A building worker asleep on a break inside the derelict Hotel du Ville that has been saved by INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage). 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.