Issue Nº371-372 – In Memoriam

On June 2nd, Jan Pieter passed away in the Netherlands after a period of illness.

Jan Pieter's connection with Sri Aurobindo, the Mother and Auroville goes back to the mid-seventies. In those days he stayed in one of the houses of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry and visited Auroville almost every day, as a guide, informing visitors about the Dream.

After his work in Pondicherry, Jan Pieter lived at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi Branch, before joining Findhorn in Scotland. He then moved back to The Netherlands, and became a board member of Auroville International The Netherlands. During this period he translated parts of Sri Aurobindo’s The Synthesis of Yoga into Dutch.

Jan Pieter recently completed his Newcomers’ period and had taken up residence at Sunship. An illness prompted him to briefly go to The Netherlands, before returning to Auroville. This sadly was not to be.

Long-term Friend of Auroville and Auroville International Germany member Uschi Ernst, passed away on Sunday 3 May at the age of 80. Her health had been gradually weakening this last half year.

Uschi, and husband Helmut Ernst, had been closely connected to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother since the sixties. They were active members of AVI Germany and would regularly participate in the various AVI meetings in Auroville and/or abroad. They built a house in Grace in the mid-nineties which they co-stewarded throughout the years while yearly visiting for some weeks.

Uschi was an energetic woman, an enthusiastic trumpet player, and warmly received visiting Aurovilians in her large, plant and flower-rich Frankfurt home.

On Tuesday May 26th, Vijayamala, a long-term volunteer at New Creation's Crèche and Boarding School, passed away due to a heart attack at JIPMER at the age of 51.

Mala came from the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 2000 and has been living and working in New Creation, co-running the Boarding School with Marie Babu ever since. Always smiling, she was a gentle, kind person who became a beloved member of the New Creation family. Her gift was art, which she shared with countless children as well as at various Auroville events, exhibitions and marathons. She also taught New Creation's children French, Hindi, painting, drawing, stitching and other artistic activities.

Vijayamala's remains were buried at Auroville's burial grounds on the evening of May 26th.

In the late afternoon of April 25th, Roma Hira peacefully left her body at her home in Dana due to renal failure. She would have turned 73 in September this year. Her remains were cremated on the morning of April 26th at Auroville’s mandapam in Adventure community.

Roma was perhaps best known as the person behind Roma’s Kitchen, one of the best of Auroville's eateries with a reputation for serving gourmet Indian food. Every evening, seated in a quiet corner of the restaurant, she would keep watch over her staff and clients, guarding her restaurant's reputation and welcoming friends and guests. One such evening a few years ago, Auroville Today asked her for her ‘story’, the story of one of Auroville's pioneers who, more than 35 years ago, decided to make Auroville her home. Here it is published for the first time.