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Once a French colony, handed over to the Indian government in the early 50's, Pondicherry today is a Union Territory. It is still resplendent of the French influence, complete with colonial facades and red kepis (caps) and belts worn by the local police. A number of French citizens are settled here along woth others of different nationalities. French restaurants, alliance Francaise, the French Consulate General and a few hotels like Hotel de Ville render the French flavour to the town, making it appealing and unique to those visiting. the town is divided into two distant halves by a canal ; the Ashram side and the local Tamil section. The tradition of segregating it into two halves has been carrying on since the time of colonization ; then it was known as the French (or white) side and the Local(or black) part of the town.

Today, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, is responsible for greatly for the increasing popularity in the tourist sector, Indian as well as Western. Started in 1926 with hardly a few rooms in hand by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother ( a citizen of France who worked in unison with Sri Aurobindo for an ultimate goal and philosophy), it has grown in number and spread enough to virtually occupy all of one side of the canal. There are various departments belonging to the ashram which engage in creative productivity such as Hand Made Paper, Perfumes, Incense, embroidered goods, marble works and many more. Some of these for instance, the incense and flower paper are recognised for their superior quality and have buyers coming from across the world for export. The main ashram area is the Samadhi, where anyone can visit and pay respect to the remains of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. It is imperative to maintain silence and not dis-respect the mood prevailing in the ashram. Opposite the samadhi is the ashram school where you may be able to catch a film or a cultural program put up by the children or professionals. The announcements for all such activities taking place is put up on the notice board in the samadhi itself. They also conduct special tours daily, taking you through all the different sections, gicing you a look behind the scenes as well as offering the final product. Another option to the conducted tour is hiring a cycle, buying a map of the layout from the Ashram reception and letting down your hair as you cruise along the empty roads. Ashram establishments are easy to recognise as they are mostly grey and have the characteristic symbol made on the outside. Over a couple of days, it will be possible to independently explore and find out all that Pondicherry has to offer. Since, there is still not much traffic on the ashram side, cycling is fun and easy, letting one take a break from the combustion and smoky exhaust of the automobile world.

However, the minute you cross the dividing canal, things look very different and extremely chaotic. For a first timer it would seem as if people have nothing to do here save shopping and riding on cycles and mopeds, owing to the endless lines of shops and the glint of two wheeler metal parked alongside. The main market area lies on Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Street, which like the rest of the city has smaller lanes cutting into the main road at various points thereby creating lots of exploring opportunities for tourists with as many chances of getting further away from the starting point. But owing to the overall planning, you can never really get lost since there are four boulevards which envelope the town ; it does not take more than half an hour to walk from one boulevard to the next. Other than the ordinary day to day goods, it is possible to obtain items unique in this part of the world. Different stationery items made out of hand made paper seems to be a favourite with foreigners while the leather goods and pottery from Auroville are not far behind. Marble figures of animals and Gods, wooden crafts, fabrics and eco-friendly t-shirts, perfumes, funky hats and silk paintings, wall hangings, and of course the normal gamut of Tibetan and Kashmiri handicrafts....all available in boutiques of various shapes and sizes, catering to all kinds of budgets. Some of the more specialized are Kalki, Boutique de Auroville, Arhandicraft and Hideout. if you're looking for good books, you can find them at Vak which also specializes in spiritual readings and Alliance Francaise which offers a good selection of French Publications. Books pertaining to the Ashram, written by or on Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, are available at Srabda, opposite the main Samadhi. There are also a number of interesting shops dealing in antiques of all kinds like old carved furniture to gigantic stone figures and ancient ornamental bronze statues. These are ordinarily found hidden in some of the side streets, though not difficult to spot once near by ast hey usually have large pots and statues placed outside due to restriction of space. Owing to the large foreigner population within and without the city, it may be difficult to obtain the price in mind, although they are open to negotiations. Another place worth visiting is the Pondicherry Museum and the Government Park opposite the Governors house which makes a great afternoon stroll as it's shaded canopy gives enough protection from the hot Pondicherry sun.

The Post and Telegraph office is on the Rangapillai Street while the tourist information office is on the main beach road. This is however not the ideal information haunt as they are not too helpful. A safer bet is to strike up conversation with any of the residents who are only too pleased to be of help. Most of the stores sell a particular brand of postcards made in Auroville called Joy Postcards. These are full of life and humour and quite unlike the ordinary poor quality paper insults that qualify as postcards all across the country. They are a bit expensive going at Rs.10/- per card, but well worth the buy.

If you want to visit the factories of many of the Auroville products, pick up a directory from Boutique de Auroville and just call the propreitors listed in the book, each under their own product. Most of the time, they are willing and welcome visitors ; however due to the increased tourist invasion in the last couple of years, the residents of Auroville are finding their privacy trifle invaded. Auroville is actually the brainchild of the Mother who wanted to have people representing all nationalities living in one place in peace and harmony. Inaugrated in 1968, it has grown in leaps and bounds and occupies a sprawling area, interspersed with the local villages. The residents, mosly foreigners, have undertaken experiments with solar power and energy, education, re-forestation, architecture, agriculture, and small scale sectors. The soul of Auroville lies in the heart of the Matri Mandir, an incomplete structure as yet, although visitors are allowed to see the massive globe like edifice daily at 4:00 p.m. Once you have seen the inner chamber with its beautiful crystal ball and spell binding white columns shrouded in mist, you can come back any other day at 5:00 p.m. and sit for meditation in the same room. The distance between Auroville and Pondicherry is hardly 10 kilometres and to get there you can either hire a taxi / moped / cycle or take a bus (it will drop you 3 kms away from the Visitors centre).

While at Auroville, you must try some of the exotic items from their bakeries like Cheese cakes and Apple pies. They have specific timings and it is better to be sure of them if you are making a trip specially. In Pondicherry itself, there is no such bakery, although ordinary cakes and cookies are available literallyat every corner. However, some places like The Cottage Industries, Mithai Mandir and Honey Dew specialise in Indian sweets, the Kaju toffees being a favourite. Some of the other restaurants specializing in French cuisine are Rendez Vous and Le Cafe - The French Restaurant. For Chinese, try the Blue Dragon or Penguin Restauarants, and for Indian, the rooftop Ajantha or Aristo, make a nice night out by the sea. Due to a minimal tax levied on alcohol, Pondicherry is a boon for those who like to drink and it is not uncommon to find people coming from nearby places to have a merry weekend. Many tourists prefer to opt for the simple food available at the Ashram dining hall, where you get large quantities of wholesome, nutritious and spice less food, three times a day, for Rs. 45. the coupons are obtained from any of the ashram guest houses or the dining hall itself. Another establishment called Hotel Qualithe serves excellent meats amd cheap beer in surroundings which although unrenovated have a certain ambience with their wicker chairs and friendly staff. They also offer decent lodging right next to the park speaking of which accomodation in Pondicherry is never a problem unless you come during one of the Ashram Darshan days when it will be impossible without prior reservations. Starting from any of the Ashram guest houses ( International Park, Shanti, Sea Side Cottage) to hotels like Ellora, Ajantha, Aristo and Hotel Mass. It is far better staying in one of the Ashram guest houses as they are not only cleaner but also more peaceful and without the constant interference of the hotel staff, so characteristic of most hotels in India.
Getting from Pondicherry to any other part of the South is not a problem as there are excellent bus services available as well as enough travel agents to make air/rail bookings, Chennai onwards. Chennai itself, is only 2.5 hours by road, through open farmlands and thick forests of casaurina and coconut plantations. Some of the other places of interest around Pondicherry are Kanchipuram, Chidambaram, Kodaikanal, Madurai, Tiruchirapallai, Thanjavur and Kanyakumari. Any place in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh or Karnataka is only an overnight journey away. Another place excellent for those who want a bit of adventure alongsode is Gingee, where an alternative to going to the forts by road on the three different hills, is by actually rock climbing to reach the summit. Not too easy, make sure you don't go alone, unless you're an expert climber. Within Pondicherry itself, its best to be independent with your own cycle or then rely on the services of the many cycle rickshaws and auto's. Most of the rickshaw drivers are in an alcoholic stupor by dusk and thus it is avoidable to uset hem as far as possible.

Pondicherry is the kind of place where you are comfortable spending a few days or maybe shifting bag and baggage for a lifetime as many of the residents have done. It is unique in the way it has been structured and fortunately has been able to maintain most things which go in its favour. One does not necessarily have to have a spiritual outlook or be a devotee to be able to enjoy the atmosphere, although one cannot deny the presence of a strong spiritual force reverbating through the people and the institutions.