WITH ALL MY LOVE

Navigating her way through the French drapes, SOHINEE BASU reminisces about her whirlwind winter love affair with Puducherry

- SOHINEE BASU

FOR A QUAINT TOWN BY THE SEA

Puducherry’s arresting allure breathes in its sunshine-clad villas and blooming boulevards that compose the perfect postcard-frame, winning over the seeker of all things #aesthetic in you. Existing in its own time bubble, Puducherry may seem to ooze French aura and a poetic charm, but the petit pastel-hued town by the blue waters of the Bay of Bengal has a warm South Indian heart that spins you in its web of nostalgic colonial yarn.

My whirlwind visit to the Union Territory was particularly special because it was the first trip I had managed to arrange with my friends after cancelling a booking to (you guessed it) Goa. So, instead of beaches where the party lights glimmer as soon as dusk descends over the sea, we found ourselves sitting under the glow of Promenade street lamps, swirling lattes as the waves roared and crashed against the cobbled Rock Beach.

However, this wasn’t just another beach vacation that I could possibly shelf along with the numerous others I’ve been on. Instead, Puducherry arrived like a gift—delicately tied in ribbons of warmth and cased in a bubble wrap of cheesy lasagne layers and spongy croissants, catching me off-guard with wafts of fresh calamari and crabs, inviting me on sun-kissed French colony trails while the crashing waves absently sprinkled some love.

DAY ONE: BOHEMIA AND a drizzle OF RAIN