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City across the boulevard: Pondicherry

"At your age, do you really have REAL problems?", quirked my fellow traveller whom we had met a few hours back.

It was the month of January when I decided to answer my call: a trip to Pondicherry, a long awaited one. I had been to Pondicherry once as a kid with my parents and the place had stayed back in my mind. I refused to let go off the memories but with time I had begun to lose some threads, amnesia wanted to play tricks until I decided to surprise it with a visit once more.

You know, we as kids have little dreams but as we outgrow our sleeves, we tend to outgrow our dreams as well. But, in me Pondicherry had always stayed as a dream. This time, me and my friend Sheempe have carried Pondicherry back in our hearts from the trip. The French colony, the exquisite beaches, the unending coconut grooves, the Idli dosa peppered air and the smelling mogras out of plaited hair; there's so much to remember and so less to let go. But, the lanes there cook stories of all kinds. And, it's food is one of the things that I would never want to forget.

The posh cafes of White town treat you with the best of French bakes. Everything is organic and freshly brewed. There's a tea shop just as you step out of White town and hit Chetty street, good lord I would be happy to lose my fortune to it. They know to give you a run for your money. The Italian ice-cream there fills your palate with delectable finess. What textures, what flavours and what promise those cones hold!

As this little town unleashed it's vigour, I began to get drawn by the boulevard. Those huge paved lanes beside an ever bustling sea is sure to keep you hooked for hours together. I had this waking dream to sit beside the sea as the moon kissed those waves. Those silver foams haven't yet left the gleam of my eyes.

AUROVILLE, situated at the outskirts of the town is an experimental town where you would find people from all over the world co-existing in harmony. This place taught me to look into my inner conscience and articulate my thoughts. There, we had met this fellow traveller, a mom to a teen on a solo travel. This lady surely knew to relish on her own. A bit of small talk saw us exchanging some wider perspective on life. When she came up with, " At your age, do you really have REAL problems?", all that I could do at that moment was look at Sheempe amused and dumbfounded. I don't know what can be an apt answer but she was wise and witty to put the question across.

This has stayed back in me. Pondicherry has a lot more to offer, but most importantly it taught me to keep questioning. It taught me to live in moments that are larger than life. It taught me to accept my flaws and to correct them when needed. It taught me the idea that as you grow, you don't stop living ,you rather start living in the truest sense.

K.L Das uncle, with whom I had a chance encounter in Mother's school made me believe that I was born to answer a greater call. That I had a spot to claim there in Pondicherry if I ever wanted. He taught me to keep believing in miracles that Mother would chart for me, you, everybody. I have been reading "Savitri" which he had asked me to . I surely would find the answers he had assigned as homework. On random days, my WhatsApp buzzes with his forwards which talk of one's right to be happy and on such days I would like to believe somehow Mother has found a way to reach out to me.

No other place could have done what Pondy did to me. I remain obliged and humbled to my core.

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