Water Therapy

Summer started and so did the big question, ‘Where do we go for a trip?’ Hill stations, with kids who don’t prefer walking, wasn’t a great idea. So we headed to the French Town in India – Pondicherry.

The total distance from Bangalore to Pondicherry is around 310 kilometers. We decided to take the flight to save time. Since our direct flight was canceled by the airline operator, we chose to fly to Chennai and then drive through the East Coast Road (ECR) to Pondicherry. Our bookings were done at a plush resort in Pondicherry Bay in one of their Chalet with Garden View. The welcome was amazing with some cool hats as compliments!

The resort leads to a beach and is just 5 mins away from there. Day one saw us play in the cool waters and fight the waves. The sound of water and the chirpiness of the waves playing with our feet, ahhh… words fail to express the true feeling.

Later in the evening, we visited the famous Manakula Vinayagar Temple, the presiding deity of Pondicherry. This temple is located in the heart of the French Town / White Town. After seeking the blessings, we headed to enjoy the scintillating night view of the Promenade Beach. The long, lit up street was bordered by the beach and some churches and French architecture. The dark sky and the sound of the waves lashing the rocks were soothing to eyes and ears. It is a blissful place for a writer / poet to soak in nature and write about it.

Day 2: We visited the Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville. It was a peaceful visit and the more time spent there, led one to introspection. The heat was getting unbearable and so were the kids. So we decided to hit the waters again. Our cab driver suggested a good boating place and he assured us that the visit would be worth it. So we headed to Pondy Marina that houses the Pondicherry Harbour and booked a boat. The boatmen, who is a fisherman, briefed us about the harbour and told us that now it was a lean period and they are not allowed to go fishing. We could see their boats getting repaired. He took us to an island called the Arikkamedu Dweep (Dweep in Tamil means island). This island, around 2500 years old, was supposedly discovered by the great Chola King, Raja Raja Cholan. He used this island as his harbor and so did the Romans and Britishers who followed.

The island does not have any human inhabitants now except for ruins of a British church. A couple of scenes of the movie Ponniyin Selvan 2 (PS2) were shot here. After our tryst with history we sailed through the mangroves. Wow! What an experience it was!! Having seen such locations only on the National Geographic Channel, seeing it right in front of our eyes was surreal.

Day 3: What is a trip sans adventure sport, right? We reached the Pondy Ocean Park for some thrilling water rides. The ride on the parisal (The wooden circular boat) was an experience for all of us. Later that evening, we went to Paradise Beach which was indeed a paradise. Clear waves that were high even at 3 PM charmed us in their beauty. Voila! We even collected a handful of sea shells!

Three blissful days created memories for a lifetime. We bid adieu to Pondicherry with a promise of visiting her again!

Kirti V