Auroville's monthly news magazine since 1988
Jan 2016 (117 months ago) Download PDF (free download)
Meditations — Authored by Bindu
It seemed that the skies would never relent. One woke up to the sound of the heavy, steady rain. One went to bed with that sound reverberating in one’s mind. And in between, one spent one’s days, huddled at home, or if your work required you to, flitting in and out of the gray walls of water that simply poured down, without fuss, without the drama of wind and thunder.
A wide-ranging dialogue with Uma, Jaya, Inge R. and Helene — In dialogue with Carel
A three-day selection process for new members for the Working Committee and Auroville Council took place from December 4-6th.
A wide-ranging dialogue with Rishi Walker — In dialogue with Alan
In 1992 Auroville’s renewable energy unit, AuroRE, began providing renewable energy applications and solutions within Auroville and to rural and urban India. One of AuroRE’s biggest projects was installing solar water pumping systems under a government subsidy programme. Between 1997 – 2003 they installed almost 1,000 solar pumps in six Indian States, with Punjab alone accounting for 700 of these. A significant number were also installed in Auroville, giving a big boost to solar applications in the community.
In-depth feature — Words by Gaelle
During the first two weeks of December, and for the third time, a group of ten students from Queen’s University (Kingston, Canada) and their professor Dr. Ajay Agarwal, stayed in Auroville. As part of their Masters in Urban and Regional Planning, the students designed a community participation framework for Auroville to be used for planning community projects. In collaboration with the Auroville Sustainability Institute and L’Avenir d’Auroville, they chose to focus their research on community participation in the planning and development of sectors one and two of the Residential Zone in Auroville (between Grace and Prarthana).
In-depth feature — Words by Shradha
In the midst of the heavy rains that brought life to a standstill in most areas of Tamil Nadu, an energetic group of people came to Auroville from all over India. They were to participate in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Auroville Consulting’s Programme for Responsible Energy Management (PREM) in association with the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA).
Impressions from the event — Story by Kavitha
The Bioregion Action Group and YouthLink are both outcomes of the Auroville Retreat. Together with Auroville Village Action they are in the process of implementing a project called ‘Paalam’, meaning ‘Bridge’ in Tamil. This is a bioregional and Auroville youth leadership programme.
A wide-ranging dialogue with Beatrice — In dialogue with Lesley
Beatrice reflects on her process of joining Auroville in 2014.
A wide-ranging dialogue with Andrea Tazzari and Renu — In dialogue with Shradha
Auroville Radio celebrated its 11th anniversary on December 5th this year. Despite their busy schedule in the months of November and December, and having to help set up Peridar Kaala Vaanoli (‘Radio in the Time of Extreme Calamity’ in Tamil), a temporary emergency FM radio station for the flood-hit Cuddalore, Andrea and Renu share their stories from Auroville Radio.
Editor’s comment — Written by Alan
Auroville’s population figures for 2015 have finally arrived. Were they worth waiting for? Not really. The overall population has increased by – wait for it – a grand, or not so grand, total of 55, which is an annual growth rate of a shade over 2%, almost one percentage point less than last year. No wonder the Growth Action Group dissolved itself in July, presumably in despair.
A wide-ranging dialogue with Samai and Juan — In dialogue with Inge van Alphen
Juan and Samai, the brothers who started the surf school in Auroville, arrived in 1995 at the ages of 11 and 10 respectively. Within a year’s time, they were introduced to the surfing world by the Auroville surfing pioneers, André, Patrick, Jacky, and Andy. At that time, Repos Beach was a lively Sunday afternoon destination where, in a self-made surf shack behind the community kitchen, a dozen surfboards were contested by youngsters eager to get to the waves.
Monsoon work in surrounding villages The heavy rains took many areas in South India by surprise...
Aquifer recharged including rainfall chart For Auroville’s aquifer recharge, the monsoon rains were a blessing, as all water bodies filled up and even spilled over, thus guaranteeing sufficient water for the dry months...
Irumbai solar village The Government of Tamil Nadu has approved a Solar Village Project for Irumbai village which has been promoted by Auroville Consulting...
Youth in the Town Hall On December 12th 2015, about 20 youth gathered in the Town Hall in answer to an invitation that said, “Ever wondered what’s happening in the Town Hall? Come and join us in this educational journey and see how Auroville functions...
Interview Piero part 2 The second part of the interview with Piero Cicionesi has been released...
Crematorium structure collapsed Due to the heavy monsoon rains, the keet structure of Auroville’s open-air crematorium collapsed...
Road blocked After failed land purchase negotiations, and to prevent a landowner to parcel his land in the city area and sell it as housing plots, which is illegal, the road between Surrender and Kalabhumi has been blocked...
Honouring
On December 15th, surrounded by friends, Ursula Mack left her body in her house in Samasti after a long period of gradual and peaceful withdrawal. She was 91 years old. Ursula hailed from Germany where she had lived an extremely difficult life throughout the Second World War, losing four brothers and her family’s land and home. In spite of all the hardship, she remained positive and optimistic. In the early 1970s she visited the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and met The Mother, a meeting that left her with ineluctable impressions. She also came to Auroville, and later became an active member of AVI Germany and was instrumental in hosting the 1983 Auroville International Meeting in her brother’s house in Laubach, Germany. Immediately after her retirement in 1990, Ursula joined Auroville, where she became the much appreciated, very first resident physiotherapist, helping Aurovilians wherever she could. She became instrumental in the building of Pitanga and the Quiet Healing Centre. In later years, she mostly helped people from her house, freely distributing nature remedies she ordered from Germany, as well as chocolate, marzipan and Christmas stollen. Ursula’s friendly and loving nature was apparent till the end. She suffered a stroke in June, 2014. After a second stroke in June of this year, she became bedridden and quite indrawn. But even while going through increasingly profound physical crises, she always managed to convey a steady, faithful and grateful disposition, evoking deep contact and love in the ones caring for her. Ursula’s remains were cremated at the Adventure cremation grounds on December 18th.
