Issue Nº322 – In Memoriam

On April 20th, Francoise Arati passed away in her home country, France, after an enduring battle with cancer. She was 66 years old.

Françoise was an architect by profession and active in urban affairs for years in Mayotte, just off the coast of South East Africa. After a change in her life, she immersed herself fully in the study of the Tarot and co-authored a book on the same, ‘Pelerinage du mat dans le tarot de Marseille’. Having come into contact with the works of Sri Aurobindo, the Mother and Satprem, she left for Pondicherry around 2000 where she lived near the Ashram, helping, among other things, with the final stages of the translation into French of the Life Divine.

In 2003, Françoise joined Auroville, where she lived in Arati (which community, bizarrely, carried her name), and steadily worked as therapist and tarot reader in Pitanga, helping many an Aurovilian through moments of inner need and stress while always placing their situation in the light and context of the Integral Yoga. People who benefitted from her readings gratefully mention her soft energy, skilful guidance and insightful approach to life.

In June 2014, Françoise left Auroville in order to go through challenging times of her own during which she was supported by various friends. Aude Zeller, her best friend and co-author, and Aurovilian Léonard Pietri, accompanied her up till the moment of transition.

Françoise’s remains were cremated at Vannes in Bretagne, on Saturday April 23rd.

On April 1, Rauf Ali passed away in his house at Aurodam, at the age of 62 due to leukemia. He was lovingly surrounded by close friends and his sister-in-law.

In the mid-eighties he came to Auroville as a research assistant from Bangalore’s Indian Institute of Science to document Auroville’s afforestation activities. He fell in love with the place and its philosophy and decided to stay. He officially joined in 1992.

Describing himself on Auroville’s Auronet as a “maverick biologist now working in the Andaman Islands”, the tall and slightly stooping, Mumbai-born Rauf, was also the founder of the Foundation for Ecological Research, Advocacy and Learning (FERAL), and a professor in the Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Pondicherry Central University.

Throughout his years in Auroville, Rauf kept up his advisory and academic work in India. His important research work, mainly centred on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Western Ghats, was about the impact of invasive species on indigenous and endemic flora and fauna. After the tragic tsunami on December 26, 2004, that ravaged the Bay Islands and South India, Rauf also worked hard for the economic rehabilitation of the tribals, especially those of the Nicobar Islands.

In the mid-nineties he served on Auroville’s Working Committee, and helped many Auroville-born youth with obtaining OCI status. However, many Aurovilians knew him best through ‘Roughspeak’, an irregularly occurring blog on Auroville’s Intranet, in which Rauf would not mince words when criticising or ridiculing alleged mishaps, hypocrisies, policies or questionable trends emerging in the City of Dawn.

Rauf was an original. Deeply learned, he would have his students and colleagues in splits while making them ponder deeply upon conservation questions. Disregarding his health, he would always be remembered for living life on the edge while inspiring others to inquire about the world around them.

In accordance with his explicit wishes, Rauf’s remains were cremated in Adventure the same day.