Pondicherry: Difference between revisions

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Pondicherry பாண்டிச்சேரி Puducherry
Clockwise from top right: Gandhi Statue, Promenade Beach, Matrimandir, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Aayi Mandapam (monument), Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Manakula Vinayagar Temple
Nickname:  Pondy
Country	India
State	Puducherry
District	Puducherry
Established	1673
Elevation	3 m (10 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	654,392
• Density	9,166/km2 (23,740/sq mi)
Languages Tamil, French, English
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN CODE	605001-605014
Telephone code	91 (0)413
Vehicle registration	PY-01,PY-05

Pondicherry (/pɒnd[invalid input: 'ɨ']ˈtʃɛri/ or /pɒnd[invalid input: 'ɨ']ˈʃɛri/) or Puducherry is a city, an urban agglomeration and a municipality in Puducherry district in the Indian union territory of Puducherry. It is affectionately known as Pondy, and has been officially known by the alternative name Puducherry since 2006. Pondicherry is the regional capital and largest city in the territory.

The history of the City of Pondicherry is recorded only after the arrival of Dutch, Portuguese, British and French colonialists. By contrast, nearby places such as Arikamedu, Ariyankuppam, Kakayanthoppe, Villianur and Bahur, which were annexed by the French East India Company over a period of time and which became the Union Territory of Pondicherry after Independence, have recorded history predating the colonial period.

A marketplace named Poduke or Poduca is recorded as a Roman trading destination from the mid 1st century. The area was part of the Pallava Kingdom of Kanchipuram in the 4th century. The Cholas of Thanjavur held it from the 10th to 13th centuries, only to be replaced by the Pandya Kingdom in the 13th century. The Vijayanagar Empire took control of almost all the South of India in the 14th century and maintained control until 1638 when they were supplanted by the Sultan of Bijapur. The French acquired Puducherry in 1674 and held it, with an occasional interruption by the British or Dutch, until 1954 (de jure 1956), when it was incorporated into the Indian Union along with the rest of French India.

On 18 October 1954 in a general election involving 178 people in Pondicherry Municipal and Commune Panchayat, 170 people were in favor of independence and eight people voted against. On 1 November 1954, Puducherry became part of the union.

However, the formal agreement was signed on 16 August, which is the date celebrated as Independence Day in Puducherry. Following the demands of French India, Viduthalai Kaala Makkal Iyyakkam to their current CM^{[clarification needed What does this stand for?]} of Puducherry. So 1 November was declared as the Independence Day of Pondicherry and 16 August as the Republic Day.

The topography of Pondicherry is the same as that of coastal Tamil Nadu. Pondicherry's average elevation is at sea level, and a number of sea inlets, referred to as "backwaters" can be found.

Pondicherry experiences coastal erosion. The city is protected against the sea by a 1.25 mile (2-kilometres) long seawall, first completed by the French in 1735, which reaches a height of 27 feet above sea level.^[1] A weather-beaten cement plaque with the year 1952 is still visible along a section of the seawall. The seawall is protected from the direct onslaught of waves by rows of granite boulders which are reinforced every year to stop erosion. Whenever gaps appear or the stones sink into the sand, the Government adds more boulders to keep it strong.

Pondicherry city consists of 42 wards. Wards 1-10 are located in north of the city. Wards 11-19 are located in Boulevard Town and remaining wards are located in the southwest of the downtown.^[2]

Panoramic view of Pondicherry town

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In 2012, the Ministry of Power inaugurated the Smart Grid project in Puducherry.^[3]

Farming around Pondicherry include crops such as rice, pulses, sugarcane, coconuts, and cotton.

The climate of Pondicherry is classified by Köppen-Geiger system as tropical wet and dry (As),^[4] similar to that of coastal Tamil Nadu. Summer lasts from April to early June, when maximum temperatures frequently hit the 41 °C (106 °F) mark. The average maximum temperature is 36 °C (97 °F). Minimum temperatures are in the order of 28–32 °C (82–90 °F). This is followed by a period of high humidity and occasional thundershowers from June till September.

The northeast monsoon sets in during the middle of October, and Pondicherry gets the bulk of its annual rainfall during the period from October to December. The annual average rainfall is 1,240 mm (49 in).^[5] Winters are warm, with highs of 30 °C (86 °F) and lows often dipping to around 18–20 °C (64–68 °F).

At the 2011 India census,^[8] Pondicherry had a population of 675,000. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Pondicherry has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 82%, and female literacy is 71%. In Pondicherry, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

The majority of Pondicherrians speak Tamil, Telugu, or Malayalam. There is a community of French people in Pondicherry and a number of French institutions such as a consulate, the French Institute, and L'Alliance Française.^[9]

There is also a sizable community of Indians from other states of India, notably West Bengal, Gujarat and Odisha.^{[citation needed]}

Tamil and French are the official languages of Pondicherry.

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Data according to 2001 census.

There are two proposals by the Puducherry government, firstly to merge Pondicherry and Oulgaret municipalities, and upgrade Pondicherry municipality into a '"municipal corporation", and secondly to upgrade Villianur and Ariyankuppam commune panchayats into municipalities, which would increase the Pondicherry region's urban area around 155 km². of the total 292 km².

Pondicherry is connected to Chennai via the East Coast Road through Mahabalipuram.^[10] The Pondicherry Road Transport Corporation runs buses within the city.^[11] The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation operates Volvo air-conditioned services from Chennai to Pondicherry.^[12] There are daily bus services from several main stops from Chennai.

From 14 April, as PM N.Modi announces the city to be a Smart City - Pondicherry is now connected by Air India with an ATR aircraft service 6 times a week except Wednesday, its an afternoon service departing from Bangalore returning by evening to Bangalore.

Pondicherry is connected by train to all metros: Chennai, Delhi, Howrah, and Mumbai, as well as other important cities such as Kanyakumari, Pune, Bhubaneshwar, Bangalore and Mangalore.^[13][14] Puducherry Airport has scheduled flights to Bangalore, as well as charter flights and operations of the local flying training school.

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Pondicherry is a popular tourist destination in South India. The city has many colonial buildings, churches, temples, and statues which, combined with the systematic town planning and planned French style avenues, still preserve much of the colonial ambiance.

The most popular tourist destinations are the four beaches in Pondicherry, which are Promenade Beach (also known locally as the Rocky Beach), Beach, The Auroville Beach and Serenity Beach. Sri Aurobindo Ashram, located on rue de la Marine, is one of the most well known and wealthiest ashrams in India. Auroville (City of Dawn) is an "experimental" township located 8 km north-west of Pondicherry. It is meant to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities.

There are a number of old and large churches in Pondicherry, most of which were built in the 18th and 19th centuries. A number of heritage buildings and monuments are present around the Promenade Beach, such as the Children's Park & Dupleix Statue, Gandhi statue, Nehru Statue, Le Café, French War Memorial, 19th Century Light House, Bharathi Park, Governors Palace, Romain Rolland Library, Legislative Assembly, Pondicherry Museum and the French Institute of Pondicherry at Saint-Louis Street.

Pudducherry Botanical Gardens is located south of the New Bus Stand. Chunnambar Backwater resort is situated 8 km from Pondicherry, along the Cuddalore Main Road. This tropical resort is flanked by a quiet-flowing creek on one side. Boating and tree house^{[clarification needed]} are very popular.

Arulmigu Manakula Vinayagar Devasthanam on Manakula Vinayagar Street is a famous Hindu temple, which houses Lord Ganesha. Sri Manakula Vinayagar Temple was in existence before the French came and settled in Pondicherry i.e. before 1666. According to Sasthra, Lord GANESHA is named in 16 types based on his various forms, out of which this god facing the east coast near the Bay of Bengal was named as Bhuvaneshar Ganapathy, now called as Manakula Vinayagar. In Tamil, 'Manal' means sand and 'Kulam' means pond near the sea. Earlier, there was full of sand around the pond. So, the people called the god as Manal Kulathu Vinayagar [means God near the pond of sand]. Later, it was named as Manakula Vinayagar.

Thirukaameeswarar Temple is one of the ancient temples located in a rural town called Villianur (the ancient name is Vilvanallur, meaning "vilva marangal niraindha nalla vur"), which is located about 10 km away (towards Villupuram) from Pondicherry town. This temple is renowned as Periya Koil "Big Temple". The prime god is Lord Shiva and the prime goddess is Goddess Kokilambigai. In addition, there are also other Hindu gods such as Murugan, Vinayagar, Thakshanamoorthy, Perumal, Bhramah, Chandikeshwarar, Natarajar, Navagrahah, and 63 Naayanmaars. The pioneers^{[clarification needed]} in this temple say that the age of this temple is about 1000+ years. It is thought to have been built by one of the Chola kings. There is also a huge "temple pond". The "Ther Thiruvizha" (Car Festival) is celebrated at this temple.

Apart from so many sight seeing places for the tourists, there are a number of various bakeries and restaurants that cater to the Europeans taste buds. For others there are many Indian, Continental, Chinese and fast food restaurants to choose from.

Panoramic view of Pondicherry beach

• Pondicherry University, Kalapet
• Pondicherry Science Forum
• Puducherry Science Centre & Planetarium(Govt. of Puducherry)
• Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research
• Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Veterinary Education and Research
• Sri Manakula Vinayagar Engineering College
• Pondicherry Engineering College
• Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Institute of Engineering and Technology
• Indira Gandhi Govt. General Hospital & PG Institute
• Rajiv Gandhi Govt. Women & Children Hospital, Ellapillaichavadi (Formerly Indira Gandhi Gen. Hospital)

• Tamil Poet Bharatidasan.

• Sri Aurobindo took part in the Indian independence movement.
• Mirra Alfassa

• M. Night Shyamalan, American film director, born in Mahe, Pondicherry
• Anandaraj, Tamil movie actor
• Kalki Koechlin, Bollywood actor
• Ayesha Kapur

• S. Somasegar, Senior vice president, Microsoft
• Ganapathi Thanikaimoni, Indian scientist and director of the Palynology laboratory of the French Institute of Pondicherry
• Yvonne Artaud, French educationalist and psychologist.
• Navi Radjou, an innovation and leadership strategist based in Silicon Valley.^[15]

• N. Rangasamy
• V. Subbiah
• Edouard Goubert
• V. Venkatasubha Reddiar
• M. O. H. Farook
• V. Vaithilingam
• V. Narayanasamy
• M. Vaithianathan

• French General Jacques Lauriston was born in Pondicherry.

• The titular character in Yann Martel's Life of Pi.

• 
  Beach Promenade
• 
  Harbor at Pondicherry beach
• 
  Mahatma Gandhi's Statue
• 
  Pondicherry beach viewed from light house
• French War Memorial
  French War Memorial
• 
  Park Monument (Aayi Mandapam) in the Government Park
• 
  Bharati Park (Government Park)
• 
  The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
• 
  Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pondicherry
• 
  The Church of Our Lady of Angels
• 
  Soldier on guard at gate of Government Palace, Pondicherry
• 
  Goubert Avenue, Pondicherry, India
• 
  Street sign in Tamil and French
• 
  Puducherry Tamil house
• 
  French Consulate

• Mahé, India
• Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research
• Mahatma Gandhi Medical College & Research Institute
• Pondicherry Engineering College
• Pondicherry University
• Rajiv Gandhi College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences
• Yanam, India

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Pondicherry.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Puducherry.

• Template:En icon Official website of the Government of the Union Territory of Puducherry
• Template:En icon Official website of Department of Tourism, Pondicherry
• Template:En icon Official website for Tourism Development, Pondicherry
• Template:En icon Pondicherry's City Portal & Guide