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Footloose in Pondy

Spots in Pondy where you can drift with your mood — take a stroll, stand, stare or simply splurge

PHOTO: T. SINGARAVELOU

DISCOVER PONDY Walk or cycle through

"Peaceful Pondicherry". "Pondy dot calm". Slogans that are clever, catchy and even accurate, if you live, as more and more of us do, in a big rush-rush 24/7 metropolitan city. By its own standard, Pondy is anything but calm, compared to even five years ago. Like rest of the country, the city is in full boom with all the attendant characteristics: increasing traffic congestion and noise (Pondy drivers are known throughout South India for leaning on the horn whenever in doubt), construction everywhere, people thronging the proliferating stores (including a number of nifty boutiques) and restaurants as never before.

But never on a Sunday!

On Sundays, Pondicherry's "Boulevard Town" (the 1.5 square kilometre favoured by history and visitors) reverts to the days before the ECR and the motorised vehicle to when the French flag floated over a sleepy, if pretty, seaside town and the Ashram's sweet Mother went for a weekly drive in one of the colony's few cars. Except for daily necessities, shopping, not yet a national sport, was done in Madras. Lazy trains were the main connection to the rest of India and that too via a junction where connections could be (as they remain today) uncertain.

So, when you come to Pondy to unwind and to enjoy the ubiquitous and distinctive atmosphere of the residual French presence and of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram (whose buildings help protect the French architectural presence), make sure you reserve Sunday for the fine sport of just wandering around. As you might expect, the French have evocative expressions for this - faire une randonnëe or une promenade (to go for a walk, not necessarily randomly) and faire une balade, which means the same thing but also conveys the possibility of getting around on a bicycle (Pondy is flat and perfect for bicycles that can be rented in a number of places) or rickshaw (when you've had too big a lunch or in the heat of midsummer).

Since we're talking about laid back strolling, as opposed to that bane of modern urban life - dashing to a fixed destination, it might be well to give some idea where wandering can be most rewarding without being specific about particular locations. That way, if you see something that catches your eye, you can pause to take it in; otherwise just drift as the mood takes you.

You probably won't regret or rue (which, of course, means street in French) a stroll in rue Francois Martin or rue St.-Louis and its side streets in the Ashram quarter, or along rue Dumas or rue Romain Rolland, where the French first set up in the early 18th Century. Most of these streets are of different widths and are bordered by buildings of different styles, so you can begin to decide what your favourite streets are and where you would like to live should you ever decide to become a Pondichërien.

And Bharathi Park, which links the two parts of the city by the Bay of Bengal, is a place for observing people who - like you - are not going anywhere in particular at the moment but are rather enjoying a large, cool, green space with wonderful gnarled trees and some old stone images of various gods and an adorable Nandi in the northwest corner.

Hungry? Thirsty? Beach Road and the old French Quarter, south of the park, feature food and drinks for almost all inclinations and budgets. If you want to splurge a little, there are about half a dozen new and retrofitted restaurants to choose from. If you fancy a street snack or a cup of tea, Beach Road and the park are where you want to be.

If, after all, you miss the rush of a big city or want a dose of it before you drift off into the quiet streets, head for the Sunday Market. Composed of street vendors set up in front of closed storefronts, it spreads out in the four cardinal directions from its centre, the intersection of M.G. Road and Nehru Street. Peaks at about 10 in the morning. This is about as congested as Pondy gets. If you're from Chennai or Bangalore, you won't even notice the crowd, unless you're riding a vehicle (including a push bike) stuck in pedestrian traffic.

If you go in the cool of the evening, another place you will find lots of people and no vehicles (for the good reason that they're banned then by the vigilant police) is Pondy's classic promenade along Beach Road. People from in and around Pondy (Sunday is the day country folk come to enjoy their big city), and from all over India and abroad have been strolling and power walking this stretch for decades. But come between 6 and 9 p.m. For all its modern airs, Pondy remains a place where most people are safely home well before 10 p.m.

PETER RICHARDS

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