Walking along the Hooghly River in Chandannagar, you might blink and think you’ve been transported to a provincial French town. While the rest of Bengal bustles with chaotic energy, Chandannagar (formerly Chandernagore) moves at a languid, poetic pace. The French first put down serious roots here in the late 17th century, turning this bend of the Hooghly into a trading outpost that would outlast empires.