Pick Up These Handicrafts With A GI Tag When In Puducherry

The French have left an indelible mark on Puducherry by way of the French Quarter and papier m&acircché, but thriving along with them are the native arts and crafts of terracotta. The Union Territory of Puducherry, on the southeast coast of India, with the Bay of Bengal on one side and the state of Tamil Nadu, on the other, has two Geographical Identity tags to its credit one is the Villianur terracotta art, and the other is the Thirukannur papier m&acircché craft. What is more, the master terracotta craftsman under whose aegis both arts flourished is V.K. Munusamy Krishnapakthar, a Padma Shri awardee of 2020.