Two women talk on the street with their bicycles, around the The Sri Aurobindo Ashram, a spiritual community located in Pondicherry, India. The ashram grew out of a community of disciples who had gathered around Sri Aurobindo after he retired from politics and settled in Pondicherry in 1910. 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.