MissTtravels

A bit of a temple day, really.

We left Mahabalipurum and set off for Pondicherry, once a French enclave in India.

On the way we visited a really unusual place. It is called Auroville. It is a community set up in 1968 by a French woman (known as The Mother) to embody the teachings of a guru Sri Aurobindo. Aurobindo was an Indian rebel nationalist and yogi.

People from all over the world come to live and work there, in a kind of commune. It seems very exclusive, and you have to pass all kinds of spiritual tests to even enter the temple. Quite strange.

They did, however, have a really great banyan tree, or trees.

We arrived in Pondicherry and ate lunch in a very cool French bakery. Lovely food.

Later in the afternoon, we visited the Aurobindo ashram and observed the meditation.

We then visited a giant temple to Ganesha, elephant god and son of Shiva. Temples in Tamil Naidu are very brightly painted.

We went into the temple to view the 1000-year-old statue, and to watch people going about their devotions. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the temple.

We are learning bits and pieces about Hinduism and other religions in India as we go along, but it is all quite confusing with all the different gods and so many names for the same thing.

We wandered around the old French part of the town, which has a very European feel.

As we approached the sea front, we realised they were having a blessing ceremony for some new fire engines. Bizarre.

Pondicherry has a long promenade along the ocean front. You can see why it was so badly damaged in the 2004 tsunami.

We had dinner in a really nice place facing the ocean. European style food for a change.