Hyderabad, June 21 -- It may be difficult to imagine a French-speaking Hyderabad instead of English, but for a short while in the 18th century that was a plausibility had one person had his way instead of the British East India Company. Monsieur Raymond may not be as popular in memory today, but somewhere in a corner of the city his obelisk today is a reminder of how different things could have been over two centuries ago.

Raymond's Tomb, as it is popularly known, is once again in focus as the French Embassy has promised to support the Telangana Heritage Department in restoring it. So who was Raymond exactly?

A frenchman from Gascony, he originally came to India to Madras (Chennai) after which Raymond made his way to Hyderabad. He was a...