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The French Riviera of the East

It is called the French Riviera of the east, my birth place. History has bestowed upon it many a name, and I feel it has lived up to the name...

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The Town

    Everyone or most of the people have an attachment to the place they have been born in. But my hometown proved to be a seductress. She never loosened her grip on me or those people who can vouch for the veracity of the sublime seduction that this place in all of India throws on those who willingly visit it. 

    The place had different names in different times. Some call it the French Riviera of the East owing to the lingering French influence upon its people and culture. Though I sometimes feel, it might diminish owing to the influx of people from all over India. In the past it used to be trading port of Romans, then called by the name Poduca and even sometimes mythology takes precedence. It is said that the same town was known in the Mythical age as Vedapuri. 

The Mystery

    I grew up in the Muslim Quarter of the town of Pondicherry. The Muslims as history says were dislocated or relocated out of the White town (French town) as it was called then, to the present place some 300 years ago when the French decided that they kept the area between the Big Canal and the Sea to themselves.

    Many stories or legends were passed on by word of mouth from one generation to the other. Some are documented the others are not. Be it the legend of the Tamil Sufi saint Mowla Sahib or else the ethnicity of a part of the Muslim population. So before I delve into these, let me say, I do not have conclusive well documented history to back everything I say except when I provide them with.

In Pondicherry,
Visit me at my Internet Coffee Shop:
 
Wi Corner
1, Cazy Street (1st Floor)
Near Grand Bakery - Bussy Street
Pondicherry - 605001.
India


Version: 1.0 (July 27, 2005)