Puducherry's White Town, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and the Auroville township

Background

Puducherry is the Tamil interpretation of 'new town' and mainly derives from 'Poduke', the name of the marketplace or port town for Roman trade in the 1st century. The original name of the territory, Putucceri, is derived from the Tamil words putu ('new') and ceri ('village') or 'New settlement'. The French changed this to Pondichéry, which it was called until its name was officially changed to Puducherry in 2006. Among its attractions the most outstanding is the French Colony, also called the White Town, flaunting cobblestone streets and yellow houses, where the historic building housing the French consulate also stands and streets keep names such as Rue Dumas, Rue Romain Rolland and Rue Suffren. Another major highlight of Puducherry is Sri Aurobindo Ashram, a spiritual community founded in 1926 by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, which is a centre of yoga and meditation. The famous experimental centre, Auroville, is located nearby; it is an experimental township founded in 1968 with the aim of promoting human unity, harmony, and sustainable living, is home to people from over 50 nationalities, and houses 'Matri Mandir', Sanskrit for Temple of the Mother.