The trials of an Auroville entrepreneur

“Ours is selfless service,” says Daniel. “We don’t need to do this work. But it’s our contribution to Auroville.” Every morning he buys fish at the beach, then till late evening supervises the Tanto restaurants and the retreat workers. “I have a money-making capacity which I have been happy to use for Auroville. Over the years, we’ve given a lot to the community, one year even 120% of our profits, using our reserves.”

But lately, much of the fun has gone. “I am not so happy anymore. For I am treated like a criminal.” Daniel refers to the 4-months special audit, ordered by the Governing Board of the Auroville Foundation, which came on top of the normal 2-months audit. “The auditors were very professional, that’s not the issue. It was actually a pleasure to work with them. But I am upset that Tanto and some of the other units which always have been making substantial contributions to Auroville were selected for that special audit and not any of the myriad units that only pay a minimal contribution. It shows suspicion that an executive of a well-run unit would be hiding income or doing bad business. Given the apparently negative attitude of some of the Board’s members towards Auroville, I wonder if they were expecting to find fault.” Did the auditors find anything objectionable? “They found nothing, apart from the fact that some invoices from 2019 got lost. We had paid the bills by NEFT, but we – or rather my accountant – had lost the physical copies. It was a colossal waste of time and it eroded my joy of doing the work. I, as entrepreneur, need optimism and steadiness, otherwise I close down. I certainly do not need six months of mistrust.”

“You also need appreciation,” adds Sheril. “It would be so nice if every now and then we would get something positive, a note of thanks, a smile for good work done, anything. Instead, we get a lot of flak and criticism, including that special audit. It is not that we ask for gratitude, but a sincere ‘thank you’ would help. We are used to negativity, even to jealousy. We see that also here in the retreat. The happy guys do not post their appreciation on the net, but those who find fault immediately do so. That’s really not encouraging.”

Ranked among the best

Despite such criticism, Tanto and the Sri Ma beach retreat remain ranked near the top of the list of eateries and places to stay in Auroville and Pondicherry. “Tanto Kuilapalayam is the oldest and first pizzeria in India,” says Daniel. “We started in late 2007 and we have since served more than a million customers.” Yet, the location is not ideal. There is no place to seat more clients and the kitchen and the storeroom are too small. “I would love to move,” he says. “There is a 5-acre area on the Bommayapalayam road, which once was a farm but is no longer used as such. That place would be ideal, also as it will divert a lot of traffic and has sufficient parking space.”

He refers to the traffic jams on the Kuilapalayam - Auroville road where Tanto Kuilapalayam is located, which are now a regular occurrence. Many eateries have sprung up along this entrance to Auroville, and the other entrance through Edayanchavadi. “Today there are 50 or 60 pizzerias along these roads. Most of them were started by people who worked for us in the past,” says Daniel. Does the competition affect Tanto? “There are so many people nowadays visiting Auroville that it actually doesn’t.”

Increasing demand was the reason for Daniel to start four more restaurants: one on the East Coast Road (ECR), one in the Sri Ma beach resort, one in Pondicherry and one in the Auromode building complex. The ECR Tanto recently closed as the widening of the ECR destroyed its wastewater treatment plant and ruined the atmosphere of the place. Daniel is also considering closing the Pondy pizzeria or moving it elsewhere, as the location is not ideal. “The Auromode Tanto is intended for Aurovilians and their guests,” he says. “There we do not intend to make a profit, we are happy to break even. The main money-makers are the Kuyilapalayam Tanto and the Sri Ma resort.”

Entrepreneurial stagnation

But apart from Tanto and a handful of other units, there is not much development in Auroville’s entrepreneurial sector. “We do not have a favourable climate to run a business,” says Daniel. “Firstly, you need a lot of energy, and not many people are willing to work 12-14 hours a day. Then there is the present-day climate of mistrust and control, which makes all of us unsure of what will happen tomorrow and how it might affect our business. Lastly, the ideal of helping Auroville to develop, and the spirit of generosity which many long-term Aurovilians brought to Auroville, seem to have disappeared. We have hundreds of small businesses, but many if not most only contribute the minimum and quite a few use the rest of the profits for the needs of their family – housing, children’s education and the like. Some Aurovilians even operate two units: one inside and one outside Auroville, so you know where the profits are made. And if someone comes to start a new business, the starting capital is no longer donated but is given as a loan, so that they can get their money back if something goes wrong. In the early days, people just gave. The atmosphere has changed.”

Community support is necessary

Daniel believes that the community should start actively supporting Auroville business. “A think tank needs to be set up to decide what needs to be improved and how best to promote business”. As a first step, he would like to see more transparency. “At present, hardly anyone knows how Auroville businesses are doing. In the early days I published a yearly resumé of Tanto, a brief report on what we had been doing. It was appreciated, but as I got more work it got forgotten. I think that the community would feel more connected to Auroville business and be more inclined to help promote it if each unit would publish a simple summary of the year, what worked and what didn’t. ”Next to transparency, there is a need to provide for more professional accounting services and for legal and financial support. Could Auroville units that have large deposits finance units that need start-up or development capital? “That’s one of the many issues we have to decide together,” says Daniel. “And we also have to look at the logic of having so many separate small business units that are active in the same area. Could they be fused?”

Ageing

Daniel then lists another problem, that of aging and succession. “Quite a few of Auroville’s early entrepreneurs are getting on in years. I am 75, and my age is catching up. To run a restaurant, you need lots of energy and you have to be always present. Tanto Kuilapalayam often serves 700 clients a day! That’s heavy, not only for me but for all who work there. The Auroville students and the other workers I employ are usually exhausted at the end of the day, and that goes for me as well. So I’ve put out an advertisement asking for eight people living in Auroville to do my job. I got only one answer, of a person who is unsuitable. Do I have to hire people from outside?”

While the question remains unanswered, Daniel continues ‘as usual’.