In Pondicherry, give time a break… is what people often say. And it’s so true, Pondicherry has its own pace… you can lead a very happy, peaceful life here doing very little all day,” Dilip Kapur says over dinner at Buddha by the Bay, the rooftop restaurant overlooking the sea at The Promenade, one of his luxury hotels. Most people know Kapur as the director of premium leather brand Hidesign, and relatively fewer people know him as the owner of two luxury hotels — The Promenade and Le Dupleix — in his hometown Pondicherry. Kapur hosted t2 for two days at Le Dupleix, the one closest to his heart, and while there, I did exactly as he advised — give time a break and sway with the pace of Pondicherry.

Day 1

After a three-hour drive from Chennai, when the car rolls into Pondicherry, the first thing I notice is how clean the city is. The streets, the parks, the air… everything’s spotless. 

I check into Room No. 5 at Le Dupleix, one of the most beautiful rooms in the hotel where each room looks different. The hotel, on Rue de la Caserne, itself is old-world French in look and feel, having been the residence of the then mayor of Pondicherry, Joseph François Dupleix, sometime in the 1700s. Right from the wooden gate and the small courtyard to the wooden flooring and the woodwork inside, there’s a touch of heritage everywhere. The focal point of Le Dupleix is a 200-year-old mango tree that stands right at the centre of the courtyard, lending character to the place. 

“The look of the original Dupleix’s residence has been kept intact. Even when it was restored later on, the same kind of wood and the same materials like Chettinad clay were used,” says Adam, the hotel manager. 

At lunch, I get to taste some amazing flavours that are signature Pondicherry — a blend of Creole and Chettinad cuisines. There’s batter-fried Nethili fish, a local fish that tastes somewhat like mourala maachh bhaja, followed by grilled pomfret, mango caprese, bacon-wrapped prawns, Chettinad chicken with steamed rice and more, ending with homemade vanilla ice cream, tiramisu and a coconut-and-jaggery pudding. 

A heritage walk around the area in the evening familiarises me some more with Pondicherry. A canal divides Pondicherry into the ‘White town’ (where the Hidesign hotels are situated and where most of the French population live) and the ‘Tamil town’ (where the local community stays). The residential houses are mostly in yellow, with wooden gates and bougainvillea shrubs. The ‘Ashram houses’, or houses owned by Sri Aurobindo Ashram, are grey and white. 

A stretch of road by the beach, referred to as the ‘promenade’, where the other Hidesign hotel — The Promenade — is situated, is the place to be in the evenings.

This place has a carnival-esque vibe and people from both the towns gather here post-sundown and hang around till late at night. Overlooking this road, and of course the sea, is Buddha by the Bay, the Oriental eatery of The Promenade where we have dinner. From sushis to lobster to a banana-wrapped fish fillet (almost like our paturi), dinner is an elaborate affair. 

 

 

Day 2

There couldn’t be a better start to a day than an early morning massage. The Serena Spa at The Promenade is where I get pampered with a signature ‘red rice’ massage, followed by an English breakfast at The Blue Line, the hotel’s coffee shop. 

A visit to Sri Aurobindo Ashram later, we head to the Hidesign factory on the outskirts of Pondicherry. There is nothing factory-like about this factory. Lush greenery dotted with small water bodies skirt the factory buildings. The next hour is spent learning the elaborate process in which Hidesign bags are painstakingly handmade by a women-dominated workforce. I try my hand at cutting leather too. 

One can’t leave Pondicherry without a trip to Auroville. Propagating a natural way of life, the community holds a charm of its own. Small cafes and restaurants serving organic European food and bakeries selling fresh breads and cakes make this place a foodie’s delight. There are boutiques selling clothes, accessories, beauty products… all organically made by the inmates of Auroville. 

Auroville in particular, and Pondicherry in general, is more a way of life than a destination, making sure you don’t leave without a promise to come back. And that’s the last thing I did before getting into the car for the airport — promised to be back in Pondicherry soon!