Issue Nº330

Beach erosion has very badly affected some of our beach communities for the past decade. In Auroville Today we have reported a number of times on the problem as well as on proposals to solve or mitigate it, but so far, apart from research, very little has been done on the ground.

When I began serving as the secretary to the Funds and Assets Management Committee (FAMC) in December 2010, there were twelve men, including the Secretary, Auroville Foundation, as well as the Finance and Administration officer, Auroville Foundation, and one woman member.

Education has been a significant area of activity for Auroville since its inception, with many initiatives throughout its history seeking to provide for the needs of the community’s youth, while attempting to actualize the foundational aspiration of ‘Integral Education.’

Monica Sharma trained as a physician and epidemiologist, then worked for the United Nations for 22 years. She was the Director of several global programmes, including the UNDP programme on HIV/AIDS, as well as being Director of Leadership and Capacity Development at the U.N.

Demonetisation – this brittle word with its short, sharp syllables, gained currency overnight with the draconian move of the Indian Government to invalidate Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes.

It is common in India to see uncared stray dogs roaming the streets. For many years, until April 2005, a long time Aurovilian, Ann Plummer from New Zealand, known in Auroville as ‘Animal Care Ann’, provided food and care for the stray dogs and cats in the surrounding villages of Auroville, and to a lesser extent within Auroville.

In the October issue, the obituary of Krishna Tewari stated that, after attending the inauguration ceremony at the beginning of Matrimandir, he and his family wanted to join the Ashram and Auroville immediately, “but The Mother forbade him to do so”.