Pongalcherry Part II & Auroville

After our arrival in Pondicherry on Thursday and having settled into the hotel we set off on foot to explore, it was great to be able to walk. The atmosphere and architecture around the seafront and adjoining roads could be described as Gallic with many shuttered and colour washed houses, French road names and the odd 'Bonjour' to be heard every now and again.

We found a good (by Indian standards) park in the Government Place and Ellie & Luke enjoyed themselves while attracting alot of friendly attention from all the Indian Pongal visitors.  However, if we had thought that Pondicherry was busy on this day then we were totally unprepared for Friday. In my previous Pongal post I referred to Friday as the day that families have days out and visit one another...they also it seems come to Pondicherry...thousands upon thousands of them!  We were mobbed wherever we went, us and the children must be in photos on hundreds of mobile phones and cameras.  In defeat we retreated to the Promenade Hotel and pool and watched the throngs from a safer and quieter distance.

We did attempt to visit Auroville, the City of Dawn www.auroville.org (if this link doesn't work click on the title)but the visitor centre was closed for Pongal. We were able to walk through the grounds to view the golden dome, however the children attracted more attention from the hordes of visitors than the place itself, so we didn't stay as long as we'd have liked.  In a nutshell Auroville is probably the most New Age place anywhere in India where around 2000 people of all nationalities live in communes in a forested area of some 50 square kilometres.  We planned to visit again on our way home but then heard that in preparation for a visit by the Dalai Lama this week, security was being tightened and visitors have to book a day in advance.  Next time.

We managed to find one of the temple elephants and were all blessed by him.  You give him a coin and then he touches your head with his trunk.  Neither Luke or Ellie were amused at all though!!

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Pongalcherry Part I

It was with great anticipation that we embarked on our first 'out of city' trip to Pondicherry (aka Puducherry) the former capital of French India on Thursday morning.

I'm still trying to decide whether it was 'a mistake' to go during the Pongal Festival or 'an experience'.

Once we finally left the hectic and rubbish strewn area of Chennai called the East Coast Road and, just past Mahabalipuram the views from the road became more typical of the India I first enjoyed about 10 years ago...rural villages, beautiful farmland, rice paddies, cows grazing in fields and not in rubbish, mango and cashew groves, an even poorer life than we already bear witness to day in and out but, dare I say a prouder one.

Here, the cows were being bathed and having a damned good wash in the rivers as the traditional Pongal festival dictates before being painted and elaborately decorated and then being taken into the villages to be ceremoniously paraded, ridden and tamed and the children looked happy and playful. The houses, although basic and simple were immaculately kept.

Finally we arrived in Pondicherry. First impressions? Less busy and chaotic than Chennai. Cleaner. More organised. Less People. Pavements you can actually walk on without breaking your neck or ankles! I had imagined it would have a lovely beach...and if you count big black boulders as 'lovely' you're in for a treat, otherwise forget it.

We tried to check into our pre-booked hotel 'The Promenade' as it's name tells you right on the front overlooking the Promenade but there was a problem...we booked adjoining rooms...one for us & and one for the kids...only they don't actually have any, but of course it wasn't their fault. So we argued the toss for a great deal of time until an intelligent manager, requested for by us, the staff would not have dared to call him otherwise(!) arrived to smooth things over.

"I have just the right room for you at our sister hotel Le Dupliex, just around the corner". And he did...steeped in history this hotel was originally the residence of The Lord mayor of Pondicherry, took 4 years to renovate and was a true boutique hotel. The atmosphere, service and food were all terrific and it was close enough to everything to walk, if only we'd remembered to pack the pushchair!

The downside (for anyone speculating that we may 'go' for a 3rd child can definately cancel their bets right now, this VERY minute) was sharing a room with our lovely (grrr) son, who, imagine this through well gritted teeth, thought it highly hilarious that he could see all three of us...fast asleep...at 5am each morning and then found it great fun to shout "Heyo Eeeii, Heyo Mummy, Heyo Daddy", until he had us all awake and playing his game. With his batteries fully recharged he wreaked havoc until, oh yes you guessed... just about half way through breakfast when he'd crash and burn to re-charge once again, leaving the rest of us shell-shocked and tired.

Happy Pongal!

This week Tamil Nadu celebrates Pongal and its New Year.

Pongal is a harvest festival that is celebrated in Tamil Nadu on January 14 and festivities continue for four days.

The first day is named Bhogi, at 3am tomorrow (Tuesday) morning Hindu's get up and bathe they then clean out their houses and make a bonfire of all the useless rubbish they have accumulated over the year and they pray to Indra, the Rain God. (Expect a fair old smog in the morning!) they will then draw spectacular Rangoli at the entrance to their houses.

The second and main day is known as Surya Pongal is dedicated to the Sun God. The newly harvested rice, jaggery, cashew nuts and dahl along with milk is cooked in a new clay pot until the mixture boils and spills over. The boiling over of the 'Pongal' is symbolic of plenty and signifies that the harvest will always be good. Each family member will eat a small amount of the mixture and sprinkle the rest around the house as a prayer to the Sun God to bless their house.



The third day is Mattu Pongal when cows and bulls are honoured as they are the main source of sustenance for the farmers. Milk suppliers decorate their cows with clothes and ribbons and their horns are painted, they are then taken to visit all the houses to bring all good luck.

The fourth day is Kannum Pongal when family members visit each other and enjoy days out. In some of the villages bull fights are held and money is tied to their horns as a way to tempt unarmed men to fight them.

Luke's school held a Pongal celebration today where we all watched the boiling and spilling over of the Pongal. We then ate a small amount, shame Luke fell asleep because it was delicious and I'm certain it wouldn't have been half as tasty had it been left, so I had to finish it. Rude not to!