Diwali weekend in Puducherry

Peaceful and quaint Puducherry or rather Pondy. This was my first trip with Vinay's brother and sis in law - big V&D and their 4 year old kiddo - Baby V.

We stayed in a lovely hotel called Kailash Beach Resort, about 7-10kms from the main city, nice property with a beautiful pool, very interesting old world furniture, decent service and a lovely beach just round the corner - where Vinay got a chance to practice his golf. The French area in Pondy is really quiet and pretty. We hired cycles and rode along the Beach Road for a bit. I was a bit wobbly in the beginning but got the hang of my cycle soon - loved the breeze on my face as I pedalled along the by-lanes next to the Aurobindo Ashram. Vinay got me mad with his complete confused look after the ashram visit - he could not understand that spirituality is far tougher to comprehend that basic ritualistic garbage we practice day in and out - what got me specifically mad was his complete lack of curiosity - he just gave up - saying all this is crap and so bloody complex - why couldnt Aurobindo make it all simple...grrrrrr! I took my 'badlaa' on our way back when we stopped to visit a temple in the town of Tiruvenamallai (my spelling sucks)- made faces and showcased the sceptic that I am. he got pissed and YAYYYY I won! On a lighter note the temple architecture was beautiful and the carvings intricate and very impressive - D and I chatted about how these large temple courtyard were earleir meant to cater to our social, religious and entertainment needs - no gBoss and Indian Idols those days :)

How can I miss talking about baby V- the little 4 year old is a budding Bollywood (or maybe Sandalwood or Kollywood) star - she truely made our day with her witty comments and a terribly curious mind - her mum is the worlds most patient mum answering all her WHY AMMA questions. Baby V is really growing prettier by the day :)