Ananda Rangam Pillai was an influential official in the court of the French Governor-General, Dupleix. He maintained a journal for 25 years, which gives us a good insight into life if those times; his diary is a major source of data for historians. Seen from this perspective it is a terrific 250+ year old monument. I must warn you that my rating of this biased: I gave a high rating, because it reminds me of all the local history I read. Now, if you don’t care for local history/ subaltern history, this place would be a disappointment. The house is situated in a narrow street (Ranga Poulle street ) in a crowded market. It is best to park your car somewhere in the eastern end of the street and walk the rest of the distance. Otherwise, driving and parking can turn out to be a challenge. The façade of the house is very nondescript, so unless you look carefully, you can miss the Mansion. (although it is quite large inside) Despite the historic interest, the house is not a government or publicly managed site. It is private property managed by Pillai’s descendants (9th & 10th generation). There is no official timing for visiting the place, so you need to phone the family and fix an appointment to visit. Otherwise, you will find it locked and return disappointed. We did not fix an appointment --- out of ignorance --- but due to sheer good luck, contacted a family member at the site. And she was gracious to take us around. The house is in traditional Dravidian style architecture. Interestingly, the ground floor is in pure Dravidian style, but the 1st floor has elements of French architecture. The public are allowed access to only some parts of the house, but it still takes you back in time. The whole walk around would not last beyond 15 minutes; but the walk down the street may take another 15 minutes! Yet talking to a member of an illustrious family of a bygone era is an interesting experience! If you’re a history buff, if you are interested in the French period of Indian history, then……GO FOR IT!

The Union Territory of Puducherry lists this as a place of tourist interest and if I am not mistaken, it was restored some years ago using public funds. And yet, the descendants of Ananda Ranga Pillai do not allow you to see the place. It is perpetually out of bounds, its access is horrible and there is no literature or display board on the great man at the site. Why cannot this family charge a good fee for entry if it is indeed a place of historic interest? They could use the money to run it as a museum. On the other hand they just choose to unfriendly. Avoid the place is my advice.