12/11/2016 PondicherrythroughtheeyesofJaneJacobs|UrbanDesignCollective

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PondicherrythroughtheeyesofJaneJacobs

POSTEDBYANINSIGHTFULNUTMAY12,20132COMMENTS
FILEDUNDER CITIES,HERITAGE,JANEJACOBSWALK,PONDICHERRY,URBANPLANNING
Jane Jacobs, a selftaught urbanist and activist believed that a city had to be experienced, lived in and
requireduniquecustomizedsolutions.Manyofherprinciplescomeacrossascommonsensetodaybut
were ahead of their time at one point. The Jane Jacobs Walk Foundation organizes annual
neighbourhood walks early May, to coincide with her birthday. This year UDC brought the walk to
India to Pondicherry, Chennai and Mumbai. I was lucky to have been able to aend the walks in
PondicherryandChennai,bothofwhichchangedthewayIlookattheseneighbourhoods.Thishere,is
anaccountofthewalkinPondicherrysBoulevardTown.

Citieshavethecapabilityofprovidingsomethingforeverybody,onlybecause,andonlywhen,theyarecreatedby
everybody.JaneJacobs,DeathandLifeofGreatAmericanCities

Pondicherryhasthreestronginuencesthatlenditauniquecharacter.ItwasastrongholdoftheFrench
from1674to1954. The French quarter is a distinct European neighbourhood,quietstreetsedgedwith
characteristicyellowbuildings.ThesecondisthatofShriAurobindo,aspiritualleaderwhoseAshram
hasastrongpresenceintheFrenchquarter,withitsgreyausterebuildingsandaradiatingpeace.The
third, in complete contrast, is the Tamil town, noisy, lively, vibrant and dirty. In the wonder that is
Pondicherry, these distinct neighbourhoods coexist and thrive, through an intermingling culture,
streetscapeandarchitecture.

OurhostsforthePondicherrywalkwereVidhyaMohankumarandDevangiRamakrishnan.Thewalk
wasaendedbyaveryenthusiasticmotleycrowd.Wewereaskedtodoaroundofspeeddatingtoget
toknowourfellowwalkersbeforewecommencedthewalkanditwasratherinterestingtonotethatnot
all of us hailed from Pondicherry. Walkers came from Chennai, Bangalore, Calcua, Trichy, Rajkot,
Guwahati,ErnakulamandMumbaibutno,theywerenttouriststheywerejustpeoplewhoconnected
withPondicherryenoughtomovethereandmakeithome.

Letsstartwithagameofspeeddating!

OurwalkstartedfromLeCafonthebeach,afteraquickcoeeandcroissantforbreakfast,meandered
throughtheFrenchTownpausingatnotablebuildings,andaforgoenfeaturehere,agameplayinthe
shadeofatreethere,totheTamilTownandendedwithlunchatSurguru,atimetestedlocalfavourite
notableforitssouthIndianthalimeal.

LeCafewherethewalkstarted

ThewhitewashedLeCafonthewatersideofthepromenadeishousedintheoldporthouse.Itisane
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ThewhitewashedLeCafonthewatersideofthepromenadeishousedintheoldporthouse.Itisane
exampleofadaptivereuseofaheritagebuilding.IrememberspendingalazySundayhereonce,manyyears
ago; greedily soaking in the vast expanse of the ocean, but it was India Coee house then. The current
managementandserviceofthecafleavealottobedesired.

Wethenwalkeddownthepromenadethatrunsalongthebeach,alsoknownasGoubertAvenue.Itwas
andisPondicherrysmostusedandcelebratedpublicspace.Althoughthepromenadeisbereftofmuch
needed shade, making it a trying place to be in during the day, once the sun sets, it transforms, lled
with people young and old enjoying the view of the ocean, street vendors and food carts creating a
bustle.Whatmakesitmorespecialisthatvehiclesarenotallowedonthepromenadefrom6pmto6am
everyday making it all the more delightful as a public space. Interestingly, this is not a new
phenomenon; carriages were not allowed on the promenade during the French rule as well! It is
heartening to experience a pedestrian priority public space, when many of our cities are becoming
increasinglyvehicleorientedandelitistmallsarebeingcitedaspublicspaces.JaneJacobsbelievedthat
lifewasonthestreetsofacity,thatdierentpeopleuseditdierentlyduringdierenttimesintheday
creatingastreetballetofsorts.

Wepassedseveralmonumentsandbuildingsofreputeonthepromenade.Oneworthyofmentionisthe
abandonedMairiebuilding/HoteldeVille,onceabeautifultownhall.Despitethename,thebuilding
wasneverahotel,butwastheoceofthemayor,acommunitycentreforpubliceventsandregistrarfor
marriages. A nondescript building in the campus still functions as a marriage registrar, conrmed by
oneoftheparticipantswhorecentlyaendedaweddingthere.Thefutureofthisbuildingisinperil,for
unlessconserveditwillcollapse.Sadly,Indiadoesnothavestrictheritagelawsandwhenbuildingsare
abandonedorfallintodisrepairtheyareoftendemolished,destroyingcenturiesofhistoryandheritage
forthesakeofconvenience.

TheveryneglectedMairiebuildingorHoteldeVille

WithheavyheartswetrudgedforwardtotheoldestschoolinPondicherry,whichwasfeaturedinthe
lm, Life of Pi. The compound wall did not deter the dedicated; we climbed a bench to peer into the
schoolcourtyardanditsemptyhallways.

WalkersonGoubertAvenuetryingtolookoverthecompoundwallofPondicherrysoldestschoolThePensionnat
deJeunnesFilles

The walk was interactive with discussions and games that got us thinking. We were asked to list the
elements that make up a street. Most of us picked visible elements that we would use such as street
furniture,benches,dustbinsandtrees.Wewerepointedoutthattheunsungheroesofthestreetarethe
invisible underground services such as the storm water, sewer and electrical lines. (Disclaimer I was
askednottoplaythegamegiventhatdesigningstreetsisoneofthethingsIdoforaliving)

AswemeanderedthroughtheFrenchquarter,welearnttorecognizeFrenchbuildingswiththeirstyleof
windows, doors, and colours from the Ashram buildings which were gray, simple and elegant. The
IndoFrench architecture of houses is characterized by direct entry from the street into a landscaped
courtyardaroundwhichthehouseisorganized.Deepverandahscircumventthecourtyardenablingthe
inhabitantstoenjoythegardenfromtheshade.TherstoorusuallyhasFrenchwindows/doorsthat
overlookthecourt.

MeanderingthroughthestreetsoftheFrenchQuarter

Another characteristic feature of these buildings is the window grills which project outwards. After2/6
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Another characteristic feature of these buildings is the window grills which project outwards. After a
gameofguessing,wededucedthatitallowedapersontolookdownbothsidesofthestreetasopposed
to a straight grill which would only oer restricted views of the street just in front of the window,
directlyrelatingtoJaneJacobsprincipleeyesonthestreettocreatesaferneighbourhoods.

ManyoftheoldIndoFrenchbuildingsarenowbeingrestoredandconvertedtohotels,andanaward
winning example of one such building is Hotel Dlorient (Neemrana Group) which was once a public
institute.Westoppedhereforamuchneededrefresheroficecoldwateratthecourtyardcaf.

InthecourtyardoftheHotelDeLOrient

Istayedtherelastyear,andhavetoapplaudtheexcellentconservationeortsinrestoringthelimeplasterandold
furnitureandinnovationinincludingandsuccessfullyhidingmoderndayplumbingandairconditioning.Though
Iwouldrecommendeveryonetogostaythere,Ihavetowarnyouthatthetoiletandbathhavenodoors.

Our next stop was Bharathi Park, surrounded by an ensemble of important buildings, the impressive
UCO Bank building, the state legislative assembly, the government hospital, a beautiful colonnaded
buildingthathousesthebooksocietyandQualithe,ahotelandbarthathasstoodthetestoftime.Itis
oneofthefewbarswhichisnotairconditioned,fullofhistory,characterandlocalsthathavebeenthere
foralongtimeandmakeforsomeinterestingconversation.

BharathiParkwasanopengroundwheretheFrenchmilitarypracticedtheirdrills,andwasturnedinto
aparkin1940.PillarsfromGingeefortwerebroughttoPondicherrytosupportDupleixsstatueandare
nowrandomlystrewnaroundthepark.Theparkisavibranturbanspaceandsupportsavarietyofuses
through the day. Families of patients in the government hospital use the park to rest eat and wait.
Patients themselves frequent the park to get some fresh air and hobble around, often in their hospital
clothes! Others use it as a park, children play, and some choose to walk through the park as the
surroundingroadshavenofootpaths.

OutsideBharathiParkandinfrontoftheLegislativeAssembly

We proceeded to walk past the Ashram and the only Hindu temple in the French quarter the
MannakkulaVinayakartemple,withitsfamousmascot;Lakshmitheelephant.Urbanlegendhasitthatit
thatthenoisefromthetempleangeredaFrenchGovernorwhoorderedhismentothrowtheidolinto
the sea, only to have it appear back in the temple even before the men could return to the shore!
Dupleixs wife is also said to have ordered for all the temples in the current French quarter to be
convertedintochurches,butforreasonsunknownsparedthisone.

OurnextstopwasGolconde,adormitorybelongingtotheAshram,verydierentincharacterandstyle.
Itisabeautifulexampleofmodernarchitecturethatisdesignedtobeclimatefriendly.Unfortunately,
theydonotallowlargegroupstoenterthepremisesintheinterestoftheprivacyoftheinmates,sowe
gawkedatthebuildingfromoutsideandploddedon.Imadeamentalnotetoreturntoitonanother
dayonmyown.

TheFrenchtownandTamiltownareseparatedbyacanal,builtbytheBritishduringtheirshortreign.
This canal carries the towns sewage and storm water and is a very strong physical and visual barrier
betweentheWhiteandTamilTown.Iwonderifitwasplannedasabarricadeandasymbolofdivision.
From the Canal, the character of the streets change drastically, you have to navigate between vehicles
and people and watch where you step, the noise rudely shakes the reverie of the French Town out of
you.

Amongst the chaos of the Tamil town there is one street brimming with charm; Vysial Street. All the
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Amongst the chaos of the Tamil town there is one street brimming with charm; Vysial Street. All the
houses have the traditional thinnai and thazhvaaram, symbols of old world hospitality and the street
boastsofvisitorslikeShriAurobindoandSubramaniaBharathiyar.Thebuildingsonthisstreetdened
theedgeofthestreet,greatlyengagingwithitduetothelackofcompoundwallsorsetbacks.

OutsideSubramaniaCheiarshouseonVysialStreetShriAurobindostayedherewhenhemovedtoPondicherry
andmetSubramaniaBharathiyarhere

Thetreelinedstreetseemstobefromanothertime,fromanoldTamilmovie,Ihalfexpectedgigglinggirlsinhalf
sareestorunpastme.

The star on this street is Hotel La Maison Tamoule, belonging to the Neemrana group, an exemplary
example of conservation and adaptive reuse. The lovely sta served us some cold hibiscus juice, a
welcomerespitetotheunrelentingheat.

Afterarefreshingglassofhibiscusjuice,wewerereadytosmileforagroupsnap

OurpenultimatestopwastheGoubertMarket,asplendidplacelledwithexcitingsoundsandsmells,
begging to be explored, from juicy mangoes to alphabets than can be fried, pan chewing fat ladies,
strongsmellingheadyowers,onecouldeasilyspendawholedayhereandnotbuyanything.

ThewalkendedattheV.O.C.School,namedafterV.O.Chidambaram,thefreedomghterhailingfrom
Pondicherry. Unfortunately its buildings are in a state of disrepair. The school is organized around a
courtyard,shadedbyoldtrees,andhasamagicalqualitytoit.Thewalklastedalmost5hoursandan
exhausted bedraggled but happy bunch of us took a last lingering look at the school and dragged
ourselvesforwardtothepromiseoflunchandairconditioning.

ThoughIhavebeentoPondicherryverymanytimes,thewalkbathedthecityinnewlight.Aniceold
buildingImayhavepassedmanytimescamealivewithastory,thedierencebetweenthewhitetown
andblacktownwasmademoreapparentbyagameweplayed,therewerebitsofcolourinapreviously
blackandwhitelandscape.Awalklikethistome,engagesonewiththeircommunity,awakensasense
of civic pride and can be the stepping stone towards a change, towards beer cities and more active
communities.

PhotographsCourtesyAishwaryaRajagopal,HareeshHaridasan,DevangiRamakrishnan

Nithya Ramesh is an Architect Urban Designer, passionate about experiencing and changing cities.
She currently works in Jana Urban Space Foundation, Bangalore creating be er streets and public
spaces.

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Discussion

2thoughtsonPondicherrythroughtheeyesofJaneJacobs

1.Interestingyetinformative.ThespiritofPondyhasbeencapturedwell.

POSTEDBYRESTEDYETRESTLESS|MAY20,2013,7:05PM
REPLYTOTHISCOMMENT
2.Rebloggedthisonaninsightfulnut.

POSTEDBYANINSIGHTFULNUT|MAY26,2013,11:31AM
REPLYTOTHISCOMMENT

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