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The inauguration ceremony
attended by delegates of 124 nations, was held on Wednesday 28 February
1968. Handwritten in French by the Mother.
In the middle of the town is the
Matrimandir, which was conceived by "the Mother" as "a symbol of the
Divine's answer to man's aspiration for perfection". Silence is maintained
inside the Matrimandir to ensure the tranquility of the space and entire
area surrounding the Matrimandir is called Peace area.
Getting There
A site, approximately 20 square
kilometres of barren wasteland, some 10 km north of Pondicherry and 5 km
from the coast was chosen for the city.
Pondicherry is
connected to Chennai via the East Coast Road through Mahabalipuram. The
Pondicherry Road Transport Corporation runs buses within the city. The Tamil
Nadu State Transport Corporation operates Volvo air-conditioned services
from Chennai to Pondicherry. There are daily bus services from several main
stops from Chennai.
In Pondicherry,
taxis, buses and autos are available easily. There are a number of
moderately priced hotels in the town.
Pondicherry hosts its own railway
station that connects the city with all other major cities like Bhubaneshwar,
Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Kanpur. So, one
planning to reach Pondicherry by train has got wider options.
Pondicherry has its own airport
named
Pondicherry Airport,
located at Lawspet, 7.5 km away from town center. Currently there is no
commercial scheduled flights services at this Airport.
The nearest domestic / international airport is
Chennai International Airport,
located at Chennai, 148 km north of Pondicherry. It is about three hours
drive to Chennai International
Airport from Pondicherry. To make arrangements for a taxi from Airport
to Pondicherry, contact one the taxi operators and travel agents that have
counter in the Airport.
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