It’s also Easter weekend and the city’s centuries-old churches and cathedrals are sure to look more resplendent that usual, at this time of the year.
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We’re back on air again: The beginning of 2014 saw Pondicherry fall off the aviation map with flight services to Chennai, Bangalore and other cities being terminated. After a gap of more than a year, Pondy is ready to take off to the skies again and the air is thick with hope for more domestic connections. The first service to be resumed is the Puducherry-Bengaluru sector. This time it is Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, which will operate flights from April 14. Departure from Bangalore is at 3.45 p.m. and the return flight from Pondy is at 5.05 p.m. The duration of the flight is one hour.
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Icing on the egg: Food and festivals — it’s hard to separate them. It’s the bakers and patisseries that are busy during Easter making the seasonal favourite, the Easter egg. In any of Pondy’s big bakeries on Ambour Salai or Mission Street, you will find the icing-crusted egg-shaped confectionery, tied with a satin bow, as window dressing. Easter Eggs, a symbol of resurrection in culture, usually burst with candy and toffee. ‘Baker Street’ on Bussy Street has a whole line of artisan confectionery, with pastry-made Easter bunnies, chickens and chocolate eggs. Crack one open — you’ll never know what’s in store!
What to do:
In Pondy:
1. Visit the seaside temple that sports a new look: Pondy’s famous temple, closest to the sea, has not just got a new coat of paint but also a fresh, new look. The Manakula Vinayagar Temple is one of the religious sites that attracts heavy tourist patronage, for many reasons, including its proximity to the Bay of Bengal, its place right at the heart of the White Town and its star elephant. The ancient temple, which has a rich legend woven around it, has seen significant renovation and extension this last year. The consecration of the temple is on Friday. Don’t forget to drop a hello to Lakshmi, the temple elephant.
2. Make Saturday night a classic one: Pondicherry’s unique theatre space, Indianostrum, which is housed in a heritage site in the French Town, hosts an evening of classical dance on Saturday. There’s a breeze from Kerala too, as dancer Madhumathi presents ‘Lasya’, a performance of Mohiniyattam. Tickets are available at the venue on 7. Romain Rolland Street. Call 0413-2341475 for details.
3. Tune into a jazz inspired concert: Adishakti remembers its founder Veenapani Chawla, who left behind a vaccum in contemporary theatre with her demise last year. ‘Remembering Veenapani’, a month-long festival, celebrates her birth month of April with a line-up of events in collaboration with Blue Yonder. Performing the opening act are Kirtana Krishna and her band Semi-Brewed. The band will play original compositions, many of which were penned by Krishna while in Adishakti. Vocalist Kirtana and drummer Pranav from Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music (SAM) team up with bassist Raghu from Berklee College of Music, Boston to entertain audiences with a night of music, inspired by jazz and punctuated by crazy drumming and lilting melody. The performance is at 7 p.m. on Sunday at the theatre on Edyanchavadi Road and entry is free.
4. See Pondy’s marketplace on canvas: Israeli artist Efrat Attias has spent one month walking and breathing in the colour, smells and sounds of Pondy’s vibrant vegetable, fruit and flower markets. Her interactions with the market workers are documented as a series of portrait paintings. To evoke a sense of the market, the paintings have been done on stitched fabrics and supported on bamboo frames. The artist will be available for a tete-a-tete on Sunday around 5 p.m. when the show opens at Tasmai art gallery, Kuruchikuppam. For details, call 0413- 2221052
Summer Cool-off: Till the summer is done, here are some suggestions where you can cool your heels (and your tongue), when right in the middle of exploring Pondy.
Hibiscus in a glass: If you’re shopping on Nehru Street, and all you can see is hot coffee and thick fruit juices around you, take heart and look again. Just past the Mission Street cutting, is ‘My Tibet’, which sells an eclectic jumble of baubles- from bracelets and scarves to medallions and hot momos. But it is the tall glass of pale pink hibiscus juice, you can sip from the balcony of the little store, while looking at the bustle below, that will lift your spirits.
In Auroville:
1. Find some music in the woods: This Saturday night, on the day of the lunar eclipse, the bansuri greets the guitar at, at the Unity Pavilion in Auroville, a ‘Melodies and Words’ concert at 8 p.m
2. Try some art, blindfolded: What is it to create art with all senses but sight? The Moving and Painting workshop by artist Catherine Marquette on Saturday lets you experiment blindfolded. Head to the Bharat Nivas at 4 p.m. on Saturday for this meditative experience that invokes inner impulses to heighten creativity. For registration, contact 0413-2622488.
