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Puducherry

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Union Territory · Capital: Puducherry

Key facts
TypeUnion Territory
CapitalPuducherry
FormedDe facto transfer from France on 1 November 1954; de jure on 16 August 1962
Official languagesTamil, Telugu (Yanam), Malayalam (Mahé), English, French
Population (Census 2011)12,47,953
Andaman and Nicobar IslandsAndhra PradeshArunachal PradeshAssamBiharChandigarhChhattisgarhDadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and DiuDelhiGoaGujaratHaryanaHimachal PradeshJammu and KashmirJharkhandKarnatakaKeralaLadakhLakshadweepMadhya PradeshMaharashtraManipurMeghalayaMizoramNagalandOdishaPuducherryPunjabRajasthanSikkimTamil NaduTelanganaTripuraUttar PradeshUttarakhandWest Bengal

Known for

  • French colonial heritage: the grid-planned French Quarter (White Town) and French still taught and spoken by some families
  • Four separate regions: Puducherry and Karaikal on the Tamil Nadu coast, Mahe on the Kerala coast and Yanam, surrounded by Andhra Pradesh, on the Godavari
  • Sri Aurobindo Ashram and the international township of Auroville
  • The seafront Promenade (Beach Road) and quiet beaches
  • Arulmigu Manakula Vinayagar Temple and the Saturn shrine at Thirunallar
  • Franco-Tamil (Creole) cooking alongside Tamil, Malabar and Godavari food

Main sources of income

Puducherry is a small Union Territory with a Legislature; services make up the largest part of its economy.

  • Services: Trade, tourism, hotels and restaurants, education and health care, including JIPMER and Pondicherry University
  • Manufacturing: Industrial estates making textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electrical and engineering goods, and food products
  • Agriculture: Paddy (especially in the Karaikal delta of the Cauvery), sugarcane, groundnut, coconut and vegetables
  • Fisheries: Marine fishing from coastal villages and harbours in Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam

Top 5 specialities

  1. Villianur terracotta: Hand-made clay figures and pots from the potters of Villianur, sold as decor and for temple offerings
  2. Tirukanur papier-mâché: Light, painted dolls and figures made from paper pulp by craftspeople in Tirukanur
  3. Handmade paper: Paper made from cotton rag and plant fibres in units of Puducherry and Auroville, sold as stationery and gifts
  4. Sea fish and seafood: Fish, prawns and crab landed along the coast, a livelihood for many fishing villages
  5. Heritage and spiritual tourism: Visitors to the French Quarter, the Ashram, Auroville and temples support hotels, cafés, guides and craftspeople

Best practices

  • Heritage protection of the old town: Puducherry has listed its French and Tamil heritage buildings and uses building rules to keep the character of the old town, so restored houses live on as homes, hotels and offices.
  • Re-greening a barren plateau: Since Auroville was founded in 1968, residents have planted trees and built bunds and check dams on the eroded red plateau, restoring forest cover and recharging groundwater.

Dance & performing arts

  • Bharatanatyam

Festivals

  • Masi Magam
  • Pongal
  • Villianur Temple Car Festival

Food

  • Creole (Franco-Tamil) cuisine
  • Tamil cuisine

Crafts & heritage

  • Auroville handicrafts
  • Terracotta
  • Handmade paper

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More from Puducherry

Traditional recipes (17)

  • Puducherry meen kuzhambu

    A tangy fish curry of tamarind, shallots and roasted spices, cooked in clay pots in Puducherry's fishing villages.

  • Assad (Franco-Tamil coconut curry)

    A mild Creole curry of meat, chicken or fish in coconut milk with turmeric, ginger and green chilli, from Puducherry's Franco-Tamil families.

  • Vadouvan (vadagam) spice mix

    Sun-dried balls of shallots, garlic, mustard and curry leaves that flavour curries and tempering in Tamil and Puducherry kitchens.

  • Eral thokku (prawn masala)

    Prawns cooked down in a thick, spicy masala of shallots, tomato and pepper until the gravy clings to them.

  • Nandu masala (crab curry)

    Mud crabs cooked in a peppery masala of roasted coconut, shallots and spices.

  • Nethili meen varuval (anchovy fry)

    Small anchovies coated in chilli and rice flour and fried crisp, eaten with rice and rasam.

  • Karaikal meen varuval (fried fish)

    Thick slices of seer or pomfret marinated in a red masala and pan-fried, a staple of the Karaikal coast.

  • Unnakaya (Mahe and Malabar)

    Ripe plantain mashed and stuffed with sweetened egg or coconut, shaped like a pod and fried, a snack of Mahe and Malabar.

  • Kallummakaya fry (Mahe mussels)

    Green mussels from the Malabar coast tossed in a dry masala of chilli, pepper, shallots and coconut oil.

  • Pulasa pulusu (Yanam)

    A tamarind-based curry of pulasa (hilsa) fish from the Godavari, cooked slowly in a clay pot in Yanam and nearby towns.

  • Ragi koozh

    A cooling, lightly fermented porridge of finger millet and broken rice, served with buttermilk, shallots and green chillies.

  • Kondakadalai sundal

    Boiled chickpeas tempered with mustard, curry leaves and grated coconut, sold in paper cones on Puducherry's beach and made for Navaratri.

See all 17

Traditional dances (3)

  • Karagattam

    A Tamil folk dance in which dancers balance a decorated pot on the head while dancing, performed at village temple festivals in Puducherry.

  • Therukoothu

    An all-night Tamil street theatre of song, dance and dialogue based on the epics, performed in villages of Puducherry and northern Tamil Nadu.

  • Poikkal kuthirai attam

    The 'false-legged horse' dance, in which a dancer wearing a dummy horse frame and wooden stilts prances like a horse.

Famous places (6)

Sources