A visit last month to the over 250-year-old palace built by France in Puducherry for its Governor-Generals, which later served as the Raj Niwas for the Union Territory’s Lieutenant Governors, was an eye-opener. The stately rooms have been stripped of the fabled furniture and artefacts accumulated by the French over two centuries, including possibly some of the treasurers looted by Governor-General Joseph Dupleix, who occupied an earlier building at the same site.

The missing treasures include porcelain statues, ornate French furniture carved from Burmese teak, Belgian mirrors, antique Chinese vases, a 200-year-old grand piano and paintings, including French artist Andre Marie’s depiction of the Malaikottai rock temple. The explanation for the absent artefacts is that the building is unsaf

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