Issue Nº345

Sangamam in Tamil means ‘confluence’ or ‘a group of people coming together’ and this was very much the spirit of this year’s gathering on the 4th of March that brought together around 8000 people from Auroville, its beautiful bioregion, and many friends and guests from around the world.

Aurovilian Deepika Kundaji was one among 30 women and 9 institutions to be conferred the “Nari Shakti Award for 2017”, India’s prestigious award for women, by the President of India on the occasion of International Women’s Day at a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President’s Palace, in New Delhi on March 8th.

The occasion was celebrated with song, dance and poetry from around Europe

Beginning in 2014, Aurovilians began to envision and plan for the big celebrations. Here is how they did it.

Preparations for the two hours had its share of surprises and challenges.

The highlight of this year's 50th anniversary bonfire was undoubtedly the moving water ceremony. Srimoyi, a member of the Matrimandir Events Team, describes on behalf of the team how it came about.

Fabienne of Outreach Media, Doris of Auroville Video, Serena, an independent Aurovilian filmmaker and Valentina, who is editing the material, talk about the challenges and successes of covering the birthday events.

Dev Mohanty describes the trials and satisfactions of live streaming Auroville’s 50th events.

Fabrice Dini’s new book, translated from the French by Aurovilian Divya Lieser, is a practical guide for teachers and parents. As Dini’s background and experience are in mindfulness practice, much of the book is built around that theme

Kinisi celebrates its 1st anniversary. Kinisi is a unit under CSR, dedicated to bringing sustainable mobility to Auroville. Kinisi started officially on March 13, 2017, when it obtained a desk in a shared office at CSR (Center for Scientific Research) as well as a small workshop space downstairs.

An Auroville school uses various educational methods to engage children from the local area.