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PUDUCHERRY [PONDICHERRY]
IMAGE: Gandhi Square in Beach Road, Puducherry during New Year Eve
Puducherry/ Pondicherry and its heritage.
I am very fond of Pondicherry. I am born, brought up and educated in Puducherry.
After completing my M.Tech, for my career, for a period of 9 years, I stayed outside Puducherry, during which I was not at the same comfort level as that of my home town. Though I used to visit Puducherry on weekends, to meet my parents and relatives, I felt, that was not sufficient and hence, I returned to settle down here permanently.
Its history, heritage, beauty has inspired me a lot for long time. Its spiritual strength is very strong. I have come across people asking me, what is there to see in Puducherry. So for the sake of those people, I have written this blogs about Pondicherry.
There are some places, which I do not like and consider worth visiting and those places I have not mentioned here.
All photographs in this website are taken by me.
PUDUCHERRY IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
FIRST DAY TOUR
1 VEDAPURI & VEDAPURIESWARAR TEMPLE - Reach here by Car / Auto
2 Puducherry - BEACH ROAD AND ATTRACTIONS IN IT.
3 MANAKULA VINAYAGAR TEMPLE - Reach here by Car / Auto
4 GOVERNOR PALACE - Walkable Distance
5 ROMAIN ROLLAND LIBRARY - Walkable Distance
6 GOVT MUSEUM, PONDICHERRY - Walkable Distance
7 CHAMBER OF COMMERCE - Walkable Distance
8 GOVT HOSPITAL - Walkable Distance
9 LEGISTATIVE ASSEMBLY, PONDICHERRY - Walkable Distance
10 BARATHI PARK - Walkable Distance
11 AAYI MANDAPAM - Walkable Distance
12 BEACH ROAD - Walkable Distance
13 WHITE TOWN AND FRENCH ARCHITECTURE - Walkable Distance
14 ANANDA RANGAPILLAI MANSION IN RANGAPILLAI ST.
RANGAPILLAI DIARY. Reach here by Car / Auto
15 STREETS AND NAMES
IMAGE: VEDAPURIESWARAR TEMPLE
VEDAPURI and Vedapurieswarar temple:
VEDAPURI is one of the many old names of PUDUCHERRY. It was then a famous place for learning VEDAS, the sacred text of Hindu religion. One proof of that is the Vedapurieswarar temple, existing even now at the center of the town.
Vedapurieswarar was the presiding deity of vedapuri. Vedapurieswarar temple is also one of the oldest temples of Puducherry Town.
PUDUCHERRY - Time roles on, kings come and kings go and so is the name VEDAPURI. Name of a place changes with TIME and so is the name VEDAPURI.
Once a famous university town, now it’s a fishermen slum, when French explorer steps in South India. PUDUCHERRY – PUDU refer to NEW and CHERRY refers to place. It was initially a fishermen slum, which was cleared to build the present TOWN and hence the name PUDUCHERRY [NEW PLACE]
Hinduism has 2 prominent divisions – devotees of Lord Vishnu and those of Lord Shiva.
Vinayagar, also known as Ganapathi, is the first son of Lord Shiva and Shiva wished that his son Vinayagar be met first before his devotees meet him in his temple. Hence you will find vinayagar statue at the entrance of Shiva temples, including that of Vedapurieswarar temple.
IMAGE: MANAKULA VINAYAGAR TEMPLE
MANAKULA VINAYAGAR TEMPLE:
MANAKULA VINAYAGAR temple is specially dedicated to Vinayagar. Most people in
Pondicherry, when they buy new vehicle, used to perform Pooja here first and then take out the vehicle for a ride.
Also on special occasions like, new year day, devotees used to throng this temple.
Speciality of Manakula Vinayagar temple is that during French rule under Dupliex, he tried to demolish the temple and build a Church over it. First time Vinayagar statue was removed from the temple, taken to sea and dropped in Bay of Bengal. But the next day the idol was there in the Sanctum Sanctorum.
Dupliex tried it second and third time, only to find the incident repeating again and he dropped his plan.
This incident is sculpted in Golden letters on a black tile kept inside the temple premises, just at the right side of the entrance.
Perhaps his earlier adventure of demolishing the Sambha Koil of Lord Shiva and building a cathedral over it boldened his misadventure in Manakula Vinayagar Temple, after which he stopped demolishing Hindu Temples.
But this act alienated him from the native population.
PUDUCHERRY IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
One of the main attractions of Pondicherry is the Beach Road. It’s the pride of the Town.
On one end lies the Kargil War memorial, on the other end lies the Dupliex Statue, around the center is the GANDHI STATUE.
Gandhi Statue, made of solid bronze, one of the tallest and unique one in India, was placed there after the French declared the independence of Puducherry.
GANDHI STATUE, MARBLE INSCRIPTION BEHIND IT,
TRANSLATION OF THE ABOVE:
This landing stage bridge was executed in 1864 – 65 and 66 by Mr. Bontemps, Governor and Mr Lamairesse, Engineer in Chief.
The eight tall beautifully sculpted monolithic pillars surrounding the statue is the war trophy taken from Gingee fort, from where the French once bought Puducherry along with trading rights and paid annual tribute to it.
Landing Stage Bridge refers to Old Port
Behind the Gandhi Statue and behind the Marble plaque lies the Bay of Bengal and some iron rods will be visible over the sea, which is the reminder and remnant of the old port.
The Light House for the old port is opposite to the GANDHI STATUE, whose picture is given below.
Old light house can be seen in the right side of the Gandhi Statue. It is not operational now but during colonial period, it guided the ships passing through the sea.
Le café, the Government Hotel at present, was once the Port / Customs house during the French Rule. The new customs house is also present opposite to it.
French war memorial, lying opposite to and right of LE CAFÉ, has the names of the Indian Soldiers inscribed in it. They fought and died for French in world war.
Walking back to the right of Gandhi Statue is the Chief Secretariat, the bureaucracy of Puducherry Government. Walking little further comes the Kargil war memorial, reminding us of the ultimate sacrifice of our soldier in defending our nation and the dangers lurking ahead.
Chief Secretariat and French Consulate lying close to each other.
KARGIL WAR MEMORIAL - In Honour of our soldiers, who died defending our country in KARGIL WAR.
Governor’s Palace: This is a place of great historical significance. Official residence of the Lt. Governor of Puducherry is the Governor’s Palace.
Governor’s Palace -
The same place was also the Official residence of the erstwhile French Governor, who ruled Pondicherry under French Flag. This Palace was the supreme seat of French Indian Empire in Indian, before Independence.
Surrounding this building lies the ancillary seats of power of French Indian Empire. During the noted Carnatic war, which decided the fate of India, in which French and British sided with Indian princes and fought for supremacy, many important meetings, key decisions, palace intrigues, peace parlays took place here.
Dupliex for French and Robert Clive for British fought on opposite sides. After a few successes and defeats, ultimately it was British, who by tricks and treachery, conquered India.
Bharathi Park: Just opposite to the Governors palace is the Barathi park. Park is open till 7 pm. It’s a good place to take a stroll or sit and chat. A walk in the evening with night lightning will be worth the time.
Aayi Mandapam:
At the center of the Barathi park lies Aayi Mandapam. Aayi Mandapam is the official emblem of the Puducherry Government. It is really unfortunate that a colonial structure built by the French Government is chosen as the emblem of the Independent Puducherry Government.
The name Aayi is a generic name given to ladies of importance. But here Aayi refers to the head prostitute, who during Vijayanagara Empire, built a pond for the benefit of people nearby.
Romain Rolland Library:
This is the oldest, biggest, formal Government library in Puducherry existing since French era. It is said to have original manuscript of some of the rare books like Ananda Rangapillai’s Diary, which gives a day to day account of the history of French Era, during which he was Dubash to French Governor Dupliex.
Government Museum:
Adjacent to Romain Rolland Library is the Government Museum. It houses some of the rare artifacts found in the Archeological Survey of India [ASI] excavation at Arikalmedu and other places nearby.
For history buffs, it’s a must visit place. As also put on display is some ancient swords, draggers, rifles, pistols, canons and other such weapons used in war.
Chamber of Commerce:
It’s a heritage building. During French period, this is the place, where French bought raw materials from Indians and exported it to France. It’s the place where ship’s arrival, departure, piracy and pillage, storms at sea, war and treaties, and other business transactions were discussed.
Some of the documents are preserved for posterity in National Archives.
Government Hospital: It is the oldest Allopathy hospital in Pondicherry. This hospital played a significant role in the health care of Puducherry, reducing the infant mortality rate and increasing the longevity of human life. Now it has evolved into a medical college and hospital.
Legislative Assembly: This is a heritage building and is of great historical significance. When Assembly is not in session, public can visit it. It can be seen that all the colonial power structures are circled around the Bharathi Park.
White Town:
Starting from beach road going towards west till Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Salai [Gingee Salai] is the WHITE TOWN. One can find many houses built on French architecture and the roads are named after the French personalities. Those persons, in most of the cases, lived in that street, at some point in time, or in other cases, the streets are named to honor them.
A canal running between Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Salai [Gingee Salai] and H.M Kassim Salai separates the white town, for the French and Black town, for the natives.
Street Names: Read about these personalities, on whom the streets are named from WIKIPEDIA ! Explore Puducherry and you can find more such street names.
IMAGE: Keeroor Monument
SECOND DAY TOUR:
KEEROOR MONUMENT [above] in the forenoon and BOTANICAL GARDEN in the after noon till evening [ 6 PM ] are the 2 places suggested for the second day tour.
KEEROOR: Independence struggle of French India is well documented in the Keeroor Museum. It houses the photographs, news-paper clips, drawings related to persons and events of French Indian Independence struggle. It’s a treasure trove of information. Photography is allowed.
Even for people living in Pondicherry, it’s a must visit place, at least once. Keeroor Monument lies next to the museum with the names of the village heads, who cast their votes in support of Puducherry joining with Indian Union.
Botanical Garden: Very interesting news about this place is ‘’The film Life of PI was shot here’’. It has a good collection of trees and a serene atmosphere. It houses a beautiful aquarium also.
IMAGE: BOTANICAL GARDEN
IMAGE: Ousteri Bird Sanctuary
THIRD DAY TOUR: Ousteri Bird Sanctuary and the water reservoir for Puducherry. This is a good place for Bird Watching and Bird Photography. Ideal time is early morning, around October to February, but birds will be there throughout the year. Boating is available, when water level in the lake is high.
Arikalmedu: It is the place of excavation site by Archeological Survey of India - ASI. Many excavated materials are put on display in Puducherry Museum. The structure on display is only 1 or 2 century old. It is advised to visit this place in Group and well before sun set, ie before 3 or 4 pm.
Puducherry is a very good place for
FOOD TOURISM and
FESTIVAL TOURISM.
Many Hotels, including some 3 star and 5 star hotels, provide Buffet and La Carte at an affordable price. As taste changes with the change of Chefs, I leave it to you to enquire and go.
Festival Tourism is time-dependent. It depends on the month you are visiting Puducherry. Some of the Festivals, its month of celebration, their Photographs are posted here.
IMAGE: GANDHI STATUE
JAN: New year celebrations at Beach Road, Puducherry.
FEB: Masimagam Festival in Pondicherry.
SEP: Vinayagar Chaturthi Celebrations at Pondicherry Beach Road.
SEP - OCT: Fruit Dolls at display during Navarathiri / Kolu celebrations at Vedapurieswarar temple, Puducherry.
OCT - NOV: Deepavali Festival.
OCT - NOV: Soorasamharam Festival at Puducherry.
DEC: Karthigay Deepam festival celebration at every home in Puducherry.
DEC: Christmas Celebration Christmas shopping stall near Samba Koil.
NEAR-BY PLACES TOUR:
Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary - 100 Km from Pondicherry. It lies around 100 km from Pondicherry in Pondicherry – Madras Bye Pass road. Its advised to visit this place at round 5 AM as bird activities are high and sun light starts coming at that time.
After visiting this place, you can go to Vandalur Zoo. Lion safari is the special feature of Vandalur zoo.
IMAGE: LION @ VANDALUR ZOO
VANDALUR ZOO - 150 km from Pondicherry.
Gingee Fort - 100 Km from Pondicherry. It lies 100 Km from Pondicherry on the way to Thiruvannamalai. It occupies a key role in the history of South India. It’s from here, the French got the trading rights and Land to build fort. The 900 steps King’s fort and the adjoining Queen’s fort tells the heroic fight of Raja Desinghu with the Arcot Nawab and the equally touching story of his queen, who committed SATI, by walking into the fire on hearing the news of his death. Still her tomb is at the top of Queens Hill. There are many folk songs about them.