Cliches about Pondy abound. Deepa H Ramakrishnanfinds out how many hold good
PHOTOS: T. SINGARAVELOU
PONDY, AS WE KNOW IT The beach
What started as a game, ended as an interesting story. This reporter, along with her group of friends, was listing clichés associated with different parts of the country. When it came to Puducherry, the group came up with many. They then went ar
ound the town trying to find if these still hold water.
They asked people what “Puducherry” or “Pondicherry” (it’s still that for many) conjures up in their mind. And the answers ranged from “sandy beaches”, “everyone speaks French”, “peaceful place”, “plenty of tourist spots” and “Auroville” (though it is in Tamil Nadu), to “Ashram”, “friendly policemen with red Kepis”, “everything is affordable” and “clean roads”.
Cliches vs reality
Everyone in Puducherry, a former French territory, speaks French: This is a common belief among people outside Puducherry. “This is not true,” said a French tourist, who came down here a few days back. There are about 6,500
Franco-Puducherrians. President of Alliance Francaise in Puducherry, Dr. V. Nallam said, “In 1954, many in schools and offices used to speak French. But after 1962, the numbers have come down. People who have connections with France (such as retired Soldats or whose children are in France), the French-French, students of Alliance and Lycee, and people in the Ashram and Auroville speak the language fluently. Though the older generation of French-speaking people is disappearing, children in schools are learning the language, which is a good sign.”
Manakula Vinayakar Temple
Things aren’t dear: “Some electronic goods are cheaper here than in Tamil Nadu,” says Suresh Babu, a bank official. Though, according to market sources there is but a slight difference in prices, and for some electron
ic goods. They added that before the Government implemented uniform sales tax (bikes were exempted), you could knock off a few thousands from the price of cars and some other vehicles. “Bikes remain a good buy, with a sales tax of 3 per cent in Pondy and 12.5 per cent, in Tamil Nadu. Road tax for bikes here is Rs. 900 and in Tamil Nadu, Rs. 2,500. For cars, only the road tax differs,” said Chandrakanth, marketing officer, Bajaj Home Finance Limited. Household provisions cost more here, since Puducherry has no domestic production.
The French Quarter
Beach: “There used to be a sandy beach here, before the port came up,” said an old timer, pointing to the iron stakes (remnants of the old pier) standing in the sea at a distance. And so can Puducherry’s main beach be
hind the Gandhi statue still be called a beach? We do have the dictionary-defined beaches (Oxford dictionary’s definition reads, “with pebbly or sandy shore, especially by the sea between high and low-water marks”) namely the Chunnambar beach resort, Ashok beach resort, Veerampattinam and a place called the New Beach, near the new light house.
On tourist spots aplenty: “We have a lot of tourist spots including temples,” says Saravanan, who works in a mobile phone firm. Yes, this is one cliche that holds good, and Puducherrians seem to be adding more temples every
year. The Sri Manakula Vinayakar Temple and the Sri Aurobindo Ashram are the most famous ones in the tourist circuit.
The Alliance Francaise
All clean roads lead to Pondy: That Puducherry is clean with wide, neatly paved roads is an impression that many a first-time visitor gets. This is true of the White Town area where many streets have been laid with cement concrete bloc
ks that can be removed when the roads are being repaired. As for the rest of Pondy, only small pockets, like the area where IAS officers’ homes are situated, are clean. Otherwise, it is not unusual to spot rubbish mounds, pigs squabbling in the muck, swarms of mosquitoes, open drains... you name it, we have it.
There are more clichés… French wine, champagne, cheese, a relaxed lifestyle with shops and offices that close in the afternoon. Perhaps another day, we could go around Puducherry again.
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