Developing the Sri Ma resort

In the early days, the Auroville community located on the beach north of Auroville was known as Far Beach, approachable through a narrow road which led from Pondicherry to Mahabalipuram. In later years, the road was widened and became a national highway, the East Coast Road. For years, Far Beach, re-baptised ‘Sri Ma’, housed a vibrant community of families and individuals. Over time, the Pondicherry Engineering College and Pondicherry University became its neighbors.

Today, the Sri Ma community has all but gone. With the passing of Albert some months ago, the number of residents has dwindled to four, with one of them wanting to move out. The other three are active in giving a new impetus to the place through developing it into a resort – not a common holiday resort for tourists, but a place for people to meet, learn and relax.

“The future of the Auroville economy,” says Daniel, who is running the project together with his partner Sheril, “is hospitality connected to education. Auroville has lots to offer, from sustainability to spirituality, and an increasing number of people want to come and learn. Sri Ma is an ideal place. We have now converted two houses into guest accommodation with 13 rooms; there is a place for workshops; there is a restaurant; we have a small 14 x 14 metres swimming pool made by Giorgio; and, connected to Sri Ma, there is a splendid beach.” The demand is already larger than he can accommodate: in November he had to refuse three groups of 60 people each.

But why, in a time when everybody speaks about ‘the Auroville housing crisis’, are houses converted into guest rooms?

“There are two answers,’ says Daniel. “One is that nobody wants to move here. One of the houses which I converted stood empty for almost two and a half years, with nobody willing to pay the requested contribution of Rs 12.5 lakhs! Cyclone Thane, which hit Auroville on 30 December 2011, smashed all the doors and windows, but nobody came forward to repair the house or even ask for repair money from the Cyclone Relief Fund. Finally, I paid for all the repairs and made the house live-able again. This showed that Sri Ma is no longer a favourite place for Aurovilians to live. It’s too far from Auroville. Nowadays, people like to live close to the centre, where there is schooling for their children and where they can more easily participate in cultural events and workshops.”

But there is a deeper reason, he feels. “The idea of a resort came, in fact, from The Mother – you can find it in Mother’s Agenda where she talks about a hotel in exactly this place; perhaps this is still a driving force behind the present development.” He refers to a conversation The Mother had with Satprem on 23 June 1965, as recorded in Mother’s Agenda where She mentioned that the Industrial Zone of Auroville would be located along the coast, with a wharf where boats could berth. “North of Pondicherry there is indeed a rather large expanse which is totally uninhabited and uncultivated; it’s by the sea, going northward along the coast .... And there, there would be a big hotel, the plan of which Roger has already done, a big hotel to receive visitors from outside.”

The plans for the city later changed, and Mother moved the Industrial Zone to its present location. But Daniel, who first came to live in Sri Ma in 1977, has never forgotten Her original concept. “I always had an attachment to this place and was always dreaming about developing it.”

In 2005/6, the Funds and Assets Management Committee, after rejecting a proposal to sell Sri Ma, decided that the place could be converted into a resort. “And now the time has come,” says Daniel. “But in memory of those early days, I have called the restaurant there “Tanto Far Beach.”

Tanto, for those not familiar with Auroville, is the name of a pizzeria Daniel started some five years ago at a place earlier known as New Creation Corner. A second pizzeria was opened last year in the Auroville Outpost, on the East Coast Road. The business is thriving, he says, with the yearly turnover crossing two crores. The resort seems set to follow this trend. Since December last year, Auroville has already received more than Rs 3 lakhs income from the resort’s activities.

“I’m good at doing business,” says Daniel. “But I’m doing it as a service, I have no greed. Business does not mean that I have to make money for myself – I live in a 30 square metres room with my wife and child, not in any of the houses in Sri Ma. What’s important is the flow of money – not what you own, but what you let pass through you.”

But, he says, Sri Ma is not open to tourists or day-trippers. The facilities are there for guests and Aurovilians who like to use the pool and restaurant or even stay for a weekend to have a breather on the beach from the intensity of Auroville.

“We have no beach erosion here,” he says. “Luckily for us, the Quiet community did not succeed in getting a groyne built in a nearby village. If that had happened, our beach would most likely have suffered the fate of Repos, whose beach and houses were swallowed up by the sea. Instead, the Sri Ma beach has increased since the 2004 Tsunami from 70 to 120 metres.”

The Sri Ma resort has a bright future, says Daniel. “The response of those who stayed is uniformly positive and the guests tend to connect to Auroville, to the point of wanting to help its development or even becoming Newcomers.” The plans are ready to develop Sri Ma into a resort-cum-convention centre with at least 54 rooms. This would provide employment to Aurovilians, and, perhaps, be a training place for hotel-school trainees.