Issue Nº371-372

In the last few months, the world has been turned upside-down. Half the world’s population has been in lockdown, the global economy has collapsed, millions have lost their jobs and thousands have died, all as a result of a new and very infectious corona virus: COVID-19.

The COVID Task Force, along with the Working Committee, has been the group that has been coordinating Auroville’s response to the lockdown. What has their work involved?

In ‘normal’ times, Aurovilians have a great deal of choice when it comes to dining in cafes and restaurants, or buying groceries to cook at home.

When the lockdown started across India in late March, economic activity ground to a halt in Auroville, and individuals, commercial units, and community services had to take a rigorous look at their expenses to see how they would survive.

Despite the restrictions of quarantine, an innerly creative world was quietly emerging during the lockdown. For some Aurovilians, the halting of everyday busyness allowed their muse to take flight and for creativity to take form.

Even before India entered one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, among the first measures it took to stop the spread of COVID-19 was to shut down schools across the nation.

At the beginning of April, Koodam, the conflict resolution platform that offers personal and group conflict transformation services in Auroville, extended their support to anybody needing help in coping with the challenges presented by the lockdown and quarantine regulations.

The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown have brought large scale unemployment, poverty and hunger to the rural villages and urban slums of India.

The Coast India initiative is a national work of civil society organizations concerned with the welfare of vulnerable migrant populations. Aurovilian Bindu along with other volunteers formed the Tamil Nadu team of Coast India, and here she shares her work.