Puducherry (city)

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

Puducherry v • d • e Puducherry • India
Puducherry
District(s)	Puducherry
Coordinates	11.93° N 79.83° E
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area • Elevation	• 0 m (0 ft)
Population	220,749 (2001)

Coordinates: 11.93° N 79.83° E

Puducherry is a city and a municipality in Puducherry District in the Indian union territory of Puducherry. Both the Union Territory and the city are also known by the name "Pondicherry" which is a variation of "Puducherry."

Contents 1 Geography 2 Demographics 3 Famous people 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Geography

Pondicherry is located at 11.93° N 79.83° E.^[1] It has an average elevation of 0 metres (0 feet). 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.

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census,^GRIndia Pondicherry had a population of 220,749. 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 are Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam speaking people. However, when its French colonisers, at the time of leaving the country, gave Pondicherrians the option to secure French nationality, few availed of the offer. There is a community of French people in Pondicherry 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.

[edit] Famous people

Famous people who have lived in Pondicherry include Sri Aurobindo and Subramanya Bharathy who took part in the Indian independence movement. Famous Tamil Poet Bharathidasan was from here. Hollywood film director M. Night Shyamalan was born in Mahe, a small town in the state of Kerala, that comes under the administration of the Union Territory of Pondicherry. It is also the birthplace and home of the titular character in Yann Martel's Life of Pi, before he emigrates to Canada.

The city houses Sri Aurobindo's Ashram, a spiritual community dedicated to The Mother and Sri Aurobindo's teachings and vision.

[edit] See also

• Pondicherry University
• Pondicherry Engineering College
• JIPMER

[edit] References

1. ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Pondicherry

[edit] External links

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 11.93° 79.83°
  • Mapping from Multimap or GlobalGuide or Google Maps
  • Aerial image from TerraServer
  • Satellite image from WikiMapia

State and Union Territory capitals of India

Agartala • Aizawl • Bangalore • Bhopal • Bhubaneswar • Chandigarh • Chennai (Madras) • Daman • Dehradun • Delhi • Dispur • Gandhinagar • Gangtok • Hyderabad • Imphal • Itanagar • Jaipur • Jammu • Kavaratti • Kohima • Kolkata (Calcutta) • Lucknow • Mumbai (Bombay) • Panaji • Patna • Puducherry • Port Blair • Raipur • Ranchi • Shillong • Shimla • Silvassa • Srinagar • Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)

	Union Territory of Puducherry [ v • d • e ] Puducherry Topics | History | Economy | Geography | Culture | Tourism
Capital	Puducherry
Districts	Puducherry • Karaikal • Mahe • Yanam
Major Towns	Puducherry • Karaikal • Mahe • Yanam
Languages	French • Tamil • Malayalam •Telugu