A day's visit to Pondicherry!

All that began.. When the temptation started to tour somewhere during the week end and decided to go to Pondicherry. Started at 5.30 AM from home and drove through ECR. The first point we stopped is Sadras fort  which is situated about 17 km from Mamallapuram and 2 km from Kalpakkam.

The Dutch East India Company chose to build a fort at Sadurangapattinam not only because it was a center for trade in muslin, spices, and so on but also because it was free of political disturbances. The beach is less than 100 meters from the eastern wall of the rectangular fort. The massive defense wall runs on all sides with flanking bastions on the eastern side.The Dutch built two magazines, flanking the eastern side, to store ammunition. The entrance to the fort was on the western side, and the two cannons that were placed on either side of the gateway still stand. A watch tower was built just above this entrance.

Within the fort is a cemetery with exquisitely engraved granite tombstones, the inscriptions on them giving the details of the Dutch buried there. One tombstone has a beautiful bas relief of a vessel with sails, another is chiseled with a coat of arms, a third has a rose, and so on. The inscriptions on the tombstones tell tragic tales of the dead.

The tombstone inscriptions at Sadras date from A.D. 1620 to 1769. Near the cemetery is a "secret chamber", so called because it is built at ground-level and cannot be seen from outside. The warehouses are on the southeastern and northeastern corners of the fort. There are a number of structures, including rooms, dancing halls and dining rooms in the fort.

The next place we had been is Alampara fort, which is exactly 24Kms drive from Sadras fort on ECR. About two-and-a-half kilometers down this picture perfect road, with gentle backwaters and white beaches, a sandy track turns right and bounce the way down a rough track to the Alamparai fort.

The magnificent ruins -  All that is left of the fort is portions of weathered red brick, but the original brick and limestone can still be seen. A climb to the old watchtowers gives a brilliant view of the area around and the sea on the east side.

Though the 15-acre fort was built in the 18th Century , the area served as a port in ancient Tamil Nadu. Even the ancient Tamil text "Siruppanatruppadai" refers to trade in the area. The fort had a 100-metre long dockyard, stretching into the sea from the fort, from which zari cloth, salt and ghee were exported.

On the east side of the fort is a marvelous view of the backwaters. The waters lap gently against the edges of the fort, and one could see the sea in the distance. The hypnotic blue of the sky and the sea are soothing. A boat ride along the backwaters is another exciting possibility.

Local information: If you can shell out Rs.2500 to any of those fisherman’s, they are ready to take you for a ride till Pondicherry and drop you back with food. But this trip is at your own risk.

Driving ahead from Alampara fort, the next comes Auroville (City of Dawn) is an "experimental" township in Viluppuram district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, near Puducherry in South India. It was founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa (called "The Mother" within Auroville) and designed by architect Roger Anger.

In the middle of the town is the Matrimandir, which has been acclaimed as "an outstanding and original architectural achievement. It was conceived by "The Mother" (Alfassa) as "a symbol of the Divine's answer to man's inspiration for perfection". Silence is maintained inside the Matrimandir to ensure the tranquility of the space and entire area surrounding the Matrimandir is called Peace area. The Peace area in which the structure is situated is characterized by three main features: the Matrimandir itself with its twelve gardens, twelve petals and future lakes, the Amphitheater and the Banyan Tree.

The Matrimandir took 37 years to build, from the laying of the foundation stone at sunrise on 21st February 1971 - the Mother’s 93rd birthday - to completion in May 2008. It is in the form of a huge sphere surrounded by twelve pedestals. The central dome is covered by golden discs and reflects sunlight, which gives the structure its characteristic radiance. Inside this central dome is a meditation hall known as the inner chamber - this contains the largest optically-perfect glass globe in the world.

The French Colony:

The French part of the town was built along the sea on sand dunes. It is characterized by long wide streets with stately colonial style buildings. The residential buildings are comparatively simple, solid and varied. They have flat roofs, an inner courtyard with garden and collonaded porticos have a double function of protecting from sun and rain, and serving as a transition space to the rest of the house.

 

  

These locations are quite familar from the recent movie songs
1. Happy - Balae pandiya
2. Vizhi moodi - Ayan
3. Kaatril - veppam

Sri Aurobindo Ashram

The Ashram was founded and built by the Mother as a first step towards the creation of a new world, a new humanity, a new society, expressing and embodying a new consciousness;

The Ashram main building was the abode of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother during most of their stay in Pondicherry. In the inner courtyard is the Samadhi of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The Ashram is open to all for Darshan during fixed hours every day.

Oops its 6.30 pm... realized the tiredness.. and started back to chennai!  Had a Great day in the French town!