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Pondicherry is the French interpretation of a ‘new settlement’. In September 2006, the authorities changed its official name to the original vernacular Puducherry.

Puducherry sits prettily on the Bay of Bengal and although it lies within the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, it’s a union territory with its own local government. The city has remnants of its past colonial seaside splendour.

The idyllic territory of Puducherry has had a chequered past with the Portuguese being the first Europeans in the 16th century to start trade links, followed in the 17th century by the Dutch and the Danes. This encouraged the French to establish a settlement there in 1674. Puducherry was only a mere fishing village a little over one and a half miles in circumference when it was granted to the French and Francois Martin became the first Governor General of Pondicherry as it was known then. Conveniently located on the seashore, it grew into a prominent fortified town and an important port of call under the Governor. The French traded in items such as Indian muslin, organdie and cotton textiles as well as spices, rosewood, teak and precious stones.

In 1742, Joseph François Dupleix, became Governor of all the French establishments in India. His ambition now was to acquire for France vast territories in India. At the same period, war broke out between France and England. The situation in Europe, and the ambitions of Dupleix stirred up the anglo-french conflict in India, and Pondicherry finally came back to France in 1814 till 1954. Throughout this period the French made a significant impact on the area with certain elements of the culture and the European way of life now still remaining intrinsically linked with Southern Indian traditions.

Arrival

Once you land at Chennai International airport, it’s a three to four hour drive for 165km along the pleasant East Coast Road or ECR where you can get a snapshot of southern Indian life along with breathtaking views of beaches and fishermen’s hamlets. Built along the coast of the Bay of Bengal, the ECR connects Chennai the capital of Tamil Nadu (formerly know as Madras) to Puducherry and beyond, to a place called Cuddalore.

The layout of Puducherry is based on a French design where the complete town is split in two parts. The French quarter or the White Town comprises of neat sectors and perpendicular streets in a grid-like fashion. Most of the streets have kept their French names with many French colonial style villas lining the roads. The Black Town or Indian quarter consists of houses lined with verandahs or balconies with a central outdoor area which is in the typical style of a traditional South Indian dwelling with large ornate doors and grills.

These French and Indian style houses are identified and its architecture is preserved from destruction by an organization named INTACH (the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) dedicated to the conservation of original building design.

It is arguable how much Puducherry’s cuisine has been influenced by the French but there are some restaurants that blend French and Indian techniques and flavours. This is known as Creole cuisine that mixes French ingredients and Indian spices together resulting in an unusual fusion. It is fair to say that the word Creole is very likely adopted from the Louisiana style of cooking which has French influences although the tastes are very different. Examples of this type of food can be found at the charming heritage hotel De L’Orient situated in the heart of the French quarter on Rue Romain Rolland. It has on its menu a hearty French Onion Soup, freshly caught prawns in a creamy Saffron Sauce and a Coconut Flan with Caramel. The Dupleix is another highly acclaimed Heritage Hotel with a ‘Franco-Tamil’ style menu in their Courtyard Restaurant. The Curry Leaf Crusted Fish is a particular favourite made with seer fish that is caught in the traditional way, using hooks and lines. Seer fish is also known as King fish, comes from the mackerel family and has a meaty texture akin to tuna.

Despite having a French flavour to many dishes served in restaurants, the cuisine of Puducherry first and foremost is predominantly South Indian-based because of the geographical location of Puducherry as well as its predominantly Hindu population. If you want to try out some great South Indian seafood dishes, it’s worth nipping down to the restaurant situated in the Calve Heritage Hotel. Their spicy seafood curry in a rich tamarind sauce is one that’s packed with an exotic cocktail of chilli, mustard seeds and fenugreek.

Sampling the South Indian vegetarian fare of Puducherry is a must and one place that’s worth checking out for dosas (Indian style pancakes made with fermented rice and lentils) and one of my favourites the idlis (steamed rice cakes) served with sambar and coconut chutney is Sur Guru on Mission Street. All the dishes are made fresh on the premises and you can’t go wrong with their piquant array of chutneys.

Streetfood is all around. The Mysore Bondas (a spicy deep fried potato cake) are fried in large karahis (woks) and served with an extremely hot coconut chutney. Its worth trying out the fabulously rich coffee on the one of the busiest stalls in Puducherry where the weekends are packed with locals desperate to quench their thirst with a cuppa served with savoury snacks such as samosas and a Chennai Mixture similar to ‘Bombay Mix’. A wheatflour based sweetmeat known as halwa, a semolina based sweetmeat called Rava Ladoo and a gorgeously vibrant Indian style doughnut - mini jangris are sold everyday on street corners and roadside eateries known as dhabas but I would advice purchasing all your regular eatables from a store such as the Adyar Ananda Bhavan sweets and snacks shop on Jawaharlal Nehru Road. There are people in the shop who are most helpful and allow you to sample before you buy.

Visiting a fish market is an experience in itself even if you don’t plan on buying anything. The sights, sounds and above all, the smells are something you will never encounter anywhere else. At Nellithope Indoor Fish Market, women proudly display their seafood in neat rows and bargaining is necessary. I was particularly interested in the price of seer fish and I bought a large one for Rs300 (£3.50) which I was told was not too bad an asking price. I’ll take their word for it. Armed with my fresh fish that was already gutted for me with an archaic yet still commonly used tool, I went to visit the home of Mrs Vijayalakshmi Neelakandan. Vijayalakshmi is a Tamil housewife who showed me how to prepare a few simple dishes which would be typical in a South Indian household. After two hours of grinding, mixing, marinating and tempering, we came up with a thali (a large banana leaf) consisting of vegetables, lentil dishes, rice, a meat stew and fried seer fish. Many South Indians are Hindus and practice vegetarianism but there are many who have been influenced by other religions such as Christianity and Islam who eat meat and fish. Various goat meat-based aromatic curries and stews are eaten with parottas made out of plain flour.

Picture by Eric Nathan

Spirituality and religion

Just like most places around India food is very much a religion and an integral part of customs and traditions. The spoken languages in Puducherry are Tamil, Malayalam, Telegu and English. Bizarrely, the national language of India, Hindi is not spoken.

One place of interest is the Sri Aurobindo Ashram – a place of worship on Rue De La Marine. Sri Aurobindo was a saint-yogi, philosopher-poet who originally came to Pondicherry to escape persecution by the British. In Pondicherry, he developed a unique spiritual concept where there are no rituals, no practices and no compulsory mediation. With its own community of around 1200 members, the Ashram dominates the spiritual landscape of Puducherry.

An extension of the Ashram is known as Auroville. It’s a rural settlement or a self-style universal township based on the vision of ‘the Mother’ a former French painter-sculptor-musician who had carried on the work of Sri Aurobindo after his death. At Auroville, you can check out Roma’s Kitchen – A delightful canteen which specializes in Northern Indian dishes. The top sellers are the Tandoori Chicken and the Fish Tikka. The influence of the Auroville and the Ashram is visible in many shops and homes throughout Puducherry in the form of portraits of its two founders.

At the Ganesha Temple (Manakkula Vinayakar temple) in the heart of Puducherry, you can meet Lakshmi the temple elephant who uses her trunk to give blessings and to collect coins from the devotees and tourists. However, she is partial to guava fruits which appear more inviting than money.

The people of Puducherry are very generous whilst being extremely proud of their culture and traditions which is reflected in the way they enthuse about the way they live.

Puducherry has become a regular weekend destination for Indians all over India but it still remains a place unlike any other, untouched from the outside world where you can give time a break.

Where to stay

In the hotels listed below, prices for rooms per night range from a single around Rs 3000 right upto Rs 10,000 for a presidential style suite.

• Hotel De L’Orient
• 17, Rue Romain Rolland
• Puducherry 605001
• Tel 0091 413 2343067/2343068

• Le Dupleix
• 5 Caserne St
• Puducherry 605001
• Tel 0091 413 2226999/2226001-5

• Calve
• 36 Vysial Street
• Puducherry 605 001
• Tel 0091 413 222 4103
• www.calve.in

• Kailash Beach Hotel
• Purnankuppam Village
• Ariankuppam Commune
• Puducherry 605 007
• Tel 0091 413 261 9700

• The Promenade
• 23, Goubert Avenue
• Puducherry 605 001
• Tel 0091 413 222 7750

Where to eat

• Calve
• 36 Vysial Street
• Puducherry 605001
• Tel 0091 413 222 3738

• The Courtyard Restaurant
• Le Dupleix
• 5 Caserne St
• Puducherry 605001
• Ph: 0091 413 2226999/2226001-5

• Adyar Ananda Bhavan
• Jawaharlal Nehru St
• Puducherry

• Roma's Kitchen
• Auromodele
• Auroville
• Puducherry
• Tel: 0091 413 2622032

• Sur Guru
• Mission Street

• Baker Street for authentic French pastries and chocolates
• 123 Bussy St
• Puducherry 605001
• Tel 0091 413 645 8888

Where to shop

From bangles, brass ornaments to household goods and stainless steel utensils at competitive prices, Goubert Market in the centre of Puducherry has everything you would need.

When to visit

Three nights in Puducherry will give you enough time to be selective and to chose the places you would like to visit. The rains occur principally in the months of October, November and December with a few showers from July to September. The dry season lasts from January to July and the hottest period which is the summer is from April to August. The best time to visit which is the busiest time is during December, January and February. January is the time of the Pongal Harvest Festival.

How to get there

Direct flights (10 hours) are available to Chennai from London on British Airways at ba.com

As of October the 2nd 2008, smoking is now prohibited in public places all over India.

Alcohol is served in most restaurants and Indian wines from Western Indian states and Beaujolais from Europe are the most popular.

FOOD GLOSSARY

Appam

An appam is a pancake made with ground rice that’s mixed into a batter with coconut milk and left to ferment.

A bonda is a typical South Indian snack which is generally savoury. A portion of a spicy potato mixture is made into a round sphere, dipped into a gram flour (besan) batter and then deep fried.

Dhaba

A dhaba is a small roadside eatery offering meals cooked on the premises and served in sparse surroundings. Almost like the equivalent of a trucker’s café.

Dosa

A dosa is a popular South Indian pancake that is made from a fermented batter of rice and skinned split black lentils (urad).

Idli

An idli is a South Indian steamed rice cake made with fermented rice and skinned split black lentils (urad)

Jangri

A jangri is a sweet snack made with a lentil flour batter which is deep fried and then soaked in a sugar, cardamom and saffron syrup.

Karahi

A karahi is a metal wok with handles.

Laddoo

Laddoo is the term for the shape of the sweet which is round. Laddoos are made from all sorts of ingredients such as wheat flour, semolina, nuts, fruits and spices.

Parotta

A parotta is a griddled unleavened bread similar to the North Indian paratha.

Pongal

Pongal is a South Indian festival giving thanks to the harvest as well as the name of a sweet pudding-like dish made with rice, jaggery (unrefined sugar cane), lentils and coconut. There is also a savoury version.

Rasam

Rasam is a dish similar to sambar but has more of a consommé like texture.

Rava

Rava is the Indian term for semolina which is a common ingredient in South Indian dishes both sweet and savoury.

Sambar

A sambar is a soupy lentil dish made with a spice mixture called sambar podi which is eaten throughout southern India.

Thali

A thali means a plate and is a metal tray in which a main meal is served.

Tiffin

A tiffin is a midday snack or early lunch and is also the name of the box in which cooked food is stored.

Uppama

Uppama is a savoury breakfast dish made with semolina that is cooked with spices including curry leaves and green chillies.