diwali français

the overnight bus journey was not the most comfortable. the bus started more than an hour late from hyderabad. our seats were at the end of the bus, which generally is far less comfortable from those at the front or the middle of the bus. on top of that, there was this fat bag of sugar seated next to me whose parts kept on rolling all over the place at the slightest turn of the bus. luckily, after the dinner break, Mrs Adda got a seat towards the front and I used that opportunity one notch away from the 'bag of sugar'.

though we started quite late but didn't lose too much time compared to our initial plan. brother Adda, who was joining us from Bangalore, reached Chennai a few hours earlier than us, had made arrangements the 3 hour travel to Pondicherry. the weather was good and pleasant otherwise this area can get notoriously hot and humid. Pondicherry is small town (and union territory) on the southern coast of India, very close to Chennai. this place was once a French colony and still bears signs of the colonial past. we had our accommodation booked in a heritage house. it is a 250 year old huge mansion, passed on from generations to generations. a French family has been owning this house for the past 120 years now and they have converted this into a guest house. I specifically wanted to stay in a heritage house rather than in a hotel room. I we glad that I made the choice even though the tariff was higher than that of a hotel. though we spent very less time inside the guest house but whatever hours were spent there, were pleasant. it was like visiting the house of some old and distant relative after a long time. you know that you are welcome more than just as a rent paying guest but you're not sure how much freedom you have to touch and feel the things. the rooms were open, you can peep inside through the window but you're not sure whether you can step in or not. the house was very tastefully done and decorated with lots of antique woodwork. nicely painted walls, small courtyard, huge doors - I pretty much liked everything about it. the mansion itself was situated in the french quarters of Pondicherry was just 3 or 4 streets across from the rocky beach.

rest of the day was spent at restaurants and strolling through the old streets of Pondicherry, most of which bore deserted look as businesses were closed for Diwali. we went to the beach in the evening and sat by it, watching the waves crash against the rocky shore. vehicular traffic is prohibited on the road next to the beach during early morning and evening hours, letting the pedestrians enjoy the beach stroll in peace. the place gets crowded during those hours. we found a spot on the rocks and sat there, with our back towards civilization. the music of the crashing waves was louder than the noise of diwali crackers going off behind us. so that was my diwali this year :)