The Auroville Festival in Chennai

How it all began

“This has a long history,” says Divya, who along with Fabienne and Elaine of Outreach Media and Krishna, Mariana and Marco from Auroville Arts Service, has been the driving force behind the Festival. “The idea originated from Mr. Bala Baskar, the former Secretary of the Auroville Foundation. He observed that Auroville is not sufficiently connected to Chennai and said something should be done about it. Then, in March 2013, Auroville’s musical Sorcery at Sea happened. He enthusiastically proposed that Auroville should bring this production to Chennai, together with a seminar. Paul Blanchflower, the organiser of the musical, regretfully declined – it would be too much to bring the entire cast and all the props to Chennai, he said.

“We continued brainstorming. We wanted to bring a seminar and a cultural show to Chennai, along with a few events, but which one? One idea that came up was that the Genius Brothers could make a skit on Auroville, called ‘What is Auroville?’, a motto we’d copied from Christine Bernard’s book ‘What is this Auroville?’. The skit never materialised, but the title stuck and was later adopted as the slogan of The Auroville Festival in Chennai.

“Mr. Bala Baskar kept pushing us. At his request, we prepared a 5-6 lakhs budget for a small programme; he suggested we increase the budget and then he brought it to the Chairman. But as the Indian elections were on the anvil, the festival was postponed. “Post election, in June-July 2014, just before he left office, Mr. Bala Baskar revived the concept, this time together with people from the Auroville Arts Service and Outreach Media. They decided to expand it. Auroville Arts Service brought the idea of many art exhibitions all over Chennai; Outreach Media came up with the proposal to organize seminars and lectures and have a large cultural event. As we wanted members of the Governing Board and the International Advisory Council to participate, it was decided to have the Chennai festival at the time of their half-yearly meetings in March.”

The aim: person to person connections

“We all felt that this festival should aim at making person-to-person connections to strengthen existing relationships and develop new ones, with people from Auroville reaching out to people from Chennai in all kinds of manifestations,” says Mariana. “But how could that happen? After long discussions we decided that, contrary to the 2012 Auroville Festival New Delhi which had been organized by a few people, this time the organization should be decentralised, with individual Aurovilians or groups of Aurovilians taking responsibility for the organizing of their own event. Outreach Media and Auroville Arts Service would just be the networking hub. And as ‘What is Auroville’ means different things to different people, there was no restriction on what people could bring.”

“That’s how it became big,” says Marco. “Though there was a slow response in the beginning, it grew exponentially. The ethical market people came forward and chose an upmarket shop in Chennai to exhibit and sell the products of about 12 commercial units; Auroville Arts Service published the catalogue Art of Auroville, portraying 20 Auroville artists, and contacted all the private and public galleries in Chennai to find locations for Auroville artists to exhibit their works, after which the gallery owners together with the artists took care of the organization of the exhibition and the invitations; and Outreach Media conceptualised the seminars and the cultural event, which, the team decided, must be a performance of the children’s and adults choirs in view of their quality, multiple nationalities and the age diversity of the choir members. In all, more than 30 events were organized.”

“I had been wondering if this type of organization would be possible,” says Krishna. “To organize a festival in a non-hierarchical, non-authoritarian way with over 300 different people doing their own thing, would it work? It was an eye opener that this was possible. Each event I went to proved to me that when everybody does their part with commitment, it works out.”

“Another important actor of the Festival was the graphic designer, Aurrimà, who did all the graphics: logo, banners, programme, flyers, invitation cards, posters, art catalogue and the press kit,” says Fabienne. “We also decided to hire a Public Relations (PR) company to make sure that all events would be properly reported in the media. We wanted to inform the officials and population of Chennai of what was happening during the Festival, and in this way, create awareness about Auroville. Outreach Media organised a press conference and worked closely with the PR company and fed them information. It proved to be a good decision. There was a good PR outreach, particular in the newspapers, but to a lesser extent by Tamil Nadu radio and television, as too few people in Auroville can speak the pure Tamil required for radio and television interviews.

What worked, what didn’t?

“That’s a difficult question to answer,” says Krishna. “It depends on what you define as ‘worked’. If we look at the art exhibitions, I would say they have been very successful. All the galleries we contacted immediately opened their doors. The private gallery owners were very interested to sell works of Auroville artists and many expressed their hopes that they could build long-lasting partnerships. Lalit Kala Akademi and Dakshina Chitra, offered their spaces for free, as did also the Goethe-Institut where we held our first press conference and the National Institute of Fashion Technology NIFT, where a number of events took place. The ITC Grand Chola offered its space at a large discount.

“The events that worked best were the ones that were promoted by Chennai organisations that have an interest in that particular aspect of Auroville. For example, reStore, an organic food store in Kottivakkam, created Giftival together with Auroville’s Sadhana Forest – a place for sharing books, crafts and skills including vegan organic health snacks. They have their own emailing list and the event was a huge success. A similar success was the public discussion on Seeds, Freedom & Sustainability, organised by Samanvaya and the Organic Farmers Market with the big three people in organic farming in India: Aurovilian Bernard Declercq, Claude Alvarez – the founder of the Organic Farming Association, India – and Sultan Ismail, the Director of the Eco-Science Foundation. But there have also been instances where the host or the organizer had not sufficiently promoted the event, leading to poor attendance such as at Norman’s performance of My Burning Heart and the workshop Ko Kona Lam by Grace.

“The seminars worked out well, in particular the seminar Towards a Sustainable Future held at the Kasturi Srinivasan Hall of the Music Academy, where five TED-Talk style presentations were given by Aurovilians, followed by a panel discussion,” says Sheba, who, together with Leena, had helped Divya and Fabienne organize the event. “Senior officials from the Tamil Nadu Government and Industry attended, but the audience consisted primarily of students and faculty of advanced places of learning, such as IIT Chennai, Anna University, the Hindu University, the MEASI Academy of Architecture and the Sathyabama University. Their engagement was intense. Some of the questions were provocative and challenging, but overall, the responses were very positive and some of the speakers have since been asked to speak on other occasions.”

“The success was also due to a lot of preparation,” adds Leena. “In the weeks prior to the event, we had been very busy visiting many faculty heads and issuing invitations to them and their students, and we followed them up with phone calls and emails. The event concluded with a successful networking lunch at Savera Hotel. Sir Mark Tully expressed the next morning that he was particularly happy with this seminar as it was a successful example of how Auroville events need to be showcased.”

“The lack of adequate preparation might well be responsible for the very limited attendance at the choir performance,” reflects Krishna. “The latter is the major event that did not work as expected. We had hired the SMVR Concert Hall, which has a seating capacity of 1,200, but hardly a 100 people showed up. It wasn’t because western classical music is not well-known in Chennai – quite a lot of people are involved in western classical music and Chennai has a few church choirs and music schools. It was rather that none of these had been invited.” “On hindsight, it might have been better if we had linked the Festival inauguration with the cultural event,” says Divya. “But I was impressed that none of the kids or adults expressed any disappointment at the small audience. They gave their best performance ever. I was very proud of them!”

The lectures about Auroville: a multicultural society for the development of human unity at Lalit Kala Akademi given by the Chairman of Auroville Foundation Dr. Karan Singh, and IAC members Sir Mark Tully and Dr. Vishakha Desai and others, aimed at informing consuls, honorary consuls, and people from the ‘art world’. It was by invitation, and not open to the general public. The location for the lectures, given in the same exhibition hall where 20 Auroville artists were displaying their work, was however not really suitable for lectures. The superb multi-cultural foods prepared by Auroville’s cooks for the occasion made up for this.

What’s next?

“Good question,” says Divya. “For the time being, we are breathing out, for these have been extremely intense weeks for all involved. We will soon call for feedback from all participants. But it is already clear that this Auroville Festival is only the beginning.”

“One large gain has been that now we have a consolidated list of all the important people in Chennai, which was not available before,” says Fabienne. “This list has to be kept updated and will be used for future events in Chennai. Perhaps these will not be as large as the Auroville Festival – but they will definitely be far more regular. For we plan to remain on the Chennai platform.”

“And we want to create more regular interaction with officials from the Tamil Nadu Government,” adds Divya. “We want to invite them for an event in Auroville such as a conference on sustainability, with top quality speakers from India, Auroville and abroad, with a sightseeing tour and a cultural event. Perhaps later this year or in 2016.”

Is any impact on Auroville expected from the Festival? “Probably yes,” says Marco. “The more you inform people about Auroville, the more you can expect people to come and visit. Today, most visitors see only the Visitors’ Centre and the Matrimandir, but most likely this limitation will not continue. Also in this sense, the Festival has brought new challenges.”

Events, exhibitions

Choir Concert by the Auroville Children’s and Adults choirs at Sri Mukta Venkatasubbha Rao Concert Hall, with a selection of classical and contemporary pieces.

Ceramic Connect at the Indian Korean Cultural Centre with works from Supriya Menon Mneghetti, Priya Sundaravalli, Rakhee Kane, Angad Vohra and Adil Writer

Kratu’s Ceramic Sculptures at Studio Palazzo with ceramic artwork of Kratu

Codes at DakshinaChitra with paintings by Ail Writer and Marco Feira

Auroville United at Artworld-Sarala’s Art Centre, with paintings, photography, sculpture and ceramics by Adil Writer, Ange Peter, Charudatta Ram Prabhudesai, Emanuele Scanziani, Lalie Sorbet, Ireno Guerci, Marie-Claire Barsotti, Miki Mccarty and Torkil Dantzer.

Simply Complex with paintings by Pierre Legrand

Ceramic, painting and sculpture at Gallery Veda, with ceramics, painting and sculptures by Rakhee Kane and Nele Martens.

Sculptured Was Candles at Gallery Veda with wax candles sculptures by Paul Pinthon

What is Auroville Papers at Focus Art Gallery with cotton maché products of Auroville Papers

What is Auroville at Lalit Kala Akademi with texts and photographs on the Dream and Charter of Auroville and mixed media art installations by Adil Writer, Audrey Wallace-Taylor, Aurrimà Maréchal, Birgitta Volz, Cecilia Cortès, Chantal Gowa, Chloé Sanchez, Jürgen Putz, Lalie Sorbet, Michel Hutin, Monique Patenaude, Nele Martens, Okjeong Lee, Pierre Legrand, Priya Sundaravalli, Rakhee Kane, Oorothumkandy Ramesh and Supriya Menon Meneghetti.

Four expressions from Auroville at Apparao Gallery with stainless steel sculpture by Henk van Putten and ceramics from Priya Sundaravalli, Adil Writer and Anamika Borst.

Architectural Works of Mona Doctor-Pingel and Poppo Pingel. Photo exhibition at the School of Architecture and Planning of the Anna University.

Markets and Bazaar

Giftival, at ReStore, presented by and with ReStore. Sharing of saplings, books, crafts, vegan organic healthy snacks, and irrigation bottles. Also book readings and a cooking workshop

Auroville Ethical Market at The Folly, Amethyst, with Auroville commercial units selling books, food, furniture, sound solutions, paper products, jewellery hammocks clothing and more.

Auroville Crafts at DakshinaChitra

Lectures, readings, seminars, workshops

Integral Yoga at Spaces, Film and discussion by Manoj Pavitran

My Burning Heart at the National Institute of Fashion Technology NIFT, performance of an adaptation of the book on Satprem My Burning Heart by F. de Towarnicki, by Norman Bowler.

Introduction to Medical Clowning at Sundaravadanan Hospital by Komali MeDi Clown Academy, Auroville

Presentation on Organic Cotton and sustainable fashion at NIFT

Presentation on Conscious Business and Spirituality in a Fashion Enterprise in South Korea at NIFT by Shreen Raghavan and Kala Shreen.

Presentation of four social start-ups at NIFT by UnLtd Tamil Nadu

Introduction to Presencing at NIFT by UnLtd Tamil Nadu

Celebrating Womenhood at NIFT with a debate on Women’s Empowerment and Enterprise and a presentation on Revaluing menstruation ... because life depends on it, by KathyWalking of Eco Femme.

Towards a Sustainable Future at Kasturi Srinivasan Hall, TED-Talk presentations by five Aurovilians followed by a panel discussion on water, waste, energy and habitat.

Awareness Through the Body at Simply Living, conducted by Amir Azulay

Ko Kona Lam at Spaces, a workshop on drawing kolams and a dance performance by Grace Gitadelila.

Ajit Koujalgi Memorial Lecture at DakshinaChitra Heritage Museum by architect Benny Kuriakose

Know your waste, at ReStore by WasteLess. This included a visit to the Kodangaiyur waste dump, an interaction with a waste dump affected community and various films and demonstrations.

Auroville: A multi-cultural Centre for the Development of Human Unity at Lalit Kala Akademi with lectures by Dr. Karan Singh, Sir Mark Tully, Dr. Vishakha Desai, Jyoti Eri for One Asia and Eric Clapton for the African Pavilion.

Clean Lab at Arsha Vidya Mandir School by WasteLess

Seeds, Freedom and Sustainability at Organic Farmers Market, talk and interaction with Bernard Declercq , Claude Alvarez,the founder of the Organic Farming Association, India, and Sultan Ismail, the Director of the Eco-Science Foundation.

Identity and Conflict at Simply Living. Workshop on conflict by Elvira Klein and Jörg Zimmerman.