Pondicherry is a beacon of bread and function. It greeted with blossoming trees, heat that cried welcome to the south, and my first proper brunch since being in India.
In Pondicherry, I woke up to the fact that I was in southern India and could get any tropical fruit I desired, while my friends and family suffered record snow falls. I celebrated this with a trip to the produce purveyors.
My bill totaled a little shy of two dollars.
One can not write about Auroville without mentioning Aurobindo and the Mother. Pondicherry is dominated by their Ashram. Outside Pondicherry is Auroville (huge gold dome pictures represents the Mother), which is an ecologically centered community that produces many lovely products. My favorite product was a raw nut based Ladoo make with dates, nuts, cardamon, and things I can't remember. If you are in Pondicherry go to Auroville or any of the grocery stores and stock up, you can not buy enough.
When you spend all your money on Aurobindo Raw Ladoo and fancy rooftop terrace drinks, street food by the sea wall is an excellent option. I sampled all the dishes and you can't go wrong. The bread is made out of Ragi flour which is healthier than the normal nan chipati, and had a sweet after taste. I was fond of the dumplings and also was happy to have chickpeas seasoned minimally with herbs.
