What next?

But who will take the lead? It is time to “offer our trust to the TDC and all the experts TDC is beginning to work with”, wrote one person.

Meanwhile the TDC itself has started a survey of land on the orientation of the Crown, “to recognize and reconcile with the ground realities”. Once that survey has been completed, it will update the community and promised that “we shall discuss with them (those who are directly affected) and find solutions for their concerns.” In fact, the TDC, along with the Working Committee and the Secretary, have already been holding talks with those who would be most impacted.

The TDC also stated that it is working on a mobility plan “which can be launched in a phase wise, realistic manner,” and it is thinking about restricted or alternate access to heavy vehicles. The TDC has also begun running a series of workshops to involve the wider community in discussing elements of the Crown. The first one was held recently, and it was, as one participant put it, “very refreshing and uplifting. To work together with no agenda as to outcomes, simply trusting that together we are looking for the inspiration within, and then sharing in a space where each and everyone is heard and allowed to express.”

The TDC is required, by an Office Order, to involve itself in collaborative planning, but some were skeptical about the degree to which these workshops constituted a truly open participatory process, pointing out that discussion only invited inputs concerning structures around the Crown corridor, and not other aspects, like the width of the corridor itself. In this sense, it felt too directed and ‘top-down’.

At the same time, it was recognised that the present heightening of energy around the Crown could have, as one Aurovilian put it, “a high potential for evolution, for growing together”. Another likened it to “a living force attempting to manifest by a stride what Auroville is meant to be. This churning of the ocean is revealing to us the way forward as an impulsion towards action. The only defeat would be if we retreat towards inaction and inertia.“

However, another warned, “Those who believe that they will be able to speed up Auroville’s development by defeating their opponents thanks to some outside intervention are fools because the only way to speed up Auroville’s development is by being more united. In the long run, increased divisions will only slow down the development of the town and the realisation of our ideals.”

In fact, in response to ‘outside intervention’ there is a proposal to be put to a Residents Assembly Decision which challenges the current constitution of the TDC, and requires the Working Committee to finalise a new Standing order based on the 2017 RAD-approved TDC structure.

At the same time, there have been recent attempts to lessen tensions. For example, people living on the route of the Crown have started clearing trees and undergrowth to facilitate the TDC survey. One forester emphasised that nobody was against the Crown itself, merely the way it was planned to be manifested. He felt the key disagreement concerned whether or not the proposed road should be perfectly circular, or if it could be more flexible to respond to what is at present on the ground. He proposed that a symbolic circle on the land would enable the road to deviate a little [see the article “The circle, the reality and the non-negotiable, eds.] Another Aurovilian playfully suggested that a flyover would allow a perfectly circular road to exist without disturbing present habitations and forests.

It was also pointed out that concerns about a future Crown road were negatively influenced by people’s experience of the present stretch, which is used by heavy and speedy traffic. “Why not experiment on a stretch of existing crown road, improve the design and present an example of how the Crown-ways could be while considering the reality of motorised traffic, but maybe slowing it down and discouraging through-traffic for nonresidents?” wrote somebody with a past experience of planning in Auroville. “Maybe such a good example can convince us all, that the Crown can be something beautiful and worthy of a city the earth needs.”

Other Aurovilians have called for a different way of planning the city. An architect/planner explained that to build the city, we need 1) an Auroville Planning Council to provide policy, and 2) an expert planning department to work out development proposals. In addition, there needs to be a shared vision about the kind of life we want to provide for, and agreed aims and objectives by which to evaluate upcoming projects.

Another Aurovilian commended the design process of the Garden of the Unexpected “where there was a clear design brief, design constraints, evaluation criteria, process of synthesis and selection panel put in place for the collective to participate…. There was no drama and conflict because the process design was well made and executed smoothly. So it is possible and it is time that such processes are used for the larger shaping of the city and its life.”

However, one respondent didn’t see such a design process as a panacea. “The issue is a human issue and so we need processes that bring human beings together. The criterion for me is that – whatever process, whatever label – does it support us in getting closer to agreeing with each other?”

An ardent supporter of Roger Anger and the Galaxy plan pointed out that there is a way to harmonies development with the environment. “There are plenty of green cities in the world we can learn from. Our city doesn’t have to be monoblock concrete. It will have trees, new materials, as well as a new society.”

In fact, few people seem to be opposed to the Galaxy, which many find an inspiring concept. The question is to what extent, if any, its key elements – like the Crown – can be modified to reflect evolving circumstances without destroying its integrity. In this context, one Aurovilian noted that Mother had adjusted many aspects of Auroville (including the location, the size of the city and the orientation of the zones) in response to the reality on the ground. He concluded, “We need to adapt our Master Plan to reality, to adjust to the situation as it is.”

“We need to build a city for the Aurovilians of the distant future,” wrote another, “but not at the expense of the Aurovilians of the immediate present. If we can agree to grow in response to present and future needs in a way that demonstrates care and compassion, then we not only build a city, we build a better world.”

“I can see that the Crown and how it manifests in the different areas of Auroville can become the next great step in Auroville’s development, ideally bringing us as a community together, structurally and spiritually,” wrote another.

“What a chance to work together on the Crown where City meets the Youth Centre meets Forest, each benefiting each other, parts of a larger whole. Working with the aim to further Human Unity in all of our steps, looking at what has grown and what was envisioned, what is required now and in the years to come, leaving rigidity and judgment aside, unimposing. This could be such a game changer and if we manage that, we truly can set an example and the energies which we all felt have been blocked for so long could unlock. I am ready for that and I know many are as well.”

But perhaps, as another Aurovilian pointed out, the first need is surrender. “The work needs self giving as with all other work we do for Auroville. If the Crown path is there to hold us all together, we have to first agree to it, accept it with some love – then half the battle is won already. Then we have to do it together. Another half won. Then we won’t have to worry about human unity – because we would all be in it.”

Or, perhaps, we simply need to open our hearts to each other again. As one Aurovilian put it, “Either we can go about being two opposing bipartisan groups who claim to possess the truth and try to impose our viewpoints and will on the other, or else we can all come together with the understanding that all of us truly have the best interests at heart for building Auroville, and try to come to an understanding of each other so as to develop together a common approach towards building Auroville. In order for this to happen, we have to open our hearts, sit together and truly be willing to listen to the other, attempting to understand as deeply as possible our approaches.”