A thread woven together makes a cloth, and the type of thread defines what kind of cloth it becomes — silk, cotton, or jute. But what if two ethnicities, two cultures, are woven into a single place? What do you get? Yes, that’s how Pondicherry came into existence — a pastel-coloured town on the southeastern coast of India.

We are gonna have a walk through this ethnic fabric woven into existence, and that too in the cuckooed early morning, where temple chants, the smell of jasmine, and the aroma of spiced filter coffee come alive.

What makes the heritage walk beautiful is the bracing environment before the town goes into a boiling pot, and the tea shacks in every corner boost the morning with tea and coffee, which offer a taste only known to Pondicherry.

Each step we take doesn’t cover distance but unfolds the real history of the French and Tamil — how these distant communities, once so far apart, came into a single place and have stayed glued just like they were from a single body.

The promenade through the beach makes our starting point for the morning walk, covering the French Consulate and Rue Dumas, where houses are painted in yellows and blues. Passing by various buildings that still show the very era of colonial times, you will notice the French-style construction in the bistros and boutique hotels layered along the walkway. Keeping track of the tempting smells that arise from kitchens behind high walls, we finally reach the Our Lady of Angels Church, which faces the sea, looking far beyond into the deep waters that once brought these cultures together.