Pristine Pondy!

Just as we were eating the four cheese pasta at the roof top Italian restaurant Don Giovanni , the jubilant Mr. Max was busy narrating his two decade experience in Pondicherry. To our shock, the different types of cheese in the Pasta were made within the restaurant and one of the cheese  was called in from the blissful Auroville. Every thing that we ate that day- Focaccia, Gnocchi, Pasta and Pizza were part of one of the best Italian meals that I have ever had with everything from the bread, cheese and the sauce being made in house.

The Pondy escapade which was meant to be a jovial and neat bachelor's trip, turned out to be a trip of exotic food, delightful walks, rampant dance, cheesy talks and joyous gyration. It all began on day one when I was mesmerized by the beauty of the eastern coast road from Chennai to Pondy. The moment we arrived at our hotel The Promenade, the glee on the face just got brighter as I saw coconut trees right across the street, with clean water and pleasant wind all around. The Promenade hotel which is a property of Hidesign is one of the best places to reside for anyone planning to visit Pondicherry.

The walk around the territory felt like a collection of colors on a single palette. A flurry of food all around whether it was the pastry at Bakers Street or the Hot Chocolate at Zuka, each one created an impact of its own. The meals were simple yet elegant as we hopped across places like Surguru and Satsang in our short trip. As they say, Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote. Hopping across streets, jumping like mad pandas in the hotel lobbies, dancing like tipsy giraffes within hotel rooms is what ensued. The place ought to be enigmatic if the madness within is floored across every step you take and Pondicherry was indeed a place which aroused the travel chord.

The travel quaff arrives in the form of small joys, like the early morning bicycle ride across the chirpy promenade, the late evening two wheeler to the Paradise beach, the mid afternoon travel to Auroville. Each act wanting to remind you that the trip would end but the clayful memories shall get carried along. Unplanned itineraries might give you short lived irritations but once the trip is completed it gives you unmatched adrenaline of exploration which lasts for a lifetime. Although certain regrets did exist in the form of Auroville and Aurrobindo Ashrama not being visited with proper bookings but there were more interesting folklores of joy than the minor regrets of non planning.

"In the wilderness, I find something more dear and connate than in streets and villages". Pondy was that wilderness which strolled us away from the routine quagmire of our city wherein every moment felt like a trampoline of unbound revelry. I wish to be there again and experience that sparkle again. If you happen to be there, do not forget to put on your shoes and wander around in the deepest of amazement across your Hotel rooms, bakeries, coffee shops, dining experiences, dwindled bicycle rides, rooftop eateries, widened promenade walks, chirpy rick rides, gyrating hops...