Pondicherry

Pondicherry The old French colony has retrieved its Indian character, but the scent of the French influence in "Pudicheri" as we call now French dream of an Indian empire has taken life but it also rapidly came to an end in Pondicherry.Something quite different from the rest of India. , One can found again in the red kepis of the police officers, French spelling on signboards and traffic signs and some buildings and old stones. Pondicherry traces its origin to Saint Agasthya, the revered sage of the south. The excavations near Pondicherry reveal, that a Roman settlement existed here, 2000 years ago. It was also the site of many a battle between the British and the French, and was the capital of French India, before it attained its independence.

This restored, attractive, former French colony, exudes a Mediterranean aura with its chic streets, elegant houses, ornamental gardens and the Hotel de Ville. Being a small and quiet enclave of Tamil Nadu, it has imbibed the Tamilian culture. Apart from the charming atmosphere, excellent restaurants and cheap beer, what attracts most travellers to Pondicherry is the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and its offshoot, Auroville, 10 km outside town. The ashram, founded by Sri Aurobindo in the year 1926, has brought international reputation to this coastal town. The ashram, the spiritual tenets of which combine yoga and modern science is quite popular within India and abroad.

Festivals of Pondicherry differ from the rest of India, for the French influence still persists prominently here. Masquerade, held in March - April, is a popular mask festival, during which brilliantly costumed and masked people of Pondicherry, dance down the streets to the music of trumpets and accordions. During the Eve of the Bastille Day, retired soldiers parade the streets in war finery, singing the French and Indian National Anthem. French is still widely spoken, and the seaside villas and the cobbled streets are more reminiscent of the south of France than the south of India!.

The Union territory of Pondicherry encompasses an area of only 480 sq km with Pondicherry town and its villages covering 290 sq.km surrounded by the south Arcot District, Karaikal town and its villages covering 161 sq.km surrounded by Tanjavur district, Mahe and its villages covering 9 sq km surrounded by the Kerala state, and Yanam covering 20 sq.km within the East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh. While Pondicherry, the head quarters of the union territory, lies 162 km south of Madras and 22 km north of Cuddalore, Karaikal is about 150 km south of Pondicherry and Yanam about 840 km north-east of Pondicherry on the Andhra Coast. Mahe lies almost parallel to Pondicherry, 653 km away on the west coast.