February is the time when we celebrate Mother’s birthday and the birthday of Auroville

February is the time when we celebrate Mother’s birthday and the birthday of Auroville, as well as, this year, the ‘Golden Day’, and we enjoy a plethora of events and inaugurations. This year there were celebrations organised by the office of the Auroville Foundation, as well as those organised by the residents themselves. But, alongside these, as if in a parallel world, many residents experienced huge disruption and uncertainty due to the continued clearing of forested areas for radial roads and the outer ring road, the cancellation of maintenances, and the fact that many foreign Aurovilians are still waiting for their visa recommendations to be processed. 

In an open letter, the Working Committee of the Residents’ Assembly, while describing the times we are going through as “tough and distressing”, appealed to residents not to give up hope, reminding them that Auroville, in Mother’s words, will not fail.

On February 5th, the Office of the Auroville Foundation sent out an email invitation to the residents for a meeting at Bharat Nivas. Over three days, about 770 residents listened to presentations of the Governing Board approved and appointed working groups, which provided information about what they have been doing and their plans for the future.

In the past, February has also been the month when bodies like the Governing Board, the International Advisory Council (IAC) and Auroville International (AVI) held their meetings in Auroville. It appears that the IAC, the third Authority of the Foundation which is tasked with advising the Governing Board to ensure that “the ideals for which Auroville has been established are encouraged”, did not all meet this year. However, two members felt so strongly about what is happening that they wrote a statement on Auroville’s current situation, supported by eight international personalities. This has been widely read and we publish it with their permission.

We also publish an interview with the outgoing Chairman of the AVI Board, in which he reflects upon what it means to fulfill this function in such challenging times.

The Governing Board, in their 57th meeting, announced that they want Auroville to enhance food production to meet the needs of the community. We examine how realistic this is at present in a report on our farms, and hear from some of our concerned farmers. Our focus on land work continues with the profile of a very special forest.

A different perspective on the present situation is provided by a long-term researcher in Spiral Dynamics, and we also publish reviews of two books: Luc Venet’s new biography of Sri Aurobindo, and “I am prayer only”, a tribute to Kireet Joshi composed by two of his close Auroville friends.

Finally, a second-generation Aurovilian shares what it means to her to ‘belong’ to Auroville. She represents those who, in spite of all the difficulties, retain hope and love in their heart for this community. People like her give us hope that out of the relentless churning, a newer, truer Auroville will emerge in the coming year.