Auroville's monthly news magazine since 1988
Sept 2020 (61 months ago) Download PDF (free download)
A conversation with Stephan, Inge R., Isha, Otto and Carel — Conversation led by Alan
How has the pandemic impacted our economy? How to make it more equitable and resilient in the future? These are just two of the questions explored in a recent discussion between people from different sectors of the community. Otto is the manager of the Financial Service; Isha is the coordinator of Servicelink; Stephan is manager of the commercial unit Gecko! and member of the Auroville Board of Commerce Research Group; Inge is a member of the Budget Coordination Committee; and Carel is on the Working Committee.
Feature — Written by Lesley
Marc’s Coffee responds to the challenges of a pandemic.
Feature — Written by Alan
Lampshades were one of the first items produced by Auroville’s small handicraft units, which started up in the 1970s to provide an income for individuals and for the community. Over the years, as designs were refined, they became popular in the Indian market. Guy’s Radiance was one of the most successful of these units.
A conversation with Aurelio — Conversation led by Peter
Auroville Today spoke with Aurelio, founder of Svaram, the unit that makes musical instruments and conducts research into acoustics and sound healing.
Feature — Written by Tenzin Jangchup, Sneha and Neha
Many people come to Auroville as adults, but some of us were born here or came as kids. What is it like, being a child of Auroville? How is it different to grow up in an intentional community? Jangchup, Snehankita and Neha, three youth of Auroville currently studying in Future School, were invited to write about this as a project and shared their story with us.
An inward look — Authored by Tency
After touring Pablo Picasso’s museum in Barcelona, we could not resist buying a print of his masterly sketch of Don Quixote and his companion Sancho Panza, the characters from Miquel de Cervantes’ novel about the adventures of Don Quixote. The black and white drawing stands out in its simplicity, depicting the two main characters on horse and donkey, against a background of windmills and the sun.
A conversation with Laure Huys — Conversation led by Carel
Zero waste is the conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of all products, packaging, and materials, without burning them, and without discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi remembers Auroville On the occasion of India's Independence Day and Sri Aurobindo’s birthday on August 15th, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Sri Aurobindo...
First centenarian On July 1st, S...
Acres for Auroville celebrates its 7th birthday The fundraising campaign A4A (Acres for Auroville) was inaugurated seven years ago on 15th of August...
Community transmission? The Working Committee’s call for random COVID-19 testing to see if any “community transmission” is happening in Auroville has been answered by 66 residents, who were tested on August 18th at Santé by a team organised by the Block Medical Officer...
COVID-19 quarantine space The Collector Villupuram District has granted special permission to use Sharanam guesthouse in the Bharat Nivas compound as a primary site, and the Tibetan Pavilion as a secondary site if needed, for quarantining residents of Auroville (including registered guests and volunteers) who have tested Covid-19 positive...
EVER SLOW GREEN nominated The Auroville film EVER SLOW GREEN has been officially selected by six international film festivals and is nominated for two awards...
In remembrance of — Story by Dharmesh
Giorgio Molinari peacefully left his body on Monday August 10 at the age of 83 in his Arka apartment, succumbing to heart problems that had been plaguing him for years. Born in Milano, Giorgio was involved in photography from an early age onwards, while also developing interest in oriental philosophy. As a young man during military service he functioned as a ground assistant for aerial photography, after which he entered the world of advertisement agencies, freelancing for record companies, theatre productions, architectural designs, often working with big names in the field. In 1980 he made an architectural photo study of Chandigarh, from where he visited Auroville and the Matrimandir and the first true contact was made. Then came the ‘Auroville 35 years’ festivity in UNESCO’s Paris centre in 2003, during which he learned more about Auroville and met several Aurovilians. His decision was made. Even though he was stricken with cerebral hemorrhage and right-side paralysis during the preparations to come here, he managed to fly in October 2004 to Auroville where he could convalesce in Arka. In December 2006 he became Aurovilian. From the very onset Giorgio was generously involved in the upgrading of Arka’s infrastructure and lived there as well. From there he did extensive photo studies of Savitri Bhavan, Matrimandir, and we saw him time and again during our meetings, at special events, in schools and at village occasions, cautiously but persistently negotiating the spaces and making photos wherever he could, always freely giving them to Auroville. He would merrily make marriage photos of friends in the village, providing them with CDs of the footage, and the Eluciole Circus would not be the same without him. In his studio, Giorgio trained various students, and endeavoured to make Aurovilians familiar with his Chronotype technique. Several years ago, Giorgio’s beloved sister Graziella, who often came over from Italy and stayed with him in Arka, passed away, and since then Giorgio wasn’t the same anymore. His health withered, and so did his humour and zest for life. He recently offered all his material and equipment to Auroville to constitute ‘Studio Giorgio’, currently temporarily housed in Citadines. The collection will now move to his Arka studio from where ‘Studio Giorgio’ can operate under the guidance of his closest collaborator, Piero Cefaloni. Thank you for having been with us, dear Giorgio, we will remember you through your many exquisite photos and touching images, and for your warm hearted generosity and endearingly grinning smile. Gorgio’s remains were cremated at the Auroville cremation and burial grounds in Adventure community on August 13thth. As per COVID-19 government instructions, only his closest friends could attend.
In remembrance of — Story by Alain Bernard
Long-term Aurovilian Hervé Millet left his body on August 19th at Marika Home at the age of 75, due to complications of cancer which he had been battling since several years. Hervé was one of the French pioneers, a Breton, who joined the caravan that left Paris in 1974 for overland travel to Auroville. From the moment of arrival at the end of that year, he wholeheartedly plunged into a wide range of work activities and services which characterised him throughout his life in Auroville. It started with construction work with Pierre Elouard, building the houses in Auromodèle, during which time he was also active at the then emerging Pour Tous service in Aspiration. During Auroville’s survival struggles of those years, Hervé, along with others, was jailed twice, first in Tindivanam and later again in Villupuram. When things got quieter, Hervé began planting trees in Révélation, looked after SAIIER’s transport, worked at Maroma, and spent several years at Mira Aditi’s book distribution service in Karnataka, and later on with Satprem in the Nilgiris. After an intensive time in the mountains, he returned to Auroville in the mid-nineties where he was welcomed by the Auroville Press team and, soon after that, he participated in the creation of Auroville Papers of which he later became executive. It was here that he found his true element, doing all kinds of experiments for different kinds of new-look and new-feel papers, using a great variety of leaves, flowers and colours, and became skilled in giving paper-making workshops. Hervé was never happier than when showing a child how to make paper or help in the unit. In an interview by Auroville.com, Hervé said: “Living in Auroville means everything to me, and the Mother takes care of me, she really takes care of me. I feel like I am walking the wire with no net under to catch me, but Mother will not let me fall. When I arrived here, I had no money, and she gave me everything. Everything that I have has been given to me... I give my work to the Mother, and I can’t be deceived, because she knows what I need.” Hervé’s remains were cremated at the Auroville cremation and burial grounds in Adventure community on August 20th. As per COVID-19 government instructions, only his closest friends could attend.
