In Memoriam- Riju Bukov

Riju Anatoly Bukov left his body in Marika’s House at 10.30am on September 22nd. Having grappled with a weak heart for many years, a massive stroke proved to be too much. After a few days at PIMS, he returned to Marika’s. He would have been 75 in a few days’ time.

Before discovering Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Riju, born in the Ukraine, was actively involved in the Odessa art world as a playwright, director, poet, sculptor and painter with a clear call towards spirituality. He gradually started translating their works (‘The Mother’ and ‘Sunlit Path’) and visited Auroville in 1991 for the first time. In 1995 he arrived for good, inspiring quite a few friends from Ukraine to follow his lead.

Having lived in various places, Riju soon ended up in Aspiration where he built himself a small house. Functioning as an assistant at Savitri Bhavan for some time, he mainly worked from home, translating, writing, sculpting and sharpening his philosophical understanding by daily getting deeper into The Life Divine which was his stronghold. The sincerity of his yoga helped him deal with personal problems that came his way, and many of the Russian-speaking community revered him for his deep insight into Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy. The Sri Aurobindo Ashram published several compilations in Russian that include his name.

Since February 2018, Riju stayed at Marika’s where he fully enjoyed his days. His daughter Christina, a skilled puppeteer who gave several puppet performances when here, and granddaughter Darya, visited him there as in recent years.

Riju’s remains were cremated at Auroville’s mandapam on September 25th.