Evening star., 1923-10-19
EYES TURNED Upon
FRENCH IN INDIA
Proposed Erection of Wire
less Tower on Southeast
Coast ReviveS Interest.

A brief news item stating that the
French plan a powerful wireless tower
| on the southeast coast of India gives
| rise momentarily to the question,
What are the French doing In India %
"One recollects from his English
colonial history that France once held
| sway over all Southern India. He may
| be forsiy en- for forgetting that she
still has five separate colonies there,
| for they are not often conspicuous" !"
says bulletin from the headquarters
OF the National Geographic Society.
Pondicherry, the principal possess
sion, and capital of French colonial
India, lies along the road from Mad
ras 70 Cuddalorc, 122 miles by rail
south of the former.
Quiet for Two Centuries.
THE charming seashore city Of
about 10000 peoples which is the chief
town of Pondicherry, and bears the
same name, seems to prove the blessed
ness OF a lack of history. 1t has been
Two centuries since it participated in
any events of more than local import.
Leaving ship about mile from
shore the visitor has his first distinc-
tive experience by riding the rough surf
IN maSullah. The usual tender would
be enSulfed by the lofty breakers that
cSash against the Pondicherry coast.
The type of boat used is built of long
piankS, with high sides and a flat bot
tom. The floor is lined with twigs to
Keep passengers feet dry.
Thrills OF Roller Coaster Spin.
The trip has all the thrills of a roll
er coaster spin. for the boat litaraIly
rides the waves instead of cutting
through them. The planks are flexible
ana the queer boat can bump ship or
shore and rebound like "a rubber ball.
Anotner curious craft-a one-man
car OF the shore waters-is the cata-
IiaTan. Three logs with upturned
ends are lashed together and the
surr-rider on this precarious float has
tall. peaked hat that looks like
an elongated Ounce cap. Inside his
nat are pockets for the letters and
small parcels he carries.
Although Pondicherry has no har-
Dor, its spacious pier gives first evil
dence OF its modern aspect. At one
END Is statue of a great general
DuplelX' hero OF the siege of Gingee,
i!lula inland Gibraltar. Surround
ing the statue are carved columns
brought by him from the native
fortress, which was the stronghold
OF the Nahratta kings. whose IiIa
eliminated in the great Sivaji
Stes With Arabian Nights, Tales.
The romance OF Mahratta history,
the traditions of the Gingee strong
h9Id. built on three hills. ard the
adventures of Sivaji from the time
he escaped from a Mogul emperor
in a confections basket until he he
came the King Arthur of his people
are events which vie with the Arabian
Nights tales.
When in 1850 the French can
tured the impregnable' Gtngee. alien
aScendancy over southern India was
established, and eleven years later.
when the British took the fortress
from the French, the last vestige of
French military prowess in india
vanished. The three hills stand to-
day off tho beaten paths of travel. in
the south Arcot district of Madras,
as grim reminders of a fascinating
chapter IN colonial competition. The
name OF the region where Pondichcrry
lies-the Coromandel coasts a
memento of the activities of a third
power, Portugal, in Iudia's colonial
tion.
Riding In "Push-Push."
IF the visitor has acquired the
taXicab habit he will leave his ma
sullah TO step into another extraor-
which, in English. is aptly a push
push This chair resembles a boa rd-
walk conveyance at Il seaside resort
save that In the land OF cheap human
labor two ebony attendants push it
and two more pull il.
ITO one who would avoid dreams
Of tipping the pallbearers at his own
funeral it is more comfortab to
walk to his hotel. The charm of the
Place de la Republique, with it's band
playing in a central stand, and of
the Place du Government. with It's
greensward and fountain and the
public buildings around II, lures the
newcomer to contemplation,
Dancing Girls Adventure.
"Tke fountain has q story--every-
thing has in Pondicherry-for it
seems that here once stood the home
of a dancing girl. 4 king chanced
that way one eveping and, mistakine
her cottage for q. shrine, the king
stopped to worship. there. When he
discovered bis mistake he ordered
the cottage demolished, which was
done, whcrcupon q fountain began to
flow at that place. Sometimes Wis
itors scoff at this story; then they
are shown an old Latin inscription
which proves II, for does the inscrip-
tion not record that a dancing girls
homo did stand here in ancient times?
THE town Is cut in halves by a
canal and tho European section is
notably clean. It's streets are laid
out at right angles instead of in the
more customary haphazard fashion
Of the east. Many of them are tree
lined and q promenade runs along the
waterfront. Few horse drawn or mo-
tor vehicles traverse its streets. The
quiet of the town constitutes one of
it's quaint charms