Story-based walking tours come to town

French connection trail through French Quarter to be launched tomorrow; first walk to be invitation-only event

FOR HISTORY BUFFS:Trained story-tellers will make the historical narrative interesting. A view of Dumas Street and Romain Rolland Street in Puducherry. —Photos: S.S. Kumar

An engaging raconteur is set to replace the simple tour guide in the traveller’s discovery of this former French outpost.

Chennai-based Storytrails is bringing its story-based walking tours to Puducherry.

The “French connections trail” launches on Sunday — the inaugural being an invitation-only event before the experience is thrown open to the public — in the city’s storied French Quarter.

Storytrails, which has already a made a mark in Chennai and Madurai with offerings of diverse story-based walking tours, seeks to tap into Puducherry’s unique French aura to provide people from all walks of life, especially the predominantly European tourists, a leisurely walk-through on the history and heritage.

“Storytrails was born with the idea of allowing people to experience India through her stories… to let them savour the sights and sounds of a city through the eyes of a storyteller,” says Asha Jain of Storytrails.

The organisation deploys story-tellers who are trained to make the historical narrative as interesting as possible, espousing an earthy, conversational style and abundant humour.

“We will explore the incredible stories, the culture and the contradictions, and the architecture styles that distinguish this town,” she said.

For instance, the designated story-teller will ask participants if they knew that that the Romans were in erstwhile Pondicherry as early as the 2nd century AD. Or that milk, Pondicherry and Saigon are all mysteriously connected. Storytrails currently offers 14 different tours and experiences across Chennai, Madurai and now Pondicherry. These tours have evoked good ratings in international travel journals and publications, ranging from Frommer’s to Lonely Planet, according to Storytrails managers. Some of its popular walks in Chennai include the Peacock Trail, a walk through Mylapore, the Bazaar Trail, a discovery of the bustling markets of George Town and the British Blueprints, a walk through of Old Madras.

“English will the medium of the storytelling...perhaps down the line we could even think of a French narrator,” said Akila, who is part of the Storytrail team. The size of the groups is decided by the nature of the place, she said. For instance, a tour through a bustling trade centre will have fewer participants than, say, a walk around less crowded areas.

Based on response, Storytrails plans to expand the by-foot discovery of the city to other historic sites in Puducherry.