Puducherry

This article is about the capital city of the eponymous Union Territory. For the Union Territory itself, see Puducherry.

?Puducherry Puducherry • India
Map of the greater Pondicherry region
Puducherry
Coordinates: 11°′N 79°′E / 11.93, 79.83
Time zone	IST ([[UTC+5:30]])
Area • Elevation	•  m ( ft)
District(s)	Puducherry
Population	(2001)

Coordinates: 11°′N 79°′E / 11.93, 79.83 Puducherry is a city and a municipality in Puducherry District in the Indian union territory of Puducherry. Both the Union Territory and the city were previously known as Pondicherry before September 2006.

Geography

Puducherry's average elevation is at sea level. The town of Chidambaram in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, famous for the Chidambaram Temple, lies 58 km south of Pondicherry.

The city is protected against the sea by a 1.25 mile (2-kilometer) long seawall, first completed by the French in 1735, which reaches a height of 27 feet above sea level. 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. The boulders, some weighing up to a ton, are weathered black and brown.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,^[1] Puducherry had a population of 220,749. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Puducherry 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 Puducherry, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

The majority of Puducherrians are Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam speaking people. However, when its French colonisers, at the time of leaving the country, gave Puducherrians the option to secure French nationality, few availed of the offer. There is a community of French people in Puducherry and a number of French institutions such as a consulate, French schools, the French Institute, and L'Alliance Française. A fascination for the French language and French culture is very common. Many French tourists visit this charming seaside town out of curiosity and because, to a certain extent, it feels familiar to their home country.

There is also a sizeable community of Indians from other states of India, notably Bengal, Gujarat and Orissa. Many amongst them are there because of "Sri Aurobindo Ashram," founded by Sri Aurobindo and his disciple, Meera Alfasa.

Institutions

• Sri Aurobindo's Ashram: a spiritual community dedicated to The Mother and Sri Aurobindo's teachings and vision.
• Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education

Famous people

Famous people who have lived in Puducherry include:

• Sri Aurobindo and Subramanya Bharathy who took part in the Indian independence movement.
• Famous Tamil Poet Bharathidasan was from here.
• It is also the birthplace and home of the titular character in Yann Martel's Life of Pi, before he emigrates to Canada.

See also

• Pondicherry University
• Pondicherry Engineering College
• Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research

References

External links

• http://www.thepondicherry.com

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