“Landing Auroville – the time is now”

The tone was set by a Bharat Natyam dance in gratitude and devotion to Mother Earth and Nature, beautifully performed by the young dancer, Soundarya, followed by a prayer from the Upanishad for the well-being and harmony of all beings, and an affirmation expressing our deeper relationship with the land: “For Auroville and all of us, Land is not an economic commodity. It is the living body of Mother Earth. It is sacred, as it has always been in the Indian tradition. It is sacred for building the Mother’s vision of an international township based on spiritual principles.

It is sacred, so that the Auroville Dream will continue and grow for future generations.”

Three new documentaries, all dedicated to Auroville’s land, were premiered at the event. ‘Landing Auroville’ is an inspiring 8-minute film, produced by Rakhal and the Auro-Image team, to support land fundraising events. It had first been shown at last August’s joint AVI-AUM Conference in the USA, while its French version, ‘Un Corps de Terre pour Auroville’ had been presented in Paris by AVI-France.

‘Early Days Land Pioneers’ interweaves extracts from interviews with early Aurovilians Frederick, Narad, and Joss on Auroville’s land development under the Mother’s guidance, and moving reminiscences by Dayanand of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, whom the Mother had put in charge of acquiring the land in the beginning of Auroville. His immense work remains a pivotal element in Auroville’s manifestation. He negotiated the purchase of over a thousand plots, more than half of the Auroville’s present land.

The third short film, ‘Irumbai – A Bridge between the Past and the Present’, presented the vital farmland around Irumbai lake, the large, traditional irrigation tank in the Greenbelt. This rich “rice bowl” of Auroville is crucial for food production and for preserving and teaching sustainable agriculture for the region. The film stresses the importance of acquiring critical plots of land in this key area, which are now of great value for Auroville.

There was also a sharing of facts and figures concerning Auroville’s greenwork and water conservation work over the years. These included:

3 million trees have been planted, including hundreds of indigenous medicinal plants

15,000 plant species collected in the Auro Herbarium;

• many kilometers of bunds and swales constructed

• many acres of catchment ponds dug for monsoon rains

This immense effort has resulted in making the huge monsoon rains of last year a gift of life for Auroville, in contrast to the devastation suffered in some other areas of Tamil Nadu – on average, an 11.5 meter rise in the water level has been recorded in Auroville since the rains.

At the celebration event, Julian Lines (IAC member) represented Auroville International, the initiator of the ‘Acres for Auroville’ land campaign. He spoke of the dynamic action of the AVI centres in bringing a strong wave of fresh energy for the land and presented the campaign’s new promotional Power Point on behalf of Acres fo Auroville (A4A) co-organizer Mandakini (AVI-France). After the acquisition of a key plot near the Matrimandir in Acres for Auroville’s (A4A) first 10 months of its campaigning, A4A has expanded the fundraising target to the entire City Area, and its success continues.

Its sister campaign ‘GreenAcres’, initiated by Sigrid, is dedicated to the acquisition of 20 key lands in Auroville’s Greenbelt, as prioritised by the Land Board. Her informative PowerPoint presented the Greenbelt as a unique eco-zone hosting a wide range of sustainable practices, research and educational activities in farming, afforestation, natural resource management, water conservation, biodiversity, and renewable energy. However, Auroville owns today only a third of vital Greenbelt-designated land.

Divya made a review of the Land Board team’s intensive work and concrete accomplishments since January 2015 in land acquisition, surveying, database updating, legal work, and land protection. Aryadeep, longtime pillar of ‘Lands for Auroville Unified’ and its fundraising activities, spoke of the relevance of land as the basis for Auroville’s manifestation as an ‘oasis’ and inspiring universal community.

Jaya called the community to rally its collective force in support of land purchase, if possible by individuals signing up for a regular monthly contribution, whatever the amount. “It is tiny drops of water that gather into rivers and finally make the ocean!”

The information aspect of the meeting was beautifully complemented by ‘Moksha’, an Odissi dance rendered by young Yaroslava, and by Meenakshi’s poem ‘Banyan Tree’, read in Tamil and English. There was also a banquet of almost exclusively Auroville-grown, organic food contributed by Auroville units and farms.

The new Early Days Land Pioneers’ initiative was also inaugurated, with over 70 artworks donated by Auroville artists and those from the Sri Aurobindo Ashram for an on-line auction in benefit of Auroville’s land. During the first evening offers were made for several works totalling over one lakh rupees.

As we honour the land, we recognize with gratitude the pioneers who gave their all; the landowner families inspired by the Mother’s Dream; the foresters and farmers who have rendered the land green and fertile; architects and all those who have built upon the land to create a unique township of beauty; and all those who have devotedly raised money for growing Auroville’s land base.

Now is the time to move forward and further – for fully ‘landing’ Auroville at last.

The Landing Auroville Celebration’ and Land Fundraising teams

For further information contact: 

LFAU contact [email protected] or visit www.colaap.org

The new videos on Auroville’s land can be viewed at

https://vimeo.com/154672005 and https://vimeo.com/143531655