Visite à Pondichéry

FRENCH FLAVOR IN INDIA:PONDICHERRY

History!!!
Pondicherry is an union territory comprising of four isolated small places called mahe,karaikal,yanam and the biggest pondicherry.While rest of India was ruled by the British Raj,Pondicherry managed to retain its French rule till the year of 1954 when it joined rest of India. Pondicherry is very distinct in its French favour even after 50 years of Independence. It has distinct white town and black town each with its own distinct features. It has the unique bi-lingual status where French is a official language along with Tamil.
French street names( Rue de xxx) and an excellent sea promenade it is quite a place worth visiting!!!!

Places to visit!!!
AUROVILLE:
Auroville is also called the city of dawn. This city is still being built. Work on it started in 1968 under the guidance of Sri Ma, the companion of Sri Aurobindo, the great spiritual leader and freedom fighter. The city is a unique venture. It strives to be a model city where people from all communities from around the world will forget their differences and live in harmony as part of the same community. At present the city spreads over 50 square kilometers and is inhabited by about 1700 people, though the capacity is of 50000 people. A circular cover of green surrounds Auroville. The center of the township is marked by the Matri Mandir (temple of the Mother). It serves as the spiritual center of the town. The chief feature of the structure is a 30 meter high globe. The town of Auroville is divided into industrial, residential, cultural, and international zones. Two areas are marked as Green area and Peace area. Auroville is one of the highlights of tourism in Puducherry.


Located on the outskirts this place should be visitied by all religious or not!!

LE CAFE':
This iconic cafe/restaurant has existed on the pondicherry promenade for more than five decades now.Opens early at 4.00 am, its an excellent spot for relishing on that fresh tea and croissant with the Sun rise to all its glory!!!!

PARADISE BEACH:
Located 10 kms out-skirt of the main town ,this is a pristine beach accessible only by boat!!! The 15 min boat ride will take you to this strip of golden sand where one can take bath in sea!!!

Notre Dame de:
Located on Mission Street, this cathedral, which bears a strong resemblance to a church in France, was built in 1791 in the place of a former church. The imposing façade presents paired Doric columns below and ionic above. In front of the church is a statue of Our Lady with the infant Jesus in her arms. The interior design consists of eight barrel vaults and a central dome pierced with eight circular openings.

French War Memorial:
The French War Memorial on Goubert Avenue is solemn reminder of those brave soldiers who laid down their lives, for their country during the First World War. Every year on the 14th July (Bastille Day) the memorial is beautifully illuminated and homage is paid to those brave martyrs.

Goan sunsets!!!!!!

GOA!!!

This three lettered state (smallest in India) is iconic for its beaches,parties and the beautiful people around.From Vagator in North to Palolem in south this little former portugese colony offers heaven!!!! There are already numerous blogs and website scrutinizing every beach,cafe,shacks in goa so i am not going to indulge in the same thing.Some photos clicked by me with my then new Nikon Digital camera.

India:A paradise like no other despite all odds

India.....a multi-cultural diverse nation where things change drastically every hundred kilometers.Despite being an impoverished nation battling with poverty,overpopulation and corruption her natural beauty is second to none.Mother nature gifted this country with some unearthly places. It is truly a incredible place!!!!
The following photos stand testimony to that fact:

places shown in pics are

1.lakshwadeep islands,

2.ladakh lake,j&k

3.backwater house boat,Kerala

4.The Taj mahal

5.Thar desert,Rajasthan

This are only few of the numerous magnicifent and diverse places existing on this country's borders. There are thousand other little known destinations which guranteed to leave one breatheless!!!!

INDIA IN A SENTENCE!!!!

The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, dates back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish in the 12th were followed by those of European traders, beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Indian armed forces in the British army played a vital role in both World Wars. Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU brought independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. Despite impressive gains in economic investment and output, India faces pressing problems such as the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife.

malgudi days revisited!!!

R.k narayan's masterpiece malgudi days was a delight both in written form and when it was televised in early 90s. As a child i loved malgudi days and if memory serves me right, malgudi days was a rage amongst kids in that era.As a child i would often visualize myself in the magical wonderland called malgudi town.

Many years later i had the opportunity of visiting the nondescript village called Agumbe nestled in the sides of Western ghat in the state of karnataka. Agumbe was the setting of our fictional Malgudi town. An overnight journey in bus from bangalore, Agumbe lies in the district of Shimoga and is a stoppage en route to manipal and udupi(important coastal towns).
Agumbe is one of the cleanest and friendliest villages i have visited till date.The small village is incredibly clean and wealthy.Located on the foothills of majestic western ghat hills the view is almost surreal.
Due to its location Agumbe is an excellent spot for trekking,jungle walk and hiking.
On arrival we started looking for our place of accommodation and surprise surprise this is no ordinary lodge or home stay....but the 200 year old mansion of erstwhile village landlord where many episodes of malgudi days where videotaped !!!!
The current owner of the place is an elderly lady called Kasturi Akka(she is on google) who allowed us to stay on the 1st floor of the building ( a huge room) with direct views of the jungle and hills) for a mere Rs 200 ( we were SIX guys!!!!)

Not wasting much time we freshed up and made our way for the hills.

The main entrance to the jungle that leads to our destination is approx 4 kms from the main village.We took an auto along with a local boy .We had our backpacks filled with water bottles,knife,and first aid medicine along with an extra pair of clothes.
Initially i did not understand the density of the forest but slowly as we entered and moved ahead on our trail along the distinct path cutting across the jungle....suddenly i had this overwhelming feeling of being cut off from civilization and being completely on our own.As the forest got denser we realized it has become darker as well. As we continued walking on our path we came across peculiar design of tree bark and trunk.Being a business management student i didn't had much idea about their scientific names or family( i just managed to pass in biology back in school!!) however i couldn't help appreciating mother nature's gifts.
Agumbe is known as "capital of king cobra" and to be perfectly honest i am not too comfortable about serpents and would always keep my eyes open so that i don't run into them.After walking for about three kms on ground surface we realized we are ascending and now the real tough part comes in. However it worked out easier than i expected.It was not horrifyingly stiff and being surrounded by trees shrubs we always had something to hang on.However certain parts were incredibly muddy and slippery and made us pay extra attention so we don't slip.
We encountered some beautiful flora and fauna on our way(flowers,butterflies etc) which only added more value to our expedition.
Destination was reached after 4 hours of walking and trekking and we were suitably reawarded with the majestic view of the valley with the distant waterfall.
The long exercise through the forest had literally made us weak in our knees.
Picture clicked and adequate rest for an hour we decided to head back.This time we decided on an alternative route decided by our young guide who said this one is much more adventurous .Indeed this time around the it was steeper making the descend much tougher for us. Normally descending requires more skill and balance than ascend and making things worst were our tired feets. After the complete descend and walking for a kilometer or so we came across waterfall.The scenic beauty was out-of this world.
Tired we coudn't wait to strip off and refresh ourself.
Body batteries fully recharged we once again headed our way back to our base.After another 2km walk we were finally out of the main forest area. Now we realized we have to walk another 6 kms on the paved road as the auto that took us there has long vanished and we were left with no other option.
So here we go again!!! Dragging ourself for the last six kms we finally managed to
arrive at agumbe!!!
This was an trip which was worth much more than the penny spent or challenges we faced.It was an experience!!!!

great indian train journey

GREAT INDIAN TRAIN JOURNEY

-Sumantra Chowdhury

In India, a country of billion people we have people of different

backdrop , culture and race.

A great meeting place for all this is the Indian railways……since time immemorial or lets say last 150 years, this larger than life organisation…India’s biggest employer has been able to bind the nation together in its journey across India’s terrain.

Its an amazing experience to witness the transformation of the landscape through the tainted glass of two tier coach. Its also not only the landscape its also about the different language signboards, weather and people which has to be witnessed and felt.

Indian railways may be no match for high speed TGV of Europe of bullet train of Japan but it has its unparallel distinct charm which is uniquely Indian and cannot be observed anywhere else. Small things like the different hawkers sellers who board the train to sell all kind of abstract things from mobile chargers to cheap appetizers…making the journey colourful and refreshing for a traveller.

However the best part of an Indian train journey is the friendship you make with your co-passengers which is very meaningful without any string attached. A companion for the solitary journey whom you probably won’t meet again in your lifetime. The bond that is made in that quick time is priceless.

You may never know how a co-passenger whom you ideally meet on your journey can change life forever…ideally for the better. A lesson can be learnt and new things can be appreciated from new retrospective ways. The cliché attached with our cosmopolitan city life can be shrugged off for few hours and observe the quaint lifestyle in pastoral settings.

Trek to Savandurga

Savandurga or 'fort of death' as its name suggests is the largest monolith hill in Asia located in the state of Karnataka and 60 kms from Bangalore.
Its known for its steep terrain and its rich history.It was the second capital of kempegowda reign .Ruins of that fort remains testimony to an era long gone.

After much research on internet we( 5 students of M.S Ramaiah College,B'lore) decided to spent a night on the top of the hill. Hence we made adequate prepration.

items listed below:

1. Tent

2.Adequate torch and emergency light

3. kerosene

4.Butcher's Knife

5.Sand

6.Dry Food

7.Nylon wire

8. Water

9.Dry wood

10.carbolic acid

we had one day for all the shopping as we planned the entire thing on friday and left on Sunday.

The route was prepared from internet....where all the information is being gathered....we finally prepared to leave.

TRANSPORT
Direct bus is available fro K.R Market Bus stand but we took a bus from Majestic to Magadi road bus stand to Magadi town.
From Magadi Town small tempo are available which we took to take one to the foot of savandurga hills .

It took us four hours in total to reach Shavandurga.
Being a Sunday there was quite a crowd there mainly Pilgrims as Savandurga is known for its temple at the top.

The Trek

Savandurga is knowm for its barren steep rock which makes it a difficult climb.
We had added woes in form of sudden rain and the huge load we had to carry in our back to make our night out.

We started by 12.30 and we reached the top not before 5.00 pm as rain played quite a spoilsport.

I especially remember the last leg of the climb was most difficult as it was almost vertically tilted and to make things worse we dint had ropes to held on to.

After reaching the top it was a sigh of relief words can't explain. We had to immediately get into work to bring out the tent and arrange woods for camp fire.

As the Sun went down the sparkling light from down below made all of us engulfed in its beauty.

We cooked maggie(instant noodles) and boiled eggs for dinner and slept at the tent only after being drunk in nature.

As the sun rose to its glory the next day we remained a witness to all its splendour.

We came down the hill next day around noon and made our way back to b'lore.

It was definetly one of the most rewarding experiences of my life for just being an unconventional weekend!!!!