In memoriam - Cristof Alward-Pitoëff

Cristof Alward-Pitoëff, who met Mother in 1969, passed away in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram on 28 February. In the early years, Cristof stayed in Auroville for a short while after which he went to live in the Ashram for good and functioned as head of the French section of the Ashram Press, SAICE professor, translator and theatre director. Quite a few members of the elder Auroville generation remember him as their friend and teacher in the Ashram school.

Cristof has been translating into French a good number of books by Mother and Sri Aurobindo, especially The Life Divine. In 2020 he published L’aurore d’une vie nouvelle, available from SABDA, in which he describes the adventure of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother as seen through his eyes. 

In a 3.5-minute clip on Facebook, Cristof movingly speaks about his experience in Auroville in 1969.

His remains were cremated at the Ashram’s crematorium near Muthialpet on Thursday March 2nd.

A tree planting ceremony for Cristof took place on March 12th in Forecomers community.