Issue Nº332 – In Memoriam

On the evening of February 3rd, Aurovilian V. Gnanavel of the Matrimandir Nursery left his body due to a stroke caused by high blood pressure. His family, wife Geetha and children Madivanan and Kalaiyarasan were with him, just a week before he would become 53 years old.

In the early 1970s, Gnanavel had come from Kottakarai to work as a young boy in the Matrimandir Nursery, readily learning about plant life and attending Ilaignarkal school. After running his own nursery in Kottakarai for some time, he eventually came to live in the Matrimandir Nursery in the early nineties, and he joined Auroville in 1992.

Gnanavel was known as a gentle, introverted family man, who loved his work and was dedicated to the Matrimandir gardens. In recent years, it was Gnanavel who quietly took up the management of the Nursery, having started there as a kid so long ago.

Gnanavel’s remains were buried at Adventure’s burial grounds on Saturday February 5th.