Are We French?

Both my children were born in the US. They have not been to India much.

During my recent vacation, while wading on the beach, for some reason I started telling them about my father's and mother's villages in Thanjavur District, which are a mile apart. They wanted to know more about these villages -- they actually want to go visit the villages. I promised to send them more information including links but completely forgot.

One child sent an email today asking for more information, which I sent promptly, along with a link to a map.

This is how the rest of our email conversation went:

"Wait, is it near Karaikal? Are we actually French?"

"It is near Karaikal. No, we are not French. The French occupied Karaikal because it is on the coast."

"Mon dieu. I was worried for a second."

அருள் புரிவாய் கருணைக் கடலே

 

The villages are called செருகளத்தூர் and சேங்காலிபுரம் -- they are about 12 miles from கும்பகோணம்.

I haven't been there in 40 years.