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Alamarathu Street, Chinnakalapet, Pondicherry, 605014, India
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of people enjoy staying here
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Government Park/French Quarter
Building/Street in French Quarter
Front Door
Manakula Vinayagar Temple
I may take a group of about 10 people to Pondicherry in late July and early August, 2007 for about two weeks. I need help with the following:
-Inexpensive place to stay;
-Good but inexpensive restaurants;
-Day trips we can take to other places to see things like temples, ruins, or other interesting cultural or natural sites;
-Are there any good beaches nearby? If so, where?
-Any other good advice you can think of.
Thank you so much for your help!
Hi,
see my Auroville-tip at
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/9a7f7/109e0a/4/
They run a good hostel and also appartments for a cheap price !
Good Luck!
WStat
Must get passes for the petal meditation at matri mandir in auroville. Its lovely, as is the matri mandir meditation.
Auroville beach is really good as well.
Le Dupleix food is fantastic but expensive. Hotel is amazing to, again expensive.
have a look www.adspuducherry.com
Hi,
I found the following website is really helpful for to plan my pondicherry trip.
http://www.thepondicherry.com
No beach in the heartof the city....but enroute to Pondy from Chennai you will see plenty of amazing beaches...go ahead and take a dip in some of them...it's truly an unforgettable experience! Most beaches are absolutely deserted so u will hav them all to urself!
Founded in 1926, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram has grown from a small group of two dozen disciples into a large diversified community with almost 1200 members. Counting the 400 students of the Centre of Education and the hundreds of devotees who live nearby, the larger ashram community consists of more than 2000 people.
Situated in a busy city of over 700,000 people, the Ashram is not a quiet place of retreat but a vibrant centre of life in a modern urban setting. The dynamic character of the community reflects the life-affirming aim of Sri Aurobindo's Yoga. Work as an offering to the Divine is an essential aspect of the Yoga, and all Ashramites do a certain amount of productive work each day in one or another of the Ashram's departments.
In the sadhana or spiritual discipline at the Ashram, there are no obligatory practices, no rituals, no compulsory meditations or systematic instructions in Yoga. You are left free to determine the course and pace of your sadhana in accordance with your own natures. But the general principle of the sadhana is the same for all: there must be a surrender to the Divine and an opening to the Divine Force so that it may work to transform one's being.
The Ashram is located in the eastern part of Pondicherry. Ashramites live and work in a large number of buildings spread throughout the area. The focus of community life is the Ashram main building, usually called simply "the Ashram", which consists of an interconnected block of houses, including those in which Sri Aurobindo and the Mother lived for most of their lives. At its centre, in a tree-shaded courtyard, lies the Samadhi, a white-marble shrine where their bodies are laid to rest.
The Ashram provides its members with all they need for a decent and healthy life. Various departments have been organised to look after the basic requirements of food, clothing and shelter, as well as medical care. There are also libraries for study and facilities for a variety of cultural pursuits. The Ashram is administered by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust.
The park is divided into four sections with the Ayi Mandapam in the centre, which is being used as a traffic island and vehicles pass through all the four roads.In 1706, it was built as a stellate-shaped fort. Christened Fort St Louis, it had a moat around it, which was fed by the Petit Canal, which in turn was fed by the Uppar River. This fort, however, was pulled down in 1778 by the British. Even before Fort St Louis was constructed, Pondicherry had seen several forts, but they were all destroyed and rebuilt time and again. In 1787, the French finally decided not to construct any more forts and it was used as a parade ground for a few years and then it finally became a park.Normally, European squares have all the important buildings around them, so does the Bharathi Park. The Government General Hospital came up in 1853, the Assembly in 1962 (earlier it housed a tribunal and a medical college) and other buildings such as the Raj Nivas, UCO Bank and Chamber de Commerce surround the park. As for the Ayi Mandapam , only after the French faced a water crisis, they went in search of water and then the monument came into being.
Manakula Vinayagar Temple is one of the most popular temples in Pondicherry. It is dedicated to Lord Ganesh, one of the most popular Hindu deities. Evidence indicates that the temple dates back to 1666. The name means "pond with a fragrance", a reference to the banks of the sandy pond on which the temple was built.
The local story is that the French tried to remove the Ganesh statue from the temple, but the idol reappeared each time it was removed. Thus the plan to demolish the temple was dropped.
The inside of the temple is decorated with more than 40 (wonderful) paintings of Ganesh in various forms. The inner sanctum is open to Hindus only. This is not a large temple but well worth visiting for the paintings and ambience around the temple.
At the entrance to the temple is Lakshmi, the temple elephant. With her painted head and necklace of bells, she welcomes you to the temple. If you would like to feed her fruits from the nearby shops, you'll need to ask her care taker. If you would like to give her money, no need to ask! Just drop a Rs 10 note into her trunk and she'll place her trunk on your head in blessing.
In addition to selling fruit for Lakshmi, shops along the road leading to the temple entrance sell various religious offerings (garlands, flowers, etc.), religious articles, and also some souvenirs.
Photos are not allowed inside the actual temple. Shoes must be removed. Shoekeeper to the left of the entrance. Pay a few rupees when you pick up your shoes.
The Church of Our Lady of Angels - Eglise de Notre Dame des Anges - was built by French Missionaries in 1865. It is modeled after the Basilica at Lourdes (located in Southern France). The most notable feature of the church is its masonry. In order to create a texture similar to white marble, the finest of limetstone was mixed with whites of eggs. The facade of the church has two columns. The tops are Ionic and the bottoms are Doric, both styles of classical architecture.
The other notable feature of the church is an oil painting that was presented by Napolean. The interior central dome has eight circular openings.
The church setting is very picturesque. Trees and flowers frame the church property. Looking out from the front you can see the statue of Joan of Arc and the Bay of Bengal. In front of the chruch is a statue of Mary with infant Jesus in her arms.
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