Gratitude By The Sea

Within the French accents of Puducherry, a sanctuary welcomes those in search of the elusive quiet.

- Siddharth Dasgupta

THE FAMOUS AMERICAN WRITER MARK TWAIN WOULD SPEND EVERY SUMMER AT HIS IN-LAWS’ ESTATE IN ELMIRA, NEW YORK.

His sister-in-law, Susan, built him a small study split up from the main house at Quarry Farm. In this octagonal Victorian gazebo, surrounded by the warmth and tangibility of solitude, Twain would go on to pen the first drafts of many of his seminal works, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.

Twain’s not the only one. Gertrude Stein would write while ensconced in the driver’s seat of her Model T Ford. Ernest Hemingway chose the large desk and bookcase-lined library at Finca Vigía—his home in Cuba, built by the Catalan architect Miguel Pascual. Maya Angelou would rent a hotel room, sans any decoration save for the Bible, in her hometown, paying for it by the month. Agatha Christie, too, would choose the comforting anonymity of hotels, favouring Room 411 at the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul.

As is amply evident, writers will go to great lengths to find their writing sanctuaries. For me, the endeavour proved a touch less arduous when I checked myself into Gratitude Heritage, a restored homestay in the heart of Puducherry. For bohemians in the know, Puducherry has long been the preferred choice for lost weekends—the kind where a spiritual retreat could turn into parties rife with delicious toppings of hedonism.