Group / company

I met Dr Boglarka Nagy (Bogi), a warm, smiley woman, at the Global Ecovillage Network Europe gathering in Hungary in August 2025. Hers was one of the best workshops I attended at the gathering.

Maël Vidal was born and grew up in Auroville before going to France to pursue higher studies, where he received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in social anthropology.

From clunky prototypes to a thriving EV ecosystem, Auroville’s journey mirrors India’s evolving electric vehicle landscape – driven by innovation, resilience, and a vision for sustainable transport.

The German Government set up the Weltwärts programme to allow young Germans to volunteer in a different country for 6-18 months in areas like education, health, environment, culture and human rights, in order to broaden their minds and strengthen international understanding.

The following are excerpts from volunteers' final reports after 12 months in Auroville A transformative year that still resonates Much time has passed since my Weltwärts year in 2008-09.

Bob Zwicker has worked in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives for 52 years, with particular responsibility for the Mother’s works. Recently, three new books have been published containing new material not published in the Centenary edition of The Mother’s Collected Works.

Tucked away in a small room at the back of Auroville’s Vanaville unit is Michel’s bookbinding sanctuary — a quiet space where hundreds of worn books have been given a new lease on life.

Once upon a time a very long time ago, deep in the woods at the bottom of a mountain — Mother’s Mountain, mata-giri—a six-page newsletter called Collaboration came into being.

“Auroville will be a place of unending education”, says its Charter. The entirety of Auroville is envisioned by The Mother as an evolving educational campus encompassing all facets of life.

It all started in September 1998. Jean-François and I were at home when a group of teenagers, familiar faces from the Auroville schools, walked in with a quiet determination.

In the recent ruling of the Supreme Court of India, the learned judge, regarding the need for Auroville’s development vis-à-vis environmental protection, stated that “…while the right to a clean environment is a guaranteed fundamental right under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India, the right to development through industrialization equally claims priority under fundamental rights particularly under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India.

In May 2024, the Governing Board of the Auroville Foundation approved the creation of the Auroville Physical Education Board (APEB), and allocated an in-principle budget of ₹2 crores (approx.

It Matters is a space for artists and the community to connect, collaborate, and create. Rooted in Auroville’s spirit of exchange, it fosters dialogue and new ideas beyond the local art scene.

As I was looking through the minutes of the last Governing Board meeting regarding proposed changes to the Auroville Foundation Act, I recalled that when the Act was originally being prepared, there were already two different tendencies.

A few weeks ago a new biography of The Mother was published. The Mother: A Life of Sri Aurobindo’s Spiritual Collaborator is written by Peter Heehs, a reputed historian who has been a researcher in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives for over 50 years, writing biographies of Sri Aurobindo and publishing papers on related topics.

On 17 March 2025, the Supreme Court of India delivered two judgements. One was on the appeal of the Auroville Foundation against the verdict of the National Green Tribunal passed in April 2022; the other on the appeal of the Auroville Foundation against the judgement of the Madras High Court of March 2024 regarding the Auroville Town Development Council.

Friederike Mühlhans has a long experience of working for Auroville International (AVI). Since 1997 she has been a board member of AVI Germany and since 2003 she has been Secretary of the AVI Board, with a four-year break when she served as Chairperson.

Abishek, a youth from Annai Nagar village, recently spent 18 months volunteering in Germany, as part of the Weltwärtsprogramme.

Last December, there was a photographic exhibition in the Tibetan Pavilion which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the second caravan in Auroville.

Born in Istanbul, Cansu has always been driven by a desire to explore diverse cultures through travel and the study of philosophical and mystical texts, shaped by her upbringing in the Sufi tradition.

On 6th January, 2012, Michael Bonke, along with Toine van Megen and Harald Kraft, made a presentation to the Auroville community about Auroville’s future energy and drinking water needs [published in AVToday # 271, February 2012].

John Mandeen, who passed away recently, was one of the early Auroville Today photographers and designed the cover of its first compilation.

Jothi was born in 1964 in Kuilapalayam. He joined Auroville by himself at a young age and has contributed in numerous ways, through service, education and sports, while battling long-term health challenges.

Stepping into Deepti Munot’s Fragile Layers exhibition of collages at Centre d’Art, I was instantly transported to the sea-side rock pools of my childhood.

The gradual erosion of the Tamil Nadu coast is a well-known phenomenon. Erosion happens when the shoreline is worn away by the movement of sand and waves.

Parvathi Nagarajan is a healer, herbalist, educator and community builder who spent 24 years running and supporting Pitchandikulam Forest projects in local communities.

Dr. Sharavanan Padmanabhan runs the Sri Aurobindo Siddha Research Foundation in Pondicherry. He first graduated as an allopathic doctor before specializing in Siddha medicine.

Vedic astrology, called Jyotisha Shastra in Sanskrit, is the traditional Hindu system of astrology which has its roots in the Vedanga Jyotisha, one of the earliest texts about astronomy within the ancient Vedas.

Michael Zelnick, originally from New York, joined the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1968 and later came to Auroville. Here he talks about his work as a homeopath.

The earliest mention of Auroville was in the monthly issue of the Sri Aurobindo Society (SAS) Information Letter of March 1965, where its General Secretary Navajata wrote: “You will be glad to know that the Mother has taken up the model township project.

Dr. Jayanti Ravi, the Secretary of the Auroville Foundation, recently has looked into the possibility to build the remaining section of the Crown Road with all components being manufactured in Auroville and using Auroville resources for its construction.

There have been many requests for clarity on the background and status of the numerous court cases that are pending in various courts in India, including in the Supreme Court of India, regarding the present situation in Auroville.

On 29th February, Svaram inaugurated its new Sound Garden at the allocated 2-acre site for its projected campus in the Industrial Zone of Auroville, in the presence of Special Guests of Honour, Thiru R.N.

Silence Forest, an 11.2-acre green enclave neighbouring the Vérité community, is little known, even to many Aurovilians. In 2023, five research students from the University of Pondicherry, who were volunteering for the Auroville unit Yuvabe and were mentored by two professors, studied the flora and fauna of the forest and its ability to sequester carbon, conserve water, and increase resilience to adverse climate events.

This 280 page book is a tribute to Kireet Joshi composed by two of his close Auroville friends, Frederick Schulze Buxloh and Alain Bernard.

Aurosugan was born in Auroville. After completing an MBA in hospital administration, he worked at the Aravind Eye Hospital for many years. Recently he returned to Auroville and set up a primary eye centre here with ambitious plans to eliminate blindness in Auroville and the bioregion.

On the 4th January, many people were shocked to see many Service trees (Peltophorum pterocarpum/ Copper Pod tree) being felled on the Crown between the Solar Kitchen and Mahalakshmi Home.

In 2023, Auroville’s Village Action Group (AVAG) celebrated 40 years. In this issue of Auroville Today we publish excerpts of the December 2023 newsletter of AVAG, highlighting the transformation AVAG has achieved in the life of women from the surrounding villages.

The aroma of freshly baked cakes and the joyous chatter of women learning new skills recently filled the air at AVAG. Over three days, 70 local women from nearby villages participated in an intensive training programme in making millet-based cakes and cookies, organized by Gelato Factory in collaboration with AVAG, the Auroville unit Gastronomica, and COWE (Centre of Women Entrepreneurship).

Having arrived in Auroville as a child with her parents in 1968, Marta provides a unique perspective as a member of the first generation of children within our community.

Dr. Sanjeev Ranganathan has been an executive of the Sri Aurobindo International Institute of Educational Research (SAIIER) since August 2021 and was a SAIIER board member from 2016 to 2020.