The French Quarter is what makes Pondicherry different, the grid of streets with French names, the colonial buildings painted in yellows and whites, the cafes that serve croissants and espresso. The quarter that feels unlike India, that France maintained until 1954, that preservation has kept despite decades of Indian administration.

The French Quarter is where tourists concentrate, the boutique hotels in colonial buildings, the restaurants that serve both French and Indian cuisines, the shops that sell what visitors want. The French Quarter is performance of difference; the performance is effective.

The Sri Aurobindo Ashram draws spiritual seekers to Pondicherry, the community that the philosopher Sri Aurobindo and his spiritual partner the Mother established. The ashram that still operates, the devotees who wear white, the samadhi where both are buried and where visitors gather in silence - the ashram is what brought certain visitors before beaches became draw.

The ashram represents one Pondicherry - the spiritual seeking, the community living, the philosophy that attracted followers from around the world. The ashram's presence shapes Pondicherry's character, the vegetarianism and sobriety that it promotes.

Auroville is the utopian community that the Mother founded in 1968, the township designed for human unity where residents from dozens of countries live and work. The Matrimandir at its center, the golden sphere that meditation fills, the vision of humanity transcending divisions - Auroville is experiment that continues fifty years on.

Auroville is controversial - the idealism that believers defend, the contradictions that critics note, the gap between vision and reality. Auroville is what happens when utopian ideals meet human nature; the result is interesting if incomplete.

The Promenade beach is where Pondicherry gathers, the seafront where morning joggers and evening strollers share space beneath statues and street lights that France installed. The beach that isn't for swimming - the rocks and currents forbid it - but is for being together in public space that colonial planning created.

The beach is where French and Indian Pondicherry meet, the Gandhi statue and the French war memorial sharing the same promenade. The beach is where Pondicherry displays itself to itself and to visitors.

The Tamil Quarter beyond the canal is where most Pondicherrians live, the neighborhoods where temples rather than churches mark the skyline, where Tamil is spoken and French is foreign. The Tamil Quarter is what colonial cities separated - the European settlement, the native town - and what independence hasn't fully integrated.

The Tamil Quarter provides the authenticity that the French Quarter lacks, the India that exists beyond the colonial facade. The Tamil Quarter is what makes Pondicherry Indian despite the French vocabulary that tourism promotes.