Issue Nº308 – In Memoriam

Long-term Aurovilian 7 (Ramachandra Rao who insisted he be named ‘7’) passed away in a Chennai hospital where his family had taken him. The exact date and cause of his death are still unconfirmed. He was 67 years old.

7, who joined Auroville in the early seventies and has been here off and on since then, may always remain an enigma for us as his apparently passionate and burning need to express his inner findings and vision of Auroville tended to come through in a continuous flow of not easy to follow monologues, profoundly interlaced with his interpretation of the vision of our founders. As one Aurovilian put it, “There was something about his unique personality that could effortlessly (and unconsciously) unmask our pretensions and make us confront elements of ourselves that we didn’t suspect were there. The transformation of a collectivity is complex work. Each of us is indispensable. I am grateful…”

In later years, many may have witnessed 7, neatly and cleanly dressed, quietly sitting at a corner of La Terrace on the roof of Solar Kitchen, playing his flute for hours on end in the late afternoon sun.

Long-term Aurovilian Lachmanben (Lachman Melvani) peacefully left her body in the early morning on the eve of the Mother’s Birthday, February 20, in her house in Aurobrindavan. She was 85 years old.

Born in Karachi in the late twenties, Lakshmanben joined Auroville in June 1969. Very soon she started experimenting with various food and other products with a handful of local employees. This developed into the New School Crafts enterprise in Aurobrindavan, which produced amongst other things the now famous, and very much Auroville-used, Avatar hibiscus juice.

Lachmanben maintained a close contact with her workers, whose wellbeing was dear to her. Up till her very last day she was passionately talking about new plans and projects for her company.

Lachmanben was a friendly, low-profile and self-contained person whose strong link with Sri Aurobindo and Mother was the guiding line in her life. Having friends and family in the Ashram, the connection always remained close. Her remains were taken care of by her family there.

On February 15th, long-term Aurovilian and pioneer, Jayant Thakkar, who lived in Promesse, passed away in the Ashram’s nursing home at the age of 94.

Born in Gujarat in 1920, Jayant participated as a freedom fighter in India’s struggle for independence for which also he ended up in jail for a while. During that period he studied works of the spiritual masters and this gave direction to his life. In 1946 he received his first darshan from Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and thereafter, always remaining in close contact with the Ashram, Jayant established himself in Chennai where he built up a business in surgical equipment. In 1973 the Mother approved of him settling in Promesse, one of the first communities of the City of Dawn, where he has been living since. Jayant taught for several years in Udavi School and did Matrimandir duty.

Jayant Bhai was also a philanthropist, and he helped the people in Morattandi village by giving them the basic necessities at very low prices, which he got from other donors. He did not give anything free because he believed that people do not attach value to anything that is got free. The collected money was again spent for them for different purposes. He was a businessman. He said Mother gave him money in his business so that he could give it back to the Ashram and Auroville, which he did.

Jayant Bhai is fondly remembered, along with the other two of the trinity of Promesse in those days – Kusum Ben and Shanti di. They will be remembered with respect, for the way they stood up alone, against all odds, in their lives and for their undaunted spirit.

One of Auroville’s pioneers, Serge Cataneo, passed away on February 6th at the age of 77, in France where he lived with his long-time partner and wife Flore, also Aurovilian for many years.

Serge came to Auroville in 1976 and lived and worked here until 1992, at first located in Aspiration and working at Toujours Mieux (today Eureka). At a later stage he and Flore moved to Dana, and many of us may remember him through his participation in the ‘Théâtre Expression Auroville’. Serge also worked at Aurelec, setting up the software for various Auroville services. The photo shows him together with his wife, Flore.