Day visitors’ responses

What are day visitors’ common responses to Auroville on their first visit? Auroville Today’s own super-sleuthing at the Visitors’ Centre – vox-popping visitors and perusal of the guest book comments – suggests that the vast majority of tourists are satisfied with their experience and the information that is provided. This largely supports the findings of the research undertaken by Queen’s University, Canada. Most day visitors are tourists visiting Pondicherry or traveling through Tamil Nadu. They are largely from India’s southern states, with a smaller proportion from northern states, or non-resident Indians from the USA. A sighting of Auroville’s ‘golden globe’ is part of their tourist itinerary, and most of these people allow about 2-3 hours for their visit.

Day visitors overwhelmingly described Auroville as “peaceful” or “calm”, which they often connected to “nature”. Their responses were largely positive, with many describing Auroville as “inspirational” and the ‘golden globe’ as “beautiful.” While most people were satisfied with viewing the Matrimandir from outside, a small percentage expressed their disappointment that they could not go inside. “We learnt from the video what was inside and how unique it was. We regretted that we could not go inside and had to book two days in advance,” said one woman. Families with children appreciated the electric shuttle that conveyed them to the Matrimandir, although one family complained that the shuttle took only women and children, and that the father was forced to walk to Matrimandir: “The exhibition says there is no religion, no barriers. But I think there are barriers… because the shuttle does not carry men.” Tourists who were canvassed verbally expressed that the information presented in the exhibition explained Auroville’s goals in a way that was clear and that satisfied their curiosity. “We understand the principle of humanity unity, people from different nations coming and living together.” “The concept of human unity as the foremost aspect is appealing. Also having peace of the soul as the centre of the spiritual concept.” Very few of them referred to the teachings of Sri Aurobindo or The Mother, unless they had prior knowledge of them. They often connected their conception of Auroville’s philosophical goals to nature and sustainability. “It’s close to nature, which is something we don’t find in the city. It’s pleasant,” said one man, while another referred to how people in Auroville “are sustainably living with nature.” Many referred to how they could “learn more” from Auroville about sustainable living (some visitors believed Auroville is entirely self-sustaining), and a couple of respondents asked how Auroville could be replicated in other parts of India. They appreciated the quality of displays, the cafes and products, and how “the juices are very natural. The purity they follow is very good”. While most the tourists we vox-popped had stopped for ice-cream or coffee, they were reluctant to buy products in the shops, which they perceived as catering to an elite clientele. “When we see the cost, we see that nature makes things at very high cost!,” exclaimed one woman from Hyderabad.

In summary, our somewhat improvised detective work suggests that day visitors’ expectations of Auroville – to see the ‘golden globe’, to enjoy nature, to learn a little about Auroville – were largely met. And a selection of recent comments in the Visitors’ Centre guest book suggest that Auroville may have touched something a little deeper in people during their tourist experience.