Issue Nº313-314 – News in brief

‘Chance discovery of final archaeologist at Auroville ruins (10)’ is the cryptic crossword puzzle that appeared in The Hindu newspaper on July 11th. The answer is ‘trouvaille’, a word meaning a lucky find. “Certainly the archaeological finds in Auroville are lucky; perhaps even more than just lucky as they’ve given us an insight into people living here over 2500 years ago and being involved in trade with Europe, copying pottery from Arezzo on the banks of the Sankraparani at Arikamedu, and shipping it back to Italy,” writes Angad who reported the find.

The Peace Bell [see AVToday # 305 of December 2014] has arrived in Auroville during the dawn bonfire on Sri Aurobindo’s birthday, August 15th. It is located in the Pavilion of Tibetan Culture in a wooden stand made by Ricardo and his team.

The third foundation stone of the Pavilion of France was laid on August 15th, 22 years after the laying of the first Foundation Stone by J.R.D. Tata and Mireille Albrecht in February 1993. On that day, J.R.D. Tata planted “the Pavilion Tree”, a “Service” tree which is still growing. The second inauguration took place six months later when the French Ambassador, Mr. Petit together with Mireille Albrecht, laid the second stone which is still in place. The third stone nearby the Service tree marks the final location of the French Pavilion building. While waiting for the funds for a permanent building, the French Pavilion will purchase and install 3 structures: two will be used as a welcoming desk, a small library, a coffee corner and the third will serve as housing for a Newcomer or Volunteer.

The two large underground rooms at the Matrimandir amphitheatre have been cleaned out. The electrical department vacated the room beneath the eastern side of the amphitheatre, which will now be turned into green rooms for all those who will come to perform in the Amphitheatre. The room on the opposite side, used to store left-over marble from the construction of the walls and floor of the Inner Chamber and for the central spiral staircase, will be used as a holding area for garden tools, needed for the daily maintenance of the future gardens.

As part of a two-day meeting held in Auroville on the topic of affordable housing by the Gubbi Alliance for Sustainable Habitat, an association of habitat professionals and researchers which seeks to mainstream sustainability as a core concern in design, policy and habitat management, Professor Ashok Lall, former Dean of the TVB School of Habitat Studies, New Delhi, presented “A critique of the current belief and accelerating trend toward high-rise high-density as the panacea” on August 22nd at the Multimedia Centre. The talk covered the genesis and the ‘social health’ of high rise living, the limits of density, the economics of high rise development, and environmental concerns. It was followed by a question and answer session with a panel comprising Sanjay Prakash, Tamnay Tathagath and Dean D’Cruz – all well known in India for their work on sustainable habitats.

On August 30th, a house-warming of the “Auroville Budokan” (House of Martial Arts), the new Aikido Dojo, at Dehashakti/Dana took place. The formal inauguration will take place during the forthcoming meetings of the Governing Board and International Advisory Council in the beginning of October.

The first part of a film The Matrimandir: Honouring Piero Cicionesi was shown at Cinema Paradiso on August 28th. The film, says its maker François Gautier, shows the true story of the Matrimandir, from the beginning till its completion, which, he writes, “would never have been built without Piero’s quiet and unceasing efforts, day after day, for twenty five years. Every morning, he would come with the drawings and the calculations he had made the night before, without any computer or electronic device. He was there from the excavation till the installing of the crystal globe in the Chamber. It is this beautiful inner Chamber that we owe to him. Yet, credit was never properly given to Piero, as he never pushed himself forward.”

The Working Committee and Auroville Council are taking action against the presence of big buses in Auroville. Pointing out that the volume of large buses is increasing day by day and that the Auroville roads are not suitable for large vehicles which are, moreover, are putting other road users in danger, all tour organizers have been asked to inform their groups to come by mini-bus. In the near future, the guards at the check posts at the Auroville entrances will no longer allow access to big buses.

The Housing Board has published a note on the way its deals with house pricings and transfers. The stewardship of newly-built houses is being allocated at cost price, while the transfer price of existing houses is assessed on the basis of a valuation made by a certified valuator. The valuation of existing houses takes into account a depreciation of 1% per year, inflation of the construction materials and wages, and how well the house has been maintained. If the value as assessed is lower than the value of the new house, the price difference will have to be covered.

When an Aurovilian leaves Auroville, and requires financial support to continue life elsewhere, a group is formed to determine the Repatriation Allowance. Repatriation Allowances are paid from the Auroville Repatriation Fund, which gets 50% of the transfer value of the house which is left behind (if any), while the remaining 50% will be used by the Housing Service as grant for the people in need of funds for becoming a housing steward or for building an extension to an existing house. There is no link between the value of the house left behind and the Repatriation Allowance: all those who leave Auroville and are in need are entitled to an allowance.

When an Aurovilian passes away, the stewardship of the house left behind is either re-allocated pro bono, or transferred. In this case the transfer value is allocated by the Housing Board as grant(s) to those in need.

International Youth Day was celebrated for the first time in Auroville on August 12th. Originally, the United Nations designated this day to draw attention to youth issues worldwide. The Auroville edition was organized by Youth Link and focused on units, art exhibitions, performances and other projects in which youth are intimately involved. Unlike previous youth gatherings which were often held at the Youth Centre, the chosen venue was Bharat Nivas, which allowed for more space and a different atmosphere. Kala Kendra hosted both exhibitions and multi-media presentations, outdoor stalls featured the work of various units, and throughout the afternoon, the main stage was buzzing with performances and presentations. Youth, older Aurovilians, friends from the villages and volunteers mingled happily in an event that Youth Link plans to be held annually. We look forward to the next edition.

The Mother once described Sri Aurobindo as having “a face from eternity”. That same quality of deep spiritual timelessness pervades many of the photographs in Aurovilian Olivier Barot’s photo exhibition that premiered on 4th August in the new Kalinka Gallery in Pondicherry. Entitled India, Land of Light, the exhibition is a retrospective of photographs taken by Olivier over the past twenty five years, part of an ongoing project. It features scenes from sacred and historical sites like Varanasi, Rameswaram, Khajuraho, Hampi and Mahabalipuram.

However, these are much more than tourist snaps. Through evocative sculptures of gods and dancers, luminous river scenes and haunting landscapes, as well as through the expressions and postures of the people inhabiting these places, they capture and illumine India’s ‘inscape’, that eternal zone of stillness, wisdom and light that underlies the bustle and frenzy of modern India. Their cumulative effect is to transform the Kalinka Gallery on Rue du Bazar Saint Laurent into an oasis of calm, a still point in the turning world.

Beautifully photographed and curated, India, Land of Light is the first part of a two-part exhibition. Part two will be held in Citadines from next February.

India, Land of Light can be viewed at the Kalinka Gallery at 14, Rue du Bazar Saint Laurent, Pondicherry, until the 4th October. For more information and photo sales, contact olivierbarot@auroville.org.in or kalinkapondy@gmail.com

The Housing Board is struggling to find accommodation for those without funds, as it can on average only allocate five pro bono houses each year. Many Newcomers and young Aurovilians do not have the funds to make a donation for a house. They are moving from one house-sitting to another or are occupying a Newcomer`s house for a much longer period than initially agreed upon. Thanks to the new Maitreye housing project the number of Newcomer units has increased from 56 to 83. But due to the shortage of new houses and for economic reasons, 50 units are occupied by Aurovilians in need of a house, and only 33 units are used by Newcomers. 147 members are staying in these Newcomer houses, 103 Aurovilians, 12 non-Aurovilian spouses, and only 32 Newcomers.

The Housing Board hopes that in the next years some alleviation will be brought through the building of 12 temporary houses at Pony Farm and the completion of projects that have started, such as the Sunship Housing project, which will have a number of pro bono houses; the Kalpana Housing project of 40 apartments of which 12 apartments will be made available with subsidy of 40 %; and the Humanscape project which will offer about 20 pro bono apartments to youth in its first phase.

Taking all ongoing construction projects into account, the number of new houses and apartments will increase by 307 in the next three to four years. This would provide proper housing for approximately 750 Aurovilians and Newcomers.