Auroville's monthly news magazine since 1988
Dec 2014 (130 months ago) Download PDF (free download)
A long read — Words by Kavitha
Tamil Nadu today is ranked among India’s most ‘developed’ states. Increasingly urbanised, it has a growing service sector in the cities, and is a proud leader in healthcare and information technology. And yet, the same state is plagued by one of the country’s highest levels of malnutrition, rising unemployment and severe social stress that results, among other consequences, in the highest rate of suicide among young adults. Less and less of the once fertile land is available for agriculture, and farming, particularly of food crops, is in decline. Rapidly shrinking natural resources, environmental degradation, climate change, increasing dependence on global markets, and rising living costs, all contribute to this challenging situation.
In discussion with David Nightingale and Ulli — Interview by Alan
Recently, Auroville residents were invited to participate in a new series of the Evolutionary Café which take place every two weeks in the Unity Pavilion. But what is the Evolutionary Café, and why is it being run in Auroville? Auroville Today spoke to the two organizers, David Nightingale and Ulli Roeper.
A long read — Words by Carel
The name of Dominique Darr is indissolubly connected to the early days of Auroville. Who in Auroville doesn’t know her photo of a lone granite stone with the letters AV painted on it, marking Auroville land? or the photo of men, goats and cows ambling through a dry, eroded landscape? These are amongst her earliest photos of Auroville, taken during her first visits to Pondicherry and Auroville.
In discussion with Manfred — Interview by Alan
Auroville Health Services (AVHS), a team of eight members, is a non-profit service in the area of public health and health care for seniors. It was set up by Dr. Beena in 2001. Rebecca, a member of the original team who is still working with AVHS, remembers that Dr. Beena’s experience of treating villagers in the Multi-Purpose Health Clinic in Bharat Nivas made her realize that preventive work in the villages was essential. So AVHS set up education programmes in hygiene. It also raised funds for the Aquadyn project to provide free clean drinking water in 24 public places in Auroville, and for the first ambulance for the Auroville Health Centre.
In discussion with Vera — Interview by Christian
Many visitors to Auroville have heard the ‘Russian Singing Bells’, a set of differently sized brass plates of rectangular shape, which are hit with several kinds of mallets. Vera, an Aurovilian from Minsk, Belarussia, discovered this special instrument which was invented by Russian bell-master Alexander Zhikharev.
In discussion with Jyoti Naoki Eri and Isha — Interview by Alan
In 2010, the first ‘ONE ASIA’ event was held in Auroville. It brought together artists and tea masters from various Asian countries to explore and strengthen unity between their cultures, as well as introducing the richness of Asian cultures to Auroville. The second ONE ASIA event took place in Delhi in 2012 and the third, ONE ASIA 2014, was held recently in Taipei, Taiwan.
New location for Sri Aurobindo statue at UNESCO Auroville International France, which has had a close relationship with the UNESCO headquarters in Paris through the years, has been collaborating to change the venue of the Sri Aurobindo statue at UNESCO...
First Matrimandir test pond completed In a group work that for some people was reminiscent of the Matrimandir concretings of the past, the lining of the first of the six tests ponds of the Matrimandir [see AVToday September 2014] was completed early November, just before the monsoon rains...
Code of conduct The Auroville Council announced that attempts to create a ‘Code of conduct and eligibility criteria’ for members of working groups has failed due to limited community participation and widely diverging opinions on the topic...
Land Board The Governing Board, in its meeting of August 2014, decided on the merger of all land related working groups, such as the Land and Estate Management group, the Land Resource Management Group, the Land Consolidation Committee and the Land Development Group, into one overarching Land Board of seven persons...
Housing issues The Housing Service and the Housing Board have concluded that as at present there are no funds available for housing for Aurovilians without financial means, it is not possible to accept any more new Aurovilians without them having the minimum funds for housing...
House steward’s absence The Auroville Housing Policy stipulates that if a house steward has left Auroville for longer than 5 years, the stewardship lapses and the asset returns to the community, to be re-allocated by the Housing Service...
Firewood shortage Due to the weather and the fact that the wood stocks from Cyclone Thane are slowly decreasing, there is not enough dry firewood available for various Auroville units like the Bakery, Tanto Pizzeria and the Visitors Centre...
International Zone developments In a meeting between members of the International Zone Coordination Team and L’Avenir / Town Development Council, it has been agreed that the Coordination Team prepare a number of applications for approval such as the loop road, the fencing, an urban design plan and a preliminary study for a Detailed Development Plan...
Auroville International The Netherlands Auroville International The Netherlands reported that its Facebook page is frequently visited, particularly its Trend Watching posting, which contains a report by two Dutch students of the Fontys Academy for Creative Industries (‘International Lifestyle Studies’) who are doing a research project in Auroville...
Mosquito control There are two types of mosquitoes in Auroville...
Korean evening On November 27, the Korean Pavilion team organized a Korean evening...
Deficient monsoon so far This year’s rainfall stands at around 1180 mm as against the yearly average of 1299 mm...
Enforcement of Food Safety Regulations Auroville Food Units have been warned that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has stepped up enforcement measures...
Remembering
On Sunday 23rd November, Poongavanam, the mother of Shivagami, Rajaveni, Mani and Shiva, left her body at her house in Kuilaypalayam at the age of 75. Pongavanam is remembered as a fine, strong person who has worked in various Auroville communities. Her body was cremated at the Kuilaypalayam burial ground in the afternoon of the same day with many people attending.
