Pondy Tales and Trails

10/02/2022

The rise, fall, and the false rise of the Marie building

Marie building, also known as the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall), was built in 1871. Since then, the building housed the Mayor of Pondicherry, the local assembly, the municipal council, office of the registrar of births and deaths. The French voted for the assembly elections in Paris in 1871 from the Marie building which is seen as the first sign of democracy in this part of the world. Every major political incident from the late 19th century took place at the Marie. Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the former prime minister of India, addressed the Pondicherry assembly at the Marie building after independence. The building also housed the first Pondicherry legislative assembly from 1964 to 1969 before it shifted to the present premises in 1969.

The ground floor of the building was used as the Mayor's office, while the first floor, the central hall, was used for conducting civic receptions, music concerts, dance performances, and marriages. The elected civic body coordinates the receptions with the Mayor presiding over the functions.

A building with such historical importance for the Pondicherry government and the people of Pondicherry collapsed in November 2014 due to prolonged negligence. The intervention for restoration was too late, which resulted in the loss of one of the important heritage buildings of the town.

After the fall of the Marie building, a proposal for reconstructing the Marie building with the same architectural features was put forth by different stakeholders in the town. But this time, the PWD and the INTACH team had different opinions on the construction method.

The PWD proposed the reinforced concrete structure, while the INTACH team and heritage enthusiasts proposed a traditional construction method with lime mortar and madras terrace roofing.

Finally, in 2021, the new Marie building constructed with RCC was inaugurated by the honorable Prime minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi.

The rebuilding of Marie with the same architectural features but different construction techniques reminds us of fake conservation of heritage. In fact, after reconstruction, it is not even part of the heritage.

But the reconstruction of the Marie building satisfied the people of Pondicherry since they had an emotional connection of registering and celebrating their marriages in the central hall.

Marie building taught us a hard-hitting lesson that timely restoration is needed to conserve the heritage of Pondicherry, and negligence is costly, not just in terms of money but losing a piece of history along with the building.

Since this incident, nothing much has changed over the years to conserve the heritage of the Pondicherry. Robust initiatives are required to save the heritage buildings from deterioration and demolition. Fingers crossed. Let us hope that the fate of the Marie building doesn't happen to other heritage buildings like Raj Nivas in the town.

12/01/2022

Ananda Rangapillai, born in Perambur in 1709, emigrated to Pondicherry with his father Thiruvengada Pillai in 1716. Thiruvengada Pillai soon became favorable to the French and attained a respectable position. After Thiruvengadam Pillai's demise in 1726, the French employed Ananda Rangapillai as the chief of the Indian employees in the factory since the French had high regard for the family. In 1748, Ananda Rangapillai became the Dubash of Joseph Francois Dupleix and played a significant role in the internal and external affairs of the French East India Company. He wrote a diary of the daily incidents in his life from 1736 - 1761. This diary, published in 12 volumes, serves as a window of historical events of the period. The period witnessed intense struggles for power by the Marathas, the Mughals, the French, the British, and others, and Pillai used words from all of their languages. If you are someone, who wants to dig deep into the history of Pondicherry, Ananda Rangapillai's diary is a must-read.

To know more such stories of Pondicherry, keep following our page and join us for a heritage walk on the weekends.

Photo Credit: IFP, Pondicherry.

06/01/2022

The Bijapur king invited the French to set up a factory in Pondicherry in competition with the Dutch.

With the support of the Bijapur commandant Sher Khan Lodi, the foundation of Pondicherry was laid in 1674 by Francois Martin, the first governor of the French East India Company. Francois Martin managed to set up a factory and built a fort (in the present Bharathi Park) to attract the craftspeople ( weavers, merchants, painters) in and around the town and succeeded.

From 1674 to 1693, Pondicherry's area limits were only up to the present French Town.

The Dutch captured the town in 1693 AD with the support of the Maratha ruler of Senji and also bought the surrounding villages, thereby extending the limits of Pondicherry. The Dutch also played a pivotal role in the urban development of the heritage town of Pondicherry that we see today.

To know more such stories of Pondicherry, keep following our page and join us for a heritage walk on the weekends.

Source: From the Origins of Urban Development of Pondicherry according to Seventeenth Century Plans, Jean Deloche.

04/01/2022

04/01/2022

27/12/2021

One of the most visited sites in Pondicherry is the Manakula Vinayagar temple in the French quarter. But do you know the intriguing tale of the temple? The temple existed even before the French arrival in 1673. According to the local legend, prayers and festival celebrations at the Manakula Vinayagar temple didn't go well with the French, which resulted in the prohibition of the rituals in the temple. People who offered prayers in the temple got expelled to the neighboring village Morantandi which came under British rule. Manakula Vinayagar idol was thrown into the sea multiple times during the French period. But the Idol appeared in the same place as before. As a result of several attempts to sacrilege the temple during the 1700s, Hindus started leaving the town. This situation alarmed the French since those people were predominantly working in the weaving mills. Soon the restrictions to the temple became relaxed to appease the local community. Even today, Pondicherrians visit the temple before every special occasion in their life. The deity was earlier known as Buvanesar Ganapathy but later became known as Manal Kulathar, which means God surrounded by a pond (Kulam) filled with sand (Manal).

To know more such stories about Pondicherry, keep following our page and join us for a heritage walk on the weekends.