The Real Pondicherry : Auroville

Remember the last time you were high (the last brilliant cocktail maybe) and how easy and free you felt. Now imagine what if you are high on life ?? Sounds gimmicky and completely out of a brand pitch. Doesn't it, but that's truly the way of life at Auroville.

And why do I herald that the real pondicherry (a.k.a puducherry) is Auroville. For one, Auro (As i like to call it) is over and beyond the cheap liquor and pseudo french restaurants. You realize that there is much more to Pondi than the rocky beaches and the 'le' cafes of the world.

It really is Auroville, which encapsulates the freedom & ease of being which one associates with Pondi. Its surprising there are still places so surreal, where each resident is at peace. Every being in Auroville, human or animal, Indian or otherwise, Young or old seems tranquil which is bewildering to begin with. Especially in parallel to erratic city life, Auro seems Utopian.

Even the 'utopia'n Auro has its share of perils, yet the beauty is in how Auro handles them. Case in point, Cyclone Thane which hit Tamil Nadu & Puducherry in the wee end last year. Thane spelt devastation with uprooted trees, damaged houses and so on. But just over a month and none of the uprooted trees were on the roads, damaged houses were under maintenance with the help of the local community. Strangely the impact of the cyclone which took 33 lives doesn't seem so evident.

Surprisingly with all this peace, Auro as a society is not lost in time. The education system is brilliant and so is the research and development. All in all it is a progressive society wherein the basics of good life are quite intact.

Agreed that Pondicherry is the French colony with the Colonial architecure, the Ville (Blanche & Noire) and the expats with French passports but its Auro which feels truly international masterpiece.

Honestly post the short visit to Auro, I truly feel as the French would say "heureusement perdu" and thats in a good way.

A Weird Spiritual Journey : Auroville

American novelist Henry Miller once said "One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." His small observation stands true beyond his grave over three decades now.

To travel is to transcend into the unexplored and willing to be ambient with the craziness around. Honestly its easier said than done. The easiest (and its the honest truth) is to go berserk; "What smell is that, the food is horrid, the people are rude, so on and so forth". The toughest is to enjoy the insanity of the uncommon, develop your pallet to something new, to scoop up the non-ubiquitous.

So today I start my own journey, in search of the unknown and the known (aka good food). Although I have traveled before - but there are two differences henceforth ... First the idea that travelling can completely change your life never set in quite the way it has now ... Secondly haven't penned down my travelogues (not in virtual space yet).

Why is this a spiritual journey? For a variety of myriad reasons. For starters I believe travel in itself is therapeutic but more than that on this journey I realized (and am realizing) that its about the company, its about the place, furthermore most importantly its about you. Travel should not make you go wobbly in your stomach with all the things you have to do and manage before and during. It should provide you with serene calmness in your heart. Ans surprisingly I am that weirdly calm in my head when I sleep tonight.

Hence even one of most anarchic 'George Orwell' classic 1984 is providing me with hope and enthusiasm. So is the power of travel ... and so now I go to bed as I have miles to run after I sleep ...