Auroville's monthly news magazine since 1988

Issue Nº367

Feb 2020 (69 months ago)
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Auroville’s role in manifesting the New Creation

Feature, By Guy Ryckaert

Alternative Economy Vikalp Sangam 2020

Event review, By Gijs

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Launching the Aura

Feature, By Alan

The Aura Project Team

On 29th December a new project was launched at the Aura Fest in the Youth Center. “Time for a shift to better align with our ideals! Come join us not for discussion but an action on our economy that promises to be fun and enriching,” ran the invitation.

Revolutionising the Auroville economy with hemp

Feature, By Hilary

Sasi and Tom at the Hemplanet stall

Auroville’s grocery outlets have begun to be stocked with an all-new collection of hemp-based products. Hempseed oil, hemp flour, and hemp hearts have hit the shelves thanks to Hemplanet, an Auroville unit that aims to promote the use of a wide array of hemp derivatives and eventually begin hemp cultivation in Auroville.

Waterman of India’s inspirational visit to Auroville

Feature, By Ing-Marie

Fostering a vibrant film culture in Auroville

Feature, By Lesley

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Auroville recently hosted its sixth film festival, which included a heady mix of local and international films. Over five nights, the Town Hall area was abuzz with indoor and outdoor screenings, food stalls and live music, as people imbibed the opportunity to soak up films and to participate in film-related discussions.

The Auroville Film Festival awards

Feature

The story of cashew told on film

Feature, By Lesley

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Auroville’s development has been intrinsically entwined with the complexities of local cashew cultivation over the decades, so Aurovilian filmmaker Serena Aurora decided to get to the bottom of the story.

EVER SLOW GREEN – a film about Auroville’s unique re-afforestation work

Feature, By Alan

Ever slow green: an interview with Christoph Pohl

An interview with, By  Valentina

Christoph Pohl

Christoph Pohl grew up in Germany. He studied media technology engineering and worked in video and film post production in Hamburg and Berlin before moving to Auroville in 2008.

A Generous Picture

Art review, By Peter

Pathway to Glory, stained glass work by Robert l'Heureux, dia - 60

The 2020 fifth Art for Land exhibition and fundraisers has started with an extraordinary varied programme and offerings. Thirty-one (and counting) events are part of this bounty with a plethora of art pieces for sale.

AVI meeting in Auroville The Auroville International annual meeting will take place in Auroville between 13th – 20th February. Working groups and individuals are invited to present their work and projects.

News and Notes resumes After an absence of over five months, the News and Notes has resumed with a new team. It was sorely missed. In the interim, the Auronet team had been putting out a weekly news summary based on what has been published on Auronet.

Silver Fund There is a proposal to establish a ‘Silver Fund’. Anybody who is 70 + years old and has been on the Auroville Master list for a minimum of 25 years can request financial support from the Silver Fund.

Income tax issues The FAMC reported that the Auroville Foundation received an Income Tax order for the assessment year 2017-18 (financial year 2016-17) of Rs 14.5 crores, computed on the consolidated balance sheet, and another notice has been issued for the financial year 2017-2018.

Tribal art and craft exhibition In collaboration with the Pavilion of India, a small collection of tribal and folk handcrafted artisanal work was showcased in January in the New Art & Craft building in Bharat Nivas.

2019 rainfall Exceptionally, this year’s north east monsoon began on time and extended into early January, 2020. Nevertheless, Charlie’s measurements in Aurogreen showed a 5.88% deficit in comparison with the average north east monsoon rainfall.

New approach to land protection Until now the approach proposed by the Tamil Nadu Govt to Auroville has been to constitute first of all an authority (NTDA), make a development plan, and then carry out a public consultation.

13th Auroville Marathon The annual marathon will take place on Sunday, 9th February. A marathon market will be held on the previous day and on the morning of the run.

Governing Board meets Members of the Governing Board visited Auroville on 23rd – 25th January to attend their 55th meeting. In an open session with the residents on Thursday, 23rd, the Chairman, Dr Karan Singh, admitted that the Board could have acted differently in relationship to accusations they had received concerning certain Aurovilians [see Auroville Today # 366, January, 2020].

L’Avenir d’Auroville/Town Development Council crisis L’Avenir d’Auroville/TDC reported that due to a drastic cut in Government funding they may have to suspend all work and activities unless additional funding is secured.

Orchid exhibition at Botanical Gardens The annual orchid exhibition was held over two days in Botanical Gardens in mid January. It was a great success as almost all the orchids on display, including some rare ones, were purchased.

Sunday walks The popular Sunday walks in Auroville farms and forests have resumed. A series of 15 walks will be led by Auroville stewards of farms and forests on successive Sundays until mid April.

The Forest Moot On Saturday the 15th of February a gathering will be held at the Botanical Gardens to show the new movie “Ever Slow Green”. Prior to the screening there will be a chance to connect with other people involved in planting trees around the region through an interactive poster session of afforestation projects in South India.

Green Architecture Award Suhasini has won the Green Architecture Award organised by J. K. Cement Limited for architects from eleven countries. It was awarded for the Humanscapes Habitat youth housing project. [see AVToday # 340 of November 2017].

The Contemplative Art of Jyoti Naoki Eri The Centre d’Art, Citadines, put on an exhibition by Jyoti of a series of works entitled ‘Anima’ in which he explored the material and immaterial dimensions of a simple water pot, culminating in images of lotuses.

Republic Day celebrations in Bharat Nivas Various events were held to celebrate Republic Day, 26th January. In addition to the traditional flag hoisting ceremony, there was an interactive session with Governing Board member Dr.

Kala Kendra exhibitions In December, the 2nd National Painting exhibition took place in Kala Kendra Art Gallery, Bharat Nivas. Organized by the Pondicherry Art Akademy, 70 artists from all over India exhibited their work which represented a wide palette of styles.

Architecture exhibition Between 20th January and 1st March, Paulette put on a photographic exhibition at the Town Hall on the theme of ‘Milano’s futuristic architecture: regeneration of the Porta Nuova district’.

Ultimate Frisbee Ultimate Frisbee will be hosting its annual Auroville Hat tournament on the 1st and 2nd of February. It will be the 10th year they are organising and hosting this tournament and they expect approximately 250 players to come from all over India.

Sufi dance Last year, a ‘Sufi Way’ meditation retreat took place in Bharat Nivas. Led by Nirupam Gyan, it involved Gurdjeff movements, active meditations, breath work and Sufi whirling, which is a state of inner stillness and outer movement.

Presentation by Dr. Amit Goswami On 20th January, the eminent quantum physicist, Dr. Goswami, made a presentation of his work at a packed Unity Pavilion. Dr. Goswami is a pioneer of the new paradigm of science called “science within consciousness,” which demonstrates how science and spirituality can be integrated.