Souvenirs for sale in the Cafe Des Arts. A 19th-century building filled with colonial art and furniture and serving a menu of French classics, Pondicherry, India.Pondicherry (now Puducherry) is a Union Territory of India and was a French territory until 1954 (legally on 16 August 1962). The French Quarter of the town retains a strong French influence in terms of architecture and culture.