Explore India - Pondicherry (Puducheri)

Asia –} India –} Tamilnadu -} Pondicherry – Ref: PDY0003/TN/IND

Pondicherry:

Puducherry (help·info); Tamil: புதுச்சேரி (Putuccēri), French: Pondichéry, English formerly Pondicherry, is a Union Territory of India. It is a former French colony, consisting of four non-contiguous enclaves, or regions, and named after the largest region, Puducherry. It is also known as The French Riviera of the East (La Côte d'Azur de l'Est). Of late, Puducherry is also considered an educational hub of southern India, having 1 central university, 8 medical colleges, 10 engineering colleges, 3 dental colleges, 2 law colleges, 1 veterinary college, 1 agricultural college, 10 arts & science colleges, & 5 polytechnic colleges functioning within its territory. Many medical and engineering colleges including one national institute of technology and a state-owned university are also reported to be in queue.

HISTORY:


Pondicherry helped in the freedom movement in British India since 1910. Sri Aurobindo of Bengal came to Pondicherry in 1910 followed by patriots like Poet Subramanya Bharathi, V.V.C Iyer and others. In 1918, the British demanded the extradition of Sri Aurobindo and other freedom fighters. The French government did not comply with this. Gandhi visited Pondicherry in 1934 and Jawaharlal Nehru in 1939.
With India becoming independent in August 1947, the citizens of French India hoisted the Indian national flag all over the French settlements. The Jaipur session of the Indian National Congress passed a resolution calling for a peaceful merger of Pondicherry with India. The Indo-French agreement of June 1948 was signed, and the French gave freedom to the French Indian population to choose their political status by a referendum. While Chandernagar merged with India on the basis of the referendum, Pondicherry could rejoin its sister city because of its different system and practice of elections. On 23 March 1954, the Nettapakkam and Madukarai areas joined India and a French India Liberation government was set up on 16 May 1954.
Following the understanding reached between the Governments of India and France, the question of the merger of Pondicherry with the Indian Union was referred to the elected representatives of the people for decision in a secret ballot on 18 October 1954; 170 out of 178 elected representatives favored the merger. The de facto transfer of power took place on 1 November 1954; the de jure transfer on 16 August 1962.


INFRASTRUCTURE:

Pondicherry still retains much evidence of its history as a French colony. The design of the city was based on the French (originally Dutch, the plans of Pondicherry dating from the end of the seventeenth century (1693-1694) are preserved in the National Archives at The Hague) grid pattern and features neat sectors and perpendicular streets. The entire town is divided into two sections, the French Quarter ('Ville Blanche' or 'White town') and the Indian quarter ('Ville Noire' or 'Black Town').

LANDMARKS:

Puducherry is one of the most popular tourist destinations in South India.[citation needed. The city has many colonial buildings, churches, temples, and statues, which, combined with the systematic town planning and the well planned French style avenues, still preserve much of the colonial ambience.
The most popular tourist destinatins are the four beaches in Puducherry, which are Promenade Beach, Paradise Beach, The Auroville Beach and Serinity Beach. Sri Aurobindo Ashram located on rue de la Marine, is one of the most well known and wealthiest ashrams in India. Auroville (City of Dawn) is an "experimental" township located 8km North-West of Puducherry. Auroville is meant to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities.
There are a number of eighteenth and nineteenth century churches in Puducherry as well as a number of heritage buildings and monuments are present around the Promenade beach such as the Children’s Park & Dupleix Statue, Gandhi statue, Nehru Statue, Le Café, French War Memorial, 19th Century Light House, Bharathi Park, Governers Palace, French War Memorial, Romain Rolland Library, Legislative Assembly, Puducherry Museum, and the French Institute of Pondicherry at Saint-Louis Street.

MUST SEE –

1) AUROVILLE


Auroville (City of Dawn) is an "experimental" township in Viluppuram district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India near Puducherry in South India. It was founded in 1968 by Mirra Richard (since her definitive settling in India called "(The) Mother") and designed by architect Roger Anger. Auroville is meant to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realize human unity.

2) Matrimandir



In the middle of the town is the Matrimandir, which has been acclaimed as "an outstanding and original architectural achievement". It was conceived by Alfassa as "a symbol of the Divine's answer to man's inspiration for perfection". Silence is maintained inside the Matrimandir to ensure the tranquility of the space and entire area surrounding the Matrimandir is called Peace area. The Peace area in which the structure is situated is characterized by three main features: the Matrimandir itself with its twelve gardens,twelve petals and future lakes, the Amphitheater and the Banyan Tree.
Inside the Matrimandir, a spiraling ramp leads upwards to an air- conditioned chamber of polished white marble - "A place to find one's consciousness". At its centre, a 70 cm crystal ball in a gold mount and glow with a single ray of sunlight that is directed on the globe from the top of structure. According to Alfassa, this represents "a symbol of future realisation."

BUS ROUTE from Chennai

There are 19 buses in a day between Chennai and Pondicherry. The timing for the buses are 10:30 PM, 11:00 PM, 09:15 PM, 09:45 PM, 09:45 PM, 01:30 PM, 06:00 AM, 05:45 PM, 05:00 PM, 10:30 PM, 11:30 PM, 11:15 AM, 05:00 PM, 09:25 PM, 10:30 PM, 10:30 PM, 10:30 PM, 11:30 PM, 06:00 AM.

Book your seat online - http://www.onlinebustickets.in/bus-from/chennai-to-pondicherry/

Ticket fare depends on the luxury of the bus. Generally fare starts from US$ 6/- (INR 300/-) upwards.

Hotels and Resorts: http://www.hotelstamilnadu.com/pondicherry.htm