Since childhood, I have always feared mass water bodies, so naturally, swimming has been a big no-no for me. And yet, there I was, at the edge of the pool at my swim school, pondering why I was forcing myself into this torture. But I had decided to give myself the experience, so in I went.
The trainer told me that I’d learn “bubbling” on Day 1. By the end of an hour, there were some bubbles, but a lot more coughing, sneezing and spitting.
“It’s simple! Inhale above the water surface, and exhale inside the water!” my trainer instructed, and I thought, ‘Wow! Wasn’t swimming supposed to be difficult?’. My surprise was short-lived, but probably not shorter than the duration I could stay inside the water.
I don’t know how to describe it in words. Actually I can! It was very scary. I was super frightened. You know how people say, “Live like every breath counts”. In my experience, bubbling is literally living out this saying.
You go inside the water, and you feel all this pressure, from all sides. It feels like your world is crashing down, but for some reason you’re still supposed to bubble!!
An account of my trip to Pondicherry, the Little France of India, and what all we did in a two-day laid-back trip.
We? Well, my siblings and I – an elder sister and a younger brother – went on our first-ever trip together. And boy! was it a memorable one?! This was my third time visiting Pondicherry, so naturally, my siblings bestowed upon me the title of “city guide”. Little did they know that my memories from the earlier trips were at best blurry and that they were soon going to regret their decision (but that’s for later)! 😛 We celebrated our small reunion at the Chennai airport on a February Friday morning and started our journey to Pondicherry, courtesy of Uber InterCity!
I don’t have a picture but it’s still vivid, my first imprint of Pondicherry: a glimpse of the bright blue sea, peeking through a maze of towering coconut trees forming a guard of honour to welcome us into the coastal city as we drove through the only concrete present in our green surroundings. Well, that’s how we were greeted into the city!
We passed the hustle-bustle of the day-to-day life and went straight to the city’s heart – White Town, an experience in itself. Demarcating the town from raging waves crashing at its shore is a rocky coastline, with a broad street running along and forming the perfect spot for a promenade in the evening. Lined up in geometrically aligned streets and painted in beaming colours, its French-styled villas inundate the town with a cheery vibe. And for the foodies whose hunger isn’t satiated by the architectural and natural beauty, the town has its many cafes and restaurants in store for you!
Promenade Beach is just 5-minutes walk from most of the hotels in White Town. Photos by theunravellingyarn.
So with our growling stomachs, we dumped our bags at our room in Petit Palais hotel and rushed to get some food.
Here’s where my experience came in handy. We went straight to One Rue Suffren and quickly ordered my tried-and-tested dishes. The restaurant has also got some North Indian options. But seriously, do your tummy a favour and order their Grilled Fish with Butter and Parsely. It was too delicious to be not mentioned here!
(If it’s not too hot, get outdoor seating and enjoy the green views from the balcony.)
Next, we went to the beachfront and just sat on the rocks taking in the views. The sound of water rhythmically crashing onto the rocks and receding is unbelievably peaceful. Later on, we even dared to climb down the rocks to get closer to the sea and had a little fun with the water. 😉
Tired from our flights and the 3-hour drive, we concluded Day 1 with a dinner at Villa Shanti and went straight to bed. We crashed early on Day 1 and woke up too late on Day 2 (yes, facepalm). So to make up for the lost time, we hurriedly got ready and booked an auto-rickshaw to Serenity Beach (it’s a 20-minutes drive). Upon reaching, just move past all the boats lined up on the beach, and you’ll see the vast entirety of the sea in front of you. In the scorching heat (yes, even in February) just the sight of bright blue water soothed the temperatures.
Yes, we were laughing at my brother’s wind-styled instant mohawk.Serenity Beach is a fishing beach, so you’ll see a lot of boats here.
There weren’t a lot of options for food on the beachside, so we came back to freshen up and then headed towards Coromandel Cafe (one of the best restaurants in town – I can literally go back to Pondicherry just for this restaurant). Along with a grand ambience, Coromandel Cafe boasts a plethora of seafood and dessert options, and offers a great range of drinks! It’s a must-try cafe, and the Seafood Spaghetti is a must-must-must try dish! 😛
After filling our tummies to the brim, we walked to the beachfront (yes, again! It’s that enjoyable) and treated ourselves to some ice cream. You’ll find a lot of dessert and snack options on the street along the coastline.
God knows what I was explaining my sister with so much concentration!
After taking some rest at the hotel, we had our dinner at Le Dupleix (try having an early dinner here, otherwise their service can drive you crazy – thankfully we already are too crazy, so it couldn’t affect us much :P). Though it was a bit expensive, the food was super delicious! If you’re a fan of weird combinations, do try their Bacon-wrapped Crispy Prawns! (was too busy going crazy that I forgot to click a picture 😦 ).
On day 3, we woke up at 5 am with a mission to catch the sunrise. And I can only say that it was worth waking up early! Each of us just picked a rock and sat there taking in that memory – a cool breeze blowing your hair, waves playing touch and go with the rocks, and a ray of light breaking the dawn. After an hour, the sun rose above the horizon and shone brightly, chasing the darkness away from every corner and everything felt alright!
We only had until 2 pm in Pondicherry before we would have to go back to Chennai to catch our flights, so we decided to visit the Auroville Ashram. But for some reason (basically my hazy memories), I confused it with Aurobindo Ashram, which was just walking distance from our hotel while Auroville was a good-50-minutes drive. So very enthusiastically, we walked to “Auroville Ashram in White Town”, and upon reaching, the looks I got from my siblings, I don’t think I’ll ever forget them. I know I was guilty as charged! We roamed here and there, visited a nearby museum and finally decided to prepone our checkout and visit Auroville on our way to Chennai airport.
31 Celcius degrees is not too much, right? Wrong! It is! It’s too hot if you have to walk for two kilometres to see the MatriMandir in Auroville Ashram (and that too from a distance). But the 100 years-old Banyan tree, whose branches crawl vertically into the ground, made the walk unforgettable. On our walk back, we bought some Kairis, which saved us from dehydration and the intense heat. So, we got saved by Kairis? Well, Kairis, and then the three scoops of ice cream and a glass of orange juice each one of us had at one of the cafes inside the campus.
I peacefully slept the entire 3-hour drive back to Chennai airport, where we said our goodbyes to each other. It was a small trip, the first one ever with my siblings, but it was a fun-filled one (or rather a food-filled one)! Combining all my three visits to the coastal city, I don’t think I have much left to see in Pondicherry, but I can still go back to sit on those rocks and watch the sun go up right in front of my eyes!
Ella was a final year undergrad student, top of her class. Shy, introvert, she mostly just kept to herself. You could always find her buried in her books or with her only friend, Noreen. Ella wasn’t very good at talking with people, but her scripts would speak volumes of her magic with words. She enjoyed being the playwright of the dramatic society. That was the one place she could let her imagination run wild. Everything was going great for Ella. That is until Ryan entered her life.
The child in you, unaware of any limits, Crawling, but had its wings open wide, No but-ifs in its imagination, Always dreamt of taking the flight.
But you bound yourself as you grew up, You learnt to walk, forgot how to fly Enclosed yourself in a cocoon, When you could have been, As free as a butterfly.
Often comes a time when life throws you into a spiral of existential questions. More so when you’re staying alone in a pandemic. Nobody enjoys the trip down the vortex, but you always come back with amazing realisations and mind-boggling theories about life. Here comes one from my account:
It was hours past from when I was supposed to sleep, and even then, I couldn’t. I kept tossing and turning in bed, but it didn’t change the nagging pain, the nauseating feeling and the constant reminder of the blood pool between my legs. Low on serotonin, I started feeling pathetic about myself and spiralling. When tears could not heal the pain, I sought towards the anger boiling over. I channelled all my energy into penning down the hatred I had towards the patriarchal society we lived in.
As I lay in bed, I wondered why I needed to go through all this pain and inconvenience. The answer was simple. It was because one day I could bring a new life into this world. It sounded beautiful. But at the same time, I realised something. Unless I fight the “normal” societal norms, a man will give his name to the fruit of all the struggles I went through. And he would be “proud” of continuing his “lineage”. To such men, I ask, what did you have to sacrifice to keep it? What is it that I did less because of which the child can’t keep my name instead? If you think I’m just being petty over a name, then why not change the norm? Why is it so difficult to even think of it? Why is such a simple thing so big a challenge? I lay down and pondered over these simple questions, tears trickling down my face partly due to pain and partly because I knew there was no answer to these questions.
I know I can’t bring about a sudden change in this backward society. But I can try, I can start small. I don’t need to hide it from my colleagues and pretend I’m okay while they pile up more work on me. I don’t need to lie to my friends to get out of plans because I could hardly get up. I don’t need to feel humiliated because of a stained trouser or bed sheet. I refuse to feel ashamed of my ability to create life when a man is ready to swoop in and take all the credit for it one day.
Make Red a statement in society.
So ladies! The next time you get your periods, try to wear it like a badge of honour instead of hiding away in shame. Don’t let the men take pity on you, but don’t let them be indifferent to you either. Be so upfront about it that it makes others uncomfortable, not you!
The Reverse Alphabet 