Pondicherry, or Puducherry, is a former French colony in India, also called The French Riviera of the East (La C繫te d'Azur de l'Est) for its rich French culture and architecture. The use of French language can be still seen in Pondicherry to this day. The city still has a large number of Tamil and a small number of non-Tamil residents with French passports who are descendants of those who chose to remain French when the then ruling French Establishment presented the people of Pondicherry with an option to either remain French or become Indians at the time of Pondicherry's transfer to India in 1954.