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Colonial History
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Pondicherry, established in the seventeenth-century as a trading outpost of the French East India Company, evolved into France’s most enduring colonial settlement on the Coromandel Coast. Though controlled at various intervals by the Dutch and the British, it remained under French administration…
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One of the stories Pondicherry most likes to tell about itself is of its Frenchness. It does this in many ways, culling the sparse remnants of 138 years of French presence in this town from the much longer, denser history of the area. There are street names like Dumas, Lally Tollendal, Romain…
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Pondicherry was under French rule from 1674 and subsequently developed into a trading hub for the French East India Company. They dealt with textiles–and in particular, guinée cloth. Also known as blue cloth (indigo-dyed), this textile was renowned for its colour and quality — attributed to the…
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Though Puducherry is often viewed through the lens of its French colonial past, the region’s sacred history predates European arrival by many centuries. Located between Tondaimandalam and Cholamandalam, it became part of the Chola realm in the eleventh-century CE, inheriting a tradition of temple…
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The Tamil language has a prolific literary tradition, represented in Puducherry by its substantial history of theatre. Theatre, like other art forms, evolves in response to changing social contexts, cultural practices, and performance spaces. Through contributions of numerous artists, institutions…
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The colonial town of Puducherry has been home to some of India's greatest poets, spiritual seekers, and visionaries, especially during British rule. It possesses the rare virtue of being both a political refuge and a spiritual haven for several luminaries who, on their part, were both freedom…
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The Fire-Station Banyan Tree was brimming with excitement. He was eager to reach the enchanting Coconut Island of Thengaithittu before Auroville Banyan Tree had a chance. The low tide on the Ariyankuppam River filled him with delight, as he no longer needed to make the lengthy detour over the…
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Living through the carnage of the 1857 Revolt, Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib’s was most pained at the ruin of his beloved city, Delhi. Interestingly, we find that while in his ‘official and published’ diary, ‘Dastanbuy’, he writes in support of the British (his then patrons), some personal letters…
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