During this vacation, my father sprung a surprise by choosing a Sunday for a “Boulevard Walk”. The Boulevard represents four long roads to form a boundary ring with streets as grids. It comprises Goubert Avenue on the eastern side, Sardar Vallabhai Patel Road on the northern side, Anna Salai on the western side and Subbaiah Salai on the southern side.
We started our walk near a Temple in West Boulevard at 5:30 a.m. and quickly went toward North Boulevard. This happens to be a busy commercial street of Puducherry with no heritage buildings. While entering East Boulevard near Kargil Memorial, we could see the sunrise.The fishermen on catamarans were sailing near the statue of Gandhiji which had the seven monolithic pillars. The Gandhi Square was earlier connected by rail to the Old Port. We crossed Le Café, the erstwhile port of Puducherry, Dumas Church and the War Memorial of World War II before we reached the statue of the French Governor Dupleix.
South boulevard starts with a huge water tank serving the town and the nearby station. The railway station has been in existence for more than 100 years now. The century–old Sacred Heart Church of Jesus Basilica followed.
West Boulevard begins with the Uzhavar Sandhai and we were nearing Anna statue. The Anna Stadium and the Gourbert market are nearby. We crossed Pattani Kadai junction where political leaders used to address people. The breezy boulevard walk reflected the historical importance of our town and how urban living changes the past.
G. ARJUN KRISHNA, VII C, Kendriya Vidyalaya 1, Puducherry
