Right up your rue

November 20, 2014 08:29 pm | Updated 08:37 pm IST

HYDERABAD, 03/02/2012: (FOR METRO PLUS) Sitara Special Chicken Dum Birayani  at Hotel Sitara Grand at Road No.12, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad.__PHOTO: M_SUBHASH

HYDERABAD, 03/02/2012: (FOR METRO PLUS) Sitara Special Chicken Dum Birayani at Hotel Sitara Grand at Road No.12, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad.__PHOTO: M_SUBHASH

Your Weekend guide to Pondy

Even if you know Pondy like the back of your hand, this weekend is proof enough that you have plenty to catch up with. There are more than a handful of hotspots debuting in town- time for rediscovery, we say.

Where to tuck in:

Biryani in a bucket

After ambling through those tranquil bougainvillea laden streets, crossing the Grand (rather grouchy) Canal back to the busting Rangapillai or Nehru Street can be quite a jolt. On the former street, is somewhere you can still linger over the ‘time has stood still’ feeling -and get some lunch, before being swept away by the frenzied crowd of shoppers. With it’s paint-peeling pillars and thinnai, Appachi does not keep you guessing as to what cuisine it serves. That said, dining inside a seemingly crumbling Chettinad house is not for everyone. But the Chicken bucket biryani they have come up with is a weekend steal and a takeaway. Like bucket chicken, the portions are meant for a small family but come with accompaniments like Chicken Chettiand and priced at Rs. 799. But call 0413-2227419 earlier in the day to book your bucket!

Candelit dinner in a colonial manor

It won’t be an exaggeration if we say Pondy finally has a place where you can actually dress up for dinner. The uber-luxurious La Villa (associated with Villa Shanti) on Rue Surcouf , which opened it’s restaurant some months ago, is also open for lunch. The promise of dining in a 19th century villa with crystal glasses and silver cutlery is seduction enough. Yet in true Pondy style, the dining is in not in marble-floor room but in a natural garden setting. The menu they admit, might not have extensive choices, but incorporates seasonal produce and flavours. As seating is limited, call 0413 2338555 to reserve beforehand.

Coast to Coast

Kerala and Pondy have always shared a connection-after all one of Puduchery’s enclaves is embedded in Kerala. Hotel Accord is celebrating the Kerala connect this weekend with the Western Coastal festival. Food in Kerala varies as you journey up the coast and the ‘Malabar to Konkan’ festival captures the distinctive flavours with dishes redolent of spices, starting this Friday.

Where to splurge

Vintage chic

These American sitcoms can leave you with house-envy. The characters may be twenty or thirty-somethings, broke with bad jobs but hey, they manage to live with furniture that looks part flea-market, part vintage. Well, in Pondy you’ll always find quirky, kitschy and quaint, if you know where to look. But Cottonwood that opened this week at Rue Suffren, dresses up vintage in it’s chic best. Rummage through the shed next to Café des Arts to find apothecary cabinets, chairs in cupcake shades, old trunks, classic cushions and more. The various pieces are a product of French inspiration (conceptualised byMartine Mallard and Cécile Hoorelbeke) meeting Indian craftsmanship. Drop in between 10 a.m to 9 p.m.

To market, to market

The Christmas season is not yet upon us, but there’s a sign of the many flea markets the season brings, right this weekend. Go to a good old jumble sale at Foyer du Soldat on Rue Law de Laurison and you may find something to splurge on a lazy Saturday afternoon. The market is set up by the Rainbow Women, an association of Pondicherrian women with French citizenship from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.. And while you’re there, step inside for an exhibition that brings back World War I in vivid detail.

Leather lust

Be it the high street or the boutique, leather, like love, is everywhere in Pondy. If you want to get your hands on wallets, satchesl or handbags at sale prices, then head to Harappa. Situated on the corner where Kosakadai Streets cuts Mission Street.

Where to party

If you’ve already done the round of the town’s usual party haunts, there’s a new one to add to your list now. Spice Route- the restaurant on Bussy Street, which you might have paused to look at just for the life-size cane bicycle in front- has decided to turn it’s floors over for dancing on Saturday nights. Pondy’s own DJ Darkhunter and DJ Bobby, a popular Kochi nightclub fixture, will pump up the music for an electronic dance partythis Saturday at 7 p.m.

What to experience?

Get under the Moon’s spell in a heritage cinema house

Men and women have always been slightly obsessed with the moon – read festivals, rituals, legends of werewolves and vampires. Mumbai-based Shapeshift will perform it’s new piece ‘Moonfool’ at 7 p.m. on Sunday. The production is a collaboration between theatre artistes and contmepriary dancers to take audience on a dreamy, surreal journey about “love love, longing and loss”. Catch the play at Indianostrum Theatre, where the entrance arch reminds you of a cinema house that stood in colonial Pondicherry. Call 0413-2341475, 9578302087 for tickets. If you cannot make it on Sunday, the Sri Aurobindo Auditorium at Bharat Nivas, Auroville has a special show at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

Make your own enamel statement piece with a French jeweller

Take time out on Saturday morning for a relaxing jewellery making class. Jeweller Delphine Geoffray will put her fascination for enamel in action and you can return home with a piece of jewellery you made yourself. SITA cultural centre on Candapp Mudaliar Street hosts the workshop on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 12 noon.

TOURIST TICKER

Pondy on the Web: INTACH Pondicherry

The organization that is credited with a significant part of Pondy’s heritage conservation and restoration work, has managed to connect with Gen Y with a recently launched Facebook page. Apart from updates on ongoing and upcoming projects, every now and then, they give pictures from their extensive archives a digital life by sharing them on the page. We can’t complain - when we get to see Pondy as it was and as it could be, at one place!

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.