Come Fly to India

Pondicherry, or better, puducherry (meaning ‘new village’), is a union territory in India, comprising of four sections or districts, puducherry being the largest. It was basically a French colony during the British rule in India, and is also known as the ‘French Riviera of the East’. Puducherry id based on the French ‘grid system’ of architecture and has clear cut sectors, running perpendicular to each other. Infact, the French influence vests deep into the puducherry way of life and still, many people speak French here.
It has been a much visited tourist attraction over the years for many domestic and international tourists. Puducherry was once the home of one of India’s most famous freedom fighter and spiritualist, sri aurobindo, and now, as a reminiscence of his times, the famous Sri Aurobindo ashram, founded by the man himself in 1920 and run by his French compatriot Mirra Alfassa (THE MOTHER) and its branching township auroville stand on the puducherry soil, surely, these are the places one would like to visit first and foremost on arriving here. Samadhis of sri aurobindo and mother are housed in the ashram itself and it is open for everyone to see during the day. The ashram has a rest house also which has a limited number of rooms to accommodate those who have come for a short trip, so it is advisable to book your room before planning to arrive.
Auroville on the other hand in a township in the villupuram districs of puducherry. It is unlike any other township and stands out from the fact that it was established with the purpose to realize “unity in diversity”. This township should soothe your senses and is a model for harnessing your spiritual energy. It surrounds various Indian villages and farms, set in a traditional environment. You would not want to miss a visit to the matri mandir, a golf ball shaped structure, having gold plating on the outer surface, in auroville.
It is believed to be an answer to man’s constant surge for perfection, given by the god himself.
After auroville, you can pay a visit to the puducherry museum, another must see, located at the government park. It has many objects from the time of the French rule, a whole section on archeological discoveries of the past, mainly from the roman settlement, which once housed themselves near puducherry. It is housed in a heritage building and this museum is told to be the ‘youngest’ museum in the country and it also houses one of the world’s best bronze collections. Other objects include various modes of transport, a numismatic section, a section of the sculptures of chola times and a lot more, it truly is an exciting place to be at.
If you are a person who is interested in literature, then the bharathidasan memorial museum is the right place for you, named after the famous poets bharti, who later changed his name to bharathidasan ( disciple of bharathi), many of hi works and other works of literature are preserved here.
Other than these places, many places like the Church of the sacred heart (Jesus), boating of contemporary French architecture and Chidambram, a temple town in the vicinity of puducherry might interest you.
The ideal way to end your long and tiring trip would be to take a swim at the 1.5 km long Promenade beach, the best place to relax, take a stroll, have a sunbath and just chill in puducherry. Now, that’s what I call a perfect end to a perfect start.
See you there!!

Pondicherry was recently renamed after decades as Puducherry, a more recent of the renaming ceremonies that we have witnessed in India, started by the Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai etc etc.

Colonial French Ruled Pondicherry and left some legacy in pondicherry, which gives it a certain old charm. The portico at the promenade with it balustrades makes it look like a postcard from 18th century France.

Time has an excellent article on Mumbai’s Slums.

The state government of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai (formerly Bombay) is the capital, wants to raze dozens of slums like Dharavi for redevelopment and new infrastructure as part of its multibillion-dollar plan to turn the city into a world-class financial center by 2015. No one doubts that India’s business capital needs a makeover. Bad roads and inefficient or nonexistent public transport make getting around Mumbai a nightmare; monsoon rains and clogged rivers and drains regularly submerge whole sections of the city. In areas wet and dry, however, property prices are higher than those in midtown Manhattan. But the redevelopment plans will displace up to half the 14 million to 18 million people in India’s largest city and challenge the idea that poor and rich can live side by side in a tumultuous democracy. Even the poorest in Mumbai agree that the city needs to change. But, they ask, at what cost?

Dharavi is a living slum, as big as a small city, and the slums are so special, and unique many people visit the place as a major tourist destinations, also called slum tourism. There are tourist operators and travel agents thats specially conducts slum tours in Dharavi.

Kenilworth Hotels operates the luxurious resort, The Kenilworth Beach Resort and Spa in Goa. It is repoeted that Kenilworth a five-star deluxe luxury hotel will be investing about 5.5 crores to add 16 luxury villas to its property. The villas should be ready by october if completed in schedule.

The The Kenilworth Beach Resort and Spa is located in Utorda near Majorda which is 20 minutes from Dabolim Airport and 15 minutes from the Margao Railway Station.

This is a 5 star property with an impressive business feature with some of its super specialist services and is equipped with the best of facilities.
The Kenilworth Beach Resort, Goa offers an expansive area of 14000 square feet near the pool and The 2500 Sq. Ft. Banquet Hall of the hotel will suit any business conference or the likes.

As with many five star resorts, The Kenilworth Beach Resort, Goa offers the array of facilities as:

Outdoor Jacuzzi
Steam, Sauna and Massage
Fitness Centre
Children’s Pool
Beach Volleyball
Swimming Pool with separate area for deep diving
Badminton
Internet Access
Video Games
Card Room
Library
Pool

All in All a good place to stay for your holidays.

Mysore is one place that you should visit if you happen to be in Bangalore. You can either drive down or take a bus from Majestic. It was, I guess, 6 years back when I first visited the place, taking that 3 hour bus drive from Mysore (it is a 140 Km stretch). A perfect weekend getaway.

As the name suggests it is a land of Palaces and the Mysore palace is a sight to watch.
Mysore palace is the most magnificient of all the palaces.
Designed by the English Architect, Henry Irwin, the Mysore Palace dominates the skyline of Mysore. A three storied structure in the Indo-Saracenic style built between 1897-1912, the palace has beautifully designed square towers at cardinal points, covered with domes. The architecture is a mix of Dravidian, Oriental and Roman. The Durbar Hall with its ornate ceiling and sculpted pillars and the Kalyanamantapa (Marriage Pavilion) with its glazed tiled flooring and stained glass, domed ceiling are worth noting. Intricately carved doors, the golden howdah ,paintings as well as the fabulous, jewel encrusted golden throne, the Gombe Thotti or the Doll’s Pavilion are amongst the palace’s other treasures. It was the doors that amazed me, and this palace was not even very old..

There are seven canons in front of the Gombe Thotti. These canons are used during the Dussehra. The Golden Throne is also displayed during the Dussehra, and 97000 bulb are used to light the palace during the festival. Plan your next holiday around the Dussehra.. (Dussehra is a very popular Hindu festival, which marks the defeat of Ravana by Lord Rama.) Dussehra usually falls during October/November.

The palace has chamber called Diwan-e-Khas used by the emperor for private audience and another chamber called the Diwan-e-Aam for public audience. Walking through the Palace is walking through a museum, and there were some palaces which said “Entry not allowed” and I felt so curious, I felt like breaking in.. Too bad, I couldn’t take any pictures since cameras weren’t allowed.

Chamundi Hills: The Chamundi hill is one must visit if you go to Mysore. We went to the Chamundeshwari temple on top of the hill.. My friends went in to pray, but I just stayed outside watching the temple which is dated back to the 11th century. The statue of Nandi marks the entry to the hills. Legend says that this colossal Nandi was a gift of Dodda Deva Raja. Over 25 ft long and 4.8 mt high (16ft high), adorned with ropes, chains, bells and jewels of stone, the bull with half shut eyes, which seem, in yogic fashion. And there is a larger than life statue (or perhaps it was smaller) of a Demon, the Mahishasura that was destroyed by Goddess Chamundi.
The hill is 3,489ft. above the sea levels and is 12 km from Mysore city. An energetic visitor will be well repaid by climbing up the 1000 steps, fashioned about 300 years ago. We went by car along the road.

On our way upto the temple, we could also see the The Lalitha Palace Hotel, a heritage hotel near the Chamundi Hills of Mysore. I think some Bollywood movies were shot here, I don’t remember which. The temple was a beauty like all other things in Mysore.

We then went to the St Philomena Church, where the movie Amar Akbar Anthony was shot. It felt really good, since it is one of my favorite movies, and It seemed like Amitabh Bachchan would walk out of the Church, singing.

This Roman Catholic Church was built in AD 1840 and was known as St. Joseph Chaver. The twin towers of the church stand majestically at 175 feet, the design is gothic and it is said to resemble the St. Patrick’s cathedral at New York and a church at Cologne. They had a dungeon like basement which was quite a scary thing.. The church is located about I km from Mysore Palace on the Bangalore highway. The then king of Mysore Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV laid the foundation for construction of the church in 1933.

We also visited the Brindavan garden and the dancing gardens. The dancing fountains in Las Vegas wouldn’t have been more beautiful. I also grew up watching Hindi Movies where my favorite stars danced in the Brindavan gardens and it was quite a nostalgia.

The Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir across the legendary Cauvery River is round 18km north-west of Mysore. The Brindavan Gardens are located just a level below the dam.

Often described as the best example of illuminated terrace gardens in the country, the idea was brainchild of Sir M.Visveshwaraiah and Sir Mirza M ismail, former Devans of Mysore.

The Kerala govt has approached the aviation ministry for permission to start an Airlines operation.

With a huge immigrant population in the Gulf, the Kerala Govt wants to start an international flight to the Gulf.

Looks like they don’t have the pre-requisites like the minimum operations of 20 aircrafts and to be in business for a minimum of 5 years, but they have been looking for an exception.

Why don’t they just lobby with the govt to allow more flight by the private operators?

TOI Reports that it might not be viable to operate two Airports in Goa, one the existing Dhabolim and the proposed one at Mopa.

The State Authorities had recently asked the ICAO to examine if the two could be used together. ICAO has submitted the report that it won’t be financially viable.

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