing some thing.. good OR not so good... make the most out of it... :-)
I spent my time clicking the scenic beauty.. the sunrise... all of it... even through the tuff time... I was liking it... each bit of it... it was only around 7:30 ... when we reached Chennai Railway Station.. and found it to be 'as expected'... tough to deal with... and from there on... the one hour that we spent in Chennai... was... as we had known it... tough on all fronts... the weather... humid to the core... the people.. let me not say much here... and the language.... an issue in itself... actually... what I said... was a mere understatement....
Realization didn't take much to strike us again... that we were not destined for a comfortable journey.. and So.. took a local bus to Pondicherry... We were told that the journey generally takes around 3 and a half hours, on boarding.... tired... we slept off after getting seats pretty much far off from each other.. and it was only after a couple of hours ago.. when we managed to find 2 seats together, I moved there, with Nishant... It already was feeling like eternity since we started our trip from Chennai... but again.. a glance at my Cell phone helped me realize, it had hardly been 3 hours and we had to wait more...
We just sat there.... without any surplus energy left and already discussing about our plans to book our return tickets for Monday night.
Finally... this part of the journey was done with... and we reached Pondy.. Safe but 'not too' sound :-)... and headed off to travel agents... one after the other.. to feel...as if we had been in a chakravyuh (in case you don't know what it means... its Hindu mythology.. and mom's could be asked for help :-) )
Looked for tickets... air tickets from Chennai.. but just nothing would work... we shouldn’t have been surprised... finally we decided to book the tickets for Sunday, cutting short our journey by a day.. and even after that compromise... I took time coming to facts with we guys only barely managing tickets for not a VOLVO but a regular bus... but at least we had some way to get back... We just headed to a hotel thinking we would get some thing, but as it had to be... there were JUST NO A/C rooms available in
Pondicherry... at least the part that we knew and searched for... Compromising.. we settled for a Non A/C rather shady hotel, which seemed to have earned its brand name for the fact that it had a swimming pool with a coach... and we paid for a pool which we didn’t USE ...
If this story has started sounding as that of a 'lost battle'... well.. here's where there's a twist and actually loads of twists to the story.... We showered... got ready and moved out at 4 in the noon.. in the Humid Pondicherry weather.. looking for food.. and I was so desperate for some good French cuisine... that I
just wouldn’t stop @ any place.. even though I had hardly even nibbled any thing since the last night.
Finally, after enquiring from a couple of good 'Aussie' guys, who reached back for their travelogues, we were able to figure out a French place to eat at 5 in the evening...as not all places serve at that hour of the day... and yea.. not to forget.. a couple of 'American' females also tried helping us... but all they could guide us to were bakery shops... (and I was in no mood to have burgers or sandwiches for .. lunch.. breakfast.. or whatever I may have called my meal)...
We reached 'Satsanga' and ordered for some nice Italian and French cuisines.. and were happy to finally get some good food.. though we were practically alone at the restaurant.. which is 'house full' during lunch and dinner times.... After feeding our appetite.. we moved out... and decided how to 'plan' (yes, this part was planned since ever) as to where to go... and split it between the 1 and a half days.. so we finally.. sat at the Promenade... had a walk at it... realizing.. the importance of not being 'Single' and Nishant realizing the fun that 'beaches' have to offer. He had since ever not been a 'beach' guy... more of a 'hills' guy....
Walking and observing couples.... age.. irrespective.. just sitting there..and seeming to have the times of their lives... right there... was good.. felt nice.. it was as of.. it was all in the air.. though it was humid... it wouldn’t really matter... not to us.. and certainly not to the 'not so single' gang....
I wanted to.. so Nishant came along... to almost near the foot of the 'Light House' and he certainly was awestruck by the structure... me... having climbed up a few while my childhood.. could recall those days... and we walked back again.... and all through the way...
I had been messaged by a friend who frequented 'Pondy' and had been told about a few places to eat at... and Hotel de Pondicherry was on the top of the list.... It wasn't a planned rendezvous with 'Hotel de Pondicherry' but rather some thing I would term as 'serendipity'... I entered some place.. not even knowing if it was an eatery or a hotel or a handloom kinda shop.. just to find myself standing at what I would have then called 'heaven'.... for the Pasta treat that I was in for.... yea.. we ordered Pasta with
veggies.. and to club it up with 'mind soda' and 'lemon soda' (non alcoholic).. yea... who would have imagined some one in his early twenties ordering non alcoholic beverage on his first trip to Pondy.. but we were defying it all... yea... and the food.. and the drink... just tasted like ... like... well PASTA... the way it should be...
We just felt like sitting there.. but I had so many places on my list.. to visit for meals... that I just wanted to but not wanted to move out.... After moving out... we just took a good stroll... which just was soo relaxing... and then got back after roaming around in the French area aimlessly for a while...
Reaching our room we just didn’t feel like staying there... but the tiring journey.. had taken its toll on us... and we slept off... only to wake up around 7 in the morning. hit the shower again.. and took an auto to 'Auroville'... the Global Village... Its a concept.. more than a place.. conceptualized by the 'Mother' (Sri Aurobindo's Mother)..where people would come in and settle down.. forgetting about the worldly religions ..
We visited the Matri Mandir... but yea.. it only happened after waiting for around an hour... but that was a well spent hour at the cafeteria... we had coffee... which tasted amazing..
The Mandir was some thing that reminded me of 'King Midas' with gold all over the dome.. it surely is getting funded.. and getting funded well... It was more than mere smooth juxtaposition of natural beauty and man made wonder.... :-)
After getting done with it... we headed back to the visitors lounge @ Auroville.. and went ahead with shopping... shopping for a friend of mine who had 'ordered' me for some thing :-) and other souvenirs plus gifts for close buds...
As soon as we got over with it.. I was again desperate to hit a beach... that had been my motto after all... motto behind coming to Pondy... (of course.. so was the French architecture and food)
And we were off to the 'Auro' beach... about the beach... the photographs.. certainly speak for themselves.. don't they? I had fun.... fun... and more fun there... Nishant also discovered the power of WATER... and acknowledged it... We had our fun bit... staying amidst the turbulent waters... and following it up with having Watermelon at the beach.. and then the Beach Castle.... which I made.. with considerable help from Nishant...
We initially had planned to stay at the beach until around 2 and then head off to Cafe` Rendezvous for lunch.. as was suggested by my friend... but then ... Nishant... got too much attached with the place.. that he wouldn’t move... and I wouldn’t have been more in Sync with his thoughts... I wanted to stay as well.. and there we were... sitting at the beach.. enjoyin the ruffled water more than any thing... until 3..
@ 3.. we just had to rush back to our not so good hotel.. and had to check out...
We reached the hotel... got ready... and were on our way to see more of the place... the place that I had already fallen in love with... the French Architecture.. the culture.... the beach.... I had been loving it all.....
We just headed.... in our trademarked unplanned manner to the French area... for some more of the great food... and went straight off.. to a bakery..we had discovered a night ago... it was one of those French bakery shops.. and there we were... Nishant... or for that matter.. no one would have thought I was serious when I told him about my plans of trying out practically every thing they had to offer in the dessert and pastries section....
Starting with the regular Salted stuff... I graduated to the pastries.. and yes... I actually tried out every thing....every thing that they could have offered... and topped it up with an ice cream shake.... that was a meal... awesome is how I felt....right after I got over with it..
As soon as I moved out of that place.. I was already planning to get my hands on some more restaurants.. of course.. I had missed on Cafe Rendezvous for lunch and I couldn't have afforded to miss it out completely.. and so I had it on my mind... Cafe Rendezvous... NEXT :-)
After again exploring the place for a while... We headed out to the place.. and had our meal there... Chicken cooked in Wine ... and topped it up with cold beers... It was just getting bigger than it could have been...
After getting over with the meal.. we had around an hour and a half to spare... with our bus.. scheduled to depart at 2215 Hrs... we had to rush... after all.. I had to GO to HOTEL DE` PONDICHERRY again....
We headed to HOTEL DE` PONDICHERRY ... ordered for our fav... Pasta with Veggies.. and our trademark @ that place... lemon sodas.... more than one for both of us... by the time we got over.. we had around 40 mins in all to reach the Bus Stop.....
And yea...If it wouldn’t have been any of close buds like Nishant.... the other person would have gone crazy about the fact that I was clicking pics.... with 25 mins to spare...
yea.. it was 2150 Hrs...
I decided to say good bye to that place.. but was confused about one thing.."How on the planet can I get to the bus stop in so less time? " considering... that finding an Auto at that hour was tuff... I was justified in thinking so...
We finally.... reached the bus stop.. paying extra to the auto driver helped.. he drove like yet another Juan Pablo Montoya...:-) and we were there.. 5 min to spare...
That was when.. Nishant .... decided to try his luck at the Volvo tickets... and he... was surely in complete Sync with the country that we live in...
All he did was... paid a premium...(just to make it sound refined) to the bus conductor..
and asked for 2 tickets... with 5 min for the bus to leave... we realized that we had been banking on credit cards... which would be rendered useless.. and I sprinted to the nearest ATM... and got back in time... we raised the stakes even more.. and finally... got the tickets....
"Money Actually Shouts" at least some times...
We boarded the bus... waited it to make a move ... to just be on the safer side.... and yes... The Volvo Rolled..
and I ended my journey speaking a line to Nishant "All's well that ends well......"
That was my account..... My account of my trademark unplanned planned trip to Pondy....
but yea.......for that girl..... reading this..... yet again..... "I'm not unplanned all of the times" :-)
Have a look at my album......
Disclaimer : Any thing written or the view expressed above are solely that of ‘my mind’.
I may ‘as a person’ therefore, in no way be held responsible for any thing in part or
thereof…..:-)
© Anshum, Pondicherry - 2006
