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Inspite of its diminutive size, Pondicherry attracts a large percentage of tourists visiting India. The unique spiritual charm of the place in enhanced by the fact that it was a home to the great poet Sri Aurobindo and the Mother (whose real name was Mirra Alfassa and she was born in Paris. An accomplished pianist and a painter, she became a follower of Shri Aurobindo and later came to be known as the Mother).
The Auroville, with its multinational, multilingual and multicultural population is the realized dream of both these visionaries, to build a universal society living in complete harmony. Pondicherry is at present, a union territory with its area scattered over three different states in the country.
The capital of the union territory of Pondicherry is also known as 'Pondicherry' and is situated on the Coromandel Coast on the Bay of Bengal, at a distance of 162 Kms from Chennai. Karaikal is another part of Pondicherry, which is also situated in the state of Tamil Nadu. The other two parts are Yanam in Andhra Pradesh and Mahe located on the southern side of river Mahe in the westcoast of Kerala.
Once a French colony, Pondicherry still has a few French families living there and French is an important language. The French spirit can be discerned in the very layout of the township. The magnificent statues of Joseph Francois Dupleix and Joan of Arc, the warrior saint of France tell of a significant French influence on the history of the place. The French Institute of Indology and Ecole Francaise d'Extreme Orient are the living legacies of the former French occupation of the territory.
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