Welcome to Hotel De L'orient
In the course of many recce visits to Pondicherry in search of old structures, Francis Wacziarg and Aman Nath came across the house on 17 Rue Romain Rolland. It had been occupied since 1952 by the Department of Education. During the days of the French, the building was called the ‘Instruction Publique’ – the board still sits above the entrance door. The Department was about to vacate the building as it had been declared unsafe. The house was formally acquired in October 1998 and when the restoration started, a few ceilings and arches had to be rebuilt to their original style as they indeed were about to collapse. Rue Romain Rolland is in the heart of Pondicherry and was earlier called Rue des Capucins after a monastery that once existed off the street. (A church by the same name was commissioned in 1707).
The rooms – now all air-conditioned – have been named after former French possessions: Masulipatam, Surate, Calicut, Gingy, Balassore, Cassimbazar, all names of ‘loges’ and ‘factories’. The suites have been named after the better known French areas: Mahe, Yanaon, Chandernagor, Karikal. In each room an object symbolizes the region in which the French-occupied town was in. The courtyard, in the centre of the property, links the street with the dining room and serves as a stage for cultural performances too.
