Page 25 - SLURRPP #2

THE BRIDGE BETWEEN

THE PAST AND THE PRESENT

- By : Rahul Choudhury

Rahul Choudhury is a foodie who travels
across the country

What can be more soothing for your tired soul than sitting with a hot cup of coffee and

enjoying chill breeze by the sea shore in the land of Sri Arovindo Ashram, the Little
French Colony of India- Pondicherry, now Puducherry.

“Le Café”, the only waterfront café of Puducherry once housed the customs office for
the then port of Puducherry, during the French period. It is believed that the building is

exactly built on the same piece of land where the French first set eyes on from their
ship.
A narrow gauge railway track

was also built on the back of the
building which was used to

supply goods to and from the
port. In early 1900s, the track
got washed away by a cyclone

and what remained behind is
only the building that is present

day’s Le Café.

Just few minutes of walking

from the Gandhi statue in
Promenade beach, you will be

welcomed by a small white
square building which has not
changed much from its port era

besides only a few new
additions. The beauty of the café

is more enhanced by the open
sitting arrangement that directly

faces the Bay of Bengal.

The menu contains a variety of dishes like burgers, cakes, salads, sandwiches,

croissants and of course coffee and soft drinks. Among the various dishes coffee,

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