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Like most ancient cities, the origin of Pondicherry lies buried in legends. It could, have been the mythical "Podhigai" said to have been the sacred abode of the legendary Sage Agusthia or and it could be the now forgotten "Vedhapuri"a settlement of scholars well-versed in the vedas. Excavations in the Arikamedu area near Pondicherry have brought to light the remains of a trading port which had connections with the Greeko-Roman world more than a century before the down of the Christian Era. You will be bound to see the glorious remains of Arikamedu excavations in the Archaeology section of the Pondicherry Museum.
Having remained the capital of the erstwhile French India, the legacies in Pondicherry have a special flavour not found anywhere in the Indian subcontinent. The French town-sense, neatly laid roads, wide and vibrant beach promenade French colonial history, the eventfull life of Joseph Francois Dupleix,the Manson of Ananda Ranga Pillai "the Diarist", architecturally handsome churches and public buildings of a bygone era, all add up to the French connection package.
The Hotel de Ville (Town Hall), the War Memorial, the 4.25 metre tall Gandhi Statue,the 27 meters tall old lighthouse, the Dupleix statue are notable point of attraction along the 1,500 meters long promenade. The Botanical Garden in the town is another of the legacies left behind by the French.
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