Parul's Journal

It was a plan, an unfamiliar one. I was accompanying a friend to a visit to her Grandparent’s home after years. To reach Thiruvalla, we had no train reservations. We knew the train number, its name and the time it would leave Bangalore City Station. So we found in on a platform and hopped on to the last compartment- the unreserved one, for women only. It was already full as we hesitantly got in to it. We were possibly very lucky to find a little space next to the door. So we kept our bags and sat on them as I refused to put my ‘Bob Marley- One Love’ spreadsheet on the floor and we had conveniently forgotten to carry newspapers. For a compartment that has a capacity of max 60 people, under normal circumstances, this one had more than double the number of people in it. An old woman sat next to us, embarking a 15 hour plus journey to Kanyakumari sitting next to the wash basin. As the journey progressed, our irritation grew. It was a fight for space. Every inch counted. You find it, you st...

Take a walk by the side by lanes without remembering why you have to remain outdoors for some time. And it will not disappoint you. The first thing that anyone visiting Pondicherry should do is to walk down to the beach. If you are coming from the bus stand, head absolutely straight down to the beach road that ends in clear blue skies flanked by clear blue water. There are a few reasons for it. Firstly, the tourism office is housed in a small building there and they provide you not just with cold water and fan, a much needed updated map of the city and the best free guidance regarding anything you might need for your stay. Second, when one takes that walk, from say the State bus stand towards the beach, the architecture and roads change swiftly and make you feel like you have left behind a typical Indian small town and entered a villa in South France. On the by lanes you can catch people lazily sitting around or playing a game of marbles or a traditional game, that gives you a feel of ...