Pondicherry
Pondicherry, often called Puducherry is a Union Territory of India. It is a former French colony, consisting of four non-contiguous enclaves, or districts, and named for the largest, Pondicherry.In September 2006, the territory changed its official name from Pondicherry to the vernacular original, Puducherry, which means "New village" in the Tamil language. The territory is called Putucceri) or Paicceri in Tamil,, or "Pondichéry" in French. It is also known as The French Riviera of the East .
Geography
Puducherry consists of four small unconnected districts: Pondicherry, Karaikal, and Yanam on the Bay of Bengal and Mahé on the Arabian Sea. Puducherry and Karaikal are by far the larger ones, and are both enclaves of Tamil Nadu. Yanam and Mahé are enclaves of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala respectively. The territory has a total area of 492 km²: Puducherry (city) 293 km², Karaikal 160 km², Mahé 9 km² and Yanam 30 km². It has 900,000 inhabitants (2001).History
A remarkable degree of French influence in Puducherry exists to this date. Puducherry was designed based on the French grid pattern and features neat sectors and perpendicular streets. The entire town is divided into 2 sections, the French quarter (Ville Blanche or 'White town') and the Indian quarter (Ville Noire or 'Black Town'). Many streets still retain their French names and French style villas are a common sight in Puducherry. In the French quarter, the buildings are typically colonial style with long compounds and stately walls. The Indian (Tamil) quarter consists of houses lined with verandas, and houses with large doors and grills. These French and Indian style houses are identified and its architecture is preserved from destruction by a organization named INTACH. If ever anyone wishes to demolish the existing house in the town area and rebuild, they need the permission from this organization and the new built house should resemble the same architectural beauty it possessed before destruction.The use of French language can be still seen in Pondicherry.Puducherry still has a large number of Tamil and a small number of non Tamil residents with French passports, whose ancestors were in French Governmental service and who chose to remain French at the time of Independence. Apart from the monuments pertaining to the French period, there is the French Consulate in Puducherry and several cultural organisations. Another important one is 'Le Foyer du Soldat'. It is a Legion hall for soldiers who served in the different French wars.
Of the cultural organisations the French Institute of Pondicherry, the Pondicherry Centre of the École française d'Extrême-Orient and a branch of the Alliance Française are noteworthy. A French-medium school system, the Lycée Français de Pondichéry, continues to operate under the aegis of the French Minister of National Education (France).
Regional official languages
Telugu: It is also an official language of Pondicherry but used only when communicating within Telugu district (Yanam). So, more correctly it is considered as regional official language of Pondicherry while being official language of Yanam District. It is also has official language status in Andhra Pradesh State.Malayalam: It is also an official language of Pondicherry but used only when communicating within Malayalam district (Mahe). So, more correctly it is considered as regional official language of Pondicherry while being official language of Mahe District. It also has an official language status in Kerala State and Lakshadweep Islands Union Territory.
