The Ashram of Aurobindo at Pondi
Early this week, I went to pondicherry for a picnic. I was strangely delighted that I was stepping out of the borders of Tamil nadu, after many years. Although for all practical purposes Pondi is tamil speaking area, let me remind you that officially it is not under the control of Tamil nadu state.
A much smaller township territory than Tamil nadu ,its streets are not as broad as in Chennai.
After a three hour travel from Chennai, we still reached a half an hour late at 9 O'Clock because the bus stopped for breakfast a little before. As soon as I got down, it was not too difficult for me to find my way to the Aurobindo Mutt, which was the centre of attraction in Pondicherry. Much to my dismay, I could not take snaps of the beautiful interiors of the ashram; the wondrous samadhi of Shri Aurobindo and The Mother, the exotic collection of strange flowers adorning the samadhi or the library( or the beautiful girls in meditative postures!!!).
So, dear readers, please excuse me if i could only post the image of the exterior portion of the samadhi.
An interesting sight was that in spite of appearing to be smaller than chennai, Pondi boasts of being more cosmopolitan. Moreover the sights that greeted me were at once strange and pleasant. I have never seen grown ups using cycles anywhere in Tamil nadu;Chennai, Krishangiri, Erode, Kumbakonam,Madhurai or any place so far. I have only seen people cycling in Japan(on tv,LOL).Here old people, even the very aged ones, use cycles so commonly and no ego hassles. It is the most common mode of transport owing to the fact that vehicular traffic is far less.It was amazing! Here is a picture of a happy couple cycling away together...
There is a clear difference between the Western crowd and the Indians. Indian women wear only saris,salwars, chudi and wear simple gold ornaments although the little Indian girls do wear skirts and kaftans. The Indians do not mingle freely with the westerners, who were in and around the Ashram, in the Meditation Hall, some probably working and serving in the ashram as inmates. Let me add that most of the ashram inmates are bengalis; while the visitors are from all over the world. Here is another image. These are just the kind of dress, scarves and heavy beads sold exclusively for the westerners. I kept thinking how neither the local women nor the western women seem to have gotten influenced by each other's dress codes.
The most popularly sold drawing room show pieces were the clay models.
I must not fail to mention that every thing in Pondi was prefixed"Auro"- Auroherbs, Auromedicines, and more.
A half an hour drive and a jaunty ride will take u to Auroville; the ambitious meditative Hall planned and scheduled to be completed after two years. The amphi theater is all built and work is still going on. There are four entrances and each entrance has a name- The Maheshwari entrance, The kali, the laxmi and the Saraswathi entrance. You can easily enter "peaceful mental state" if you meditate there, in this meditation hall. But u need to book your seat in advance of two days.
It is actually made of metal with gold plating. Right now for people who are in a hurry burry, there are meditative slabs a few furlongs away,on which you can stand and view this amphitheatre or you can sit here for your meditation. A very pleasant ambience-
In the evening, we went to the beach. Another place with a difference. The Tsunami fears had propelled the administrative officers to haul black rocks that we call "paaraan kallu"(tamil) and distance the space between the people and the beach. You need to walk down those slopy rocks to stand by and enjoy the waves. People don't swim here as they do in Chennai Marina Beach( although we had Tsunami at Marina too)
I didn't have the mind or inclination to come away from this lovely beach. It was so quiet; no sales, no catamarans, no lovey dovey pairs, just the waves lashing in lonesome beauty.But "I have promises to keep" and therefore, I trudged back unwillingly to the bustand and caught a chennai borne Airbus. When I reached back at 10.30 pm, I was beaten hollow by the sweltering heat.
A much smaller township territory than Tamil nadu ,its streets are not as broad as in Chennai.
After a three hour travel from Chennai, we still reached a half an hour late at 9 O'Clock because the bus stopped for breakfast a little before. As soon as I got down, it was not too difficult for me to find my way to the Aurobindo Mutt, which was the centre of attraction in Pondicherry. Much to my dismay, I could not take snaps of the beautiful interiors of the ashram; the wondrous samadhi of Shri Aurobindo and The Mother, the exotic collection of strange flowers adorning the samadhi or the library( or the beautiful girls in meditative postures!!!).
So, dear readers, please excuse me if i could only post the image of the exterior portion of the samadhi.
An interesting sight was that in spite of appearing to be smaller than chennai, Pondi boasts of being more cosmopolitan. Moreover the sights that greeted me were at once strange and pleasant. I have never seen grown ups using cycles anywhere in Tamil nadu;Chennai, Krishangiri, Erode, Kumbakonam,Madhurai or any place so far. I have only seen people cycling in Japan(on tv,LOL).Here old people, even the very aged ones, use cycles so commonly and no ego hassles. It is the most common mode of transport owing to the fact that vehicular traffic is far less.It was amazing! Here is a picture of a happy couple cycling away together...
There is a clear difference between the Western crowd and the Indians. Indian women wear only saris,salwars, chudi and wear simple gold ornaments although the little Indian girls do wear skirts and kaftans. The Indians do not mingle freely with the westerners, who were in and around the Ashram, in the Meditation Hall, some probably working and serving in the ashram as inmates. Let me add that most of the ashram inmates are bengalis; while the visitors are from all over the world. Here is another image. These are just the kind of dress, scarves and heavy beads sold exclusively for the westerners. I kept thinking how neither the local women nor the western women seem to have gotten influenced by each other's dress codes.
The most popularly sold drawing room show pieces were the clay models.
I must not fail to mention that every thing in Pondi was prefixed"Auro"- Auroherbs, Auromedicines, and more.
A half an hour drive and a jaunty ride will take u to Auroville; the ambitious meditative Hall planned and scheduled to be completed after two years. The amphi theater is all built and work is still going on. There are four entrances and each entrance has a name- The Maheshwari entrance, The kali, the laxmi and the Saraswathi entrance. You can easily enter "peaceful mental state" if you meditate there, in this meditation hall. But u need to book your seat in advance of two days.
It is actually made of metal with gold plating. Right now for people who are in a hurry burry, there are meditative slabs a few furlongs away,on which you can stand and view this amphitheatre or you can sit here for your meditation. A very pleasant ambience-
In the evening, we went to the beach. Another place with a difference. The Tsunami fears had propelled the administrative officers to haul black rocks that we call "paaraan kallu"(tamil) and distance the space between the people and the beach. You need to walk down those slopy rocks to stand by and enjoy the waves. People don't swim here as they do in Chennai Marina Beach( although we had Tsunami at Marina too)
I didn't have the mind or inclination to come away from this lovely beach. It was so quiet; no sales, no catamarans, no lovey dovey pairs, just the waves lashing in lonesome beauty.But "I have promises to keep" and therefore, I trudged back unwillingly to the bustand and caught a chennai borne Airbus. When I reached back at 10.30 pm, I was beaten hollow by the sweltering heat.
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