(Puduchery celebrates Independence Day)This year Independence Day (15.08.08) fell on Friday making it a long weekend for everyone. We decided to take the weekend off and headed south to Tanjore.
Enroute we stopped over at Pondicherry, the pictersque French colony just a two hours drive from Chennai. As 15th August is Shri Aurobindo Day, the Ashram had opened the room used by him for public viewing. We took the token and queued up to see the room, pasing through a narrow staircase leading to it. The room is just above the meditation hall and beyond The Mother's samadhi.
The room has an aura that is quite palpable. The presence of the great soul can still be felt by those who tune to it. My daughter Srija could feel it too, but she experienced it as a heavy pressure that made her a bit dizzy.
As we walked out I remembered Aurobindo's words, " India cannot attain freedom until every Indian has become free from the shackles ogf his own ignorancea nd egotism."
(Puducherry Central Park)
We then spent time in the Central park; a huge expanse of green with a miniature Arc De Triomph in the midddle.
In the evening we browsed around J N Street. I happened upon a nice Art Gallery tucked into a old heritage building on Mission Street. The paintings were by a group of Pondy based artists. It was run by Mr. Anand. Anand's painting of an Indian Mona Lisa in Gujarathi dress was arresting.
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