By Hector Choksi
India’s British past stands imposing in some of its most splendid buildings. But today the country is erecting a tribute to its French connection to attract tourists.
A former French colony known by the name of Yanam, (with an area of 30 square kilometers and a population of 32000) tucked along India’s southeastern coast is building its own Eiffel Tower, a small version of the massive Paris monument. This tiny enclave, has already completed half of the four-phased construction of the Yanam Tower, named after one of the four coastal enclaves of the federally-controlled territory. The three-legged, 333-foot monument will be a concrete structure for the first 90 feet, and the rest will be metal. The structure is being built by Nagarjuna Construction Company (NCC) on a 14 acre-site at Guriampet overlooking the Bay of Bengal. Of course the original Eiffel tower at Paris is thrice the height of the Yanam Eiffel tower and the Indian Eiffel tower will be only about one third the height of its famous Paris counterpart.
As is well known, the Puducherry state (earlier known as Pondicherry) consists of the modern Pondicherry and the three former French enclaves of Yanam (in Andhra Pradesh) Kariakal (Tamilnadu) and Mahe (in Kerala). While the city of Pondicherry has come up very well in the ladder of tourism, the other enclaves are lagging behind, despite the French connection. The Pondicherry Government has planned to construct an imax theatre, laser show, its own version of the Eiffel Tower and boat houses to turn Yanam into a tourist spot.
The history of Yanam dates back to 1723, when the Dutch were occupying it and after their abandoning it later, was given to the French by the local potentate, the Raja of Vijayanagaram. People say that this region was presented as Inam (gift) to the French general the Marquis de Bussy, as a token of gratitude for the help rendered by Bussy in the battle in 1757, against the Raja’s local rivals. Even now we can see a street named after Bussy in Yanam and it is believed that Bussy had stayed in Yanam. Hence the name of Yanam is supposed to have got its name from the phrase Inam de bussy (gift to Bussy’s). Yanam has its share of fascinating stories about French ghosts haunting the French Colony. The last reported sightings were around 40-years-ago.
Jean Law de Lauriston, Governor of Pondicherry (1765–1766) stated in his “Memoire of 1767” as “It is from Yanam that we get our best ‘Guinness’ (fine cloth). From this place we also procured teakwood, oils, rice and other grains both for the men as well as for the animals”.
Yanam is presently administratively under the Union Territory of Pondicherry. The French presence is felt in the stained glass work of the local church dating back to 1769 and at the French cemetery. The St Ann’s Catholic Church was built under European style. The furniture, decorative articles were imported from France. The ancient church carries a slab paying tribute to a young French soldier by the name of Victor Simonel who died fighting heroically in battle at the tender age of 22.
As part of the French colony, Yanam has its history of independence movement, different form the rest of India in 1947, since the citizens had to wait for another fifteen years before they became a part of Independent India. The new Government under Jawaharlal Nehru was anxious to integrate the French-Indian territories with the country. India signed an agreement with France in June 1948, which gave power to the people for determining the political status of their land. Finally, on August 16, 1962, India and France exchanged the instruments of ratification under which France ceded to India’s full sovereignty the territories it held.
The Rs 27-crore Eiffel Tower project is funded by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). The tower will have a circular-shaped restaurant above and the actual structure will be mounted with RIL engineers from Mumbai lending their expertise to the NCC teams. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010. It will have rich landscaping around it for tourists to enjoy their holidays. The Indian Eiffel Tower will offer a panoramic view of the river Godavari nearby, Bay of Bengal, the ruined Dutch port, the seaside town of Kakinada, and lush green coconut groves of surrounding Andhra Pradesh. The romance of Yanam still lingers on for those who care to delve into its nostalgic past and modern present. The bright red French cap of the traffic policeman adds a sense of nostalgia to all this. MF
