Letter to the Editors - Caring for the Sick and Elderly

Dear friends of Auroville Today,

With regard to your ‘Caring for the Sick and Elderly’ article in AVToday # 363, I would like to make two observations:

1. While you correctly mention that the Auroville Health Service officially came into being in 2001, it might be proper to mention here the ground-breaking work of then Aurovilian, Dr Beena R. Naik. It was Beena who, in 2000 with her enthusiasm and sense of urgency first started tackling the hygienic situation in Auroville’s collective kitchens and other eateries, and who fundraised for setting up a team, and staunchly braved the many resistances that each and every new service in the City of Dawn has to overcome. In an article like this, I think Dr Beena should be remembered and honoured. Kudos to her!

2. I also would like to observe that a misconception might be created in the reader's mind by the following phrase in the article: “The absence of a waiting list for the Mahalakshmi complex may also be due to the commonly held concept that ‘people come here to build Auroville not to take rest or retire’.” This gives the impression that we are dealing with a retirement home, which is most certainly not the case. Aurovilians just go on working and do not ‘retire’. This doesn’t mean that pioneers of the early hours, who gave their all to the budding city, might not at an older age deserve a wee bit more comfort and, if needed, some assistance while going about with their regular activities, unless, of course, they become bedridden or otherwise disabled. And, who knows, maybe then the real Work starts…