New Delhi, Oct. 9 -- There are many things "French" that Pondicherry (now Puducherry) inherited and chose to keep, like its boulevards, the mustard-yellow villas, streets with French names, patisseries offering macaroons and croissants. But of all these, there is perhaps one cultural addition that was never flaunted like the others and therefore had little reason to endure. And yet petanque has done so, and finds itself in the spotlight today.

This ball game, originating in France, was played by colonialists based in Puducherry but it was their game, not one that locals took up and played. The story of Puducherry's love affair with the game begins elsewhere. From the late 1800s till about 2001, a section of Pondicherrians joined the Fren...