Pondicherry is a French colonial settlement in India until 1954, is now a Union Territory town bounded by the south-eastern Tamil Nadu state. Pondicherry was under French rule until 1954 and some people here still speak French (and English with French ac- cents). Hotels, restaurants and ‘lifestyle’ shops sell a seductive vi- sion of the French-sub continental aesthetic, enhanced by Gallic creative types whose presence has in turn attracted Indian artists and designers. Thus Pondy’s vibe: less faded colonial-era ville, more a bohemian-chic, New Age–cum–Old World hangout on the international travel trail.