Auroville's monthly news magazine since 1988

Issue Nº392

Mar 2022 (44 months ago)
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‘Is this the end?’

From left: Huong Pham, Thierry Moucazambo and Gopal Dalami

On February 19th, a remarkable performance took place at the Sri Aurobindo Auditorium of Bharat Nivas. Inspired by the poem ‘Is this the end?’


The Budget Coordination Committee interacts

2 Budget Distributions

In January and February, Auroville’s Budget Coordination Committee (BCC) conducted a series of public meetings with the community. One purpose was to clarify the budgetary allocations; another, to help the BCC understand to what extent those allocations serve the needs of the community.


Changing the narrative

Narratives are very powerful in both positive and negative ways. They can make us resolute, like “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”, or they can be destructive when misapplied, like the Biblical narrative that tells us God gave mankind ‘dominion’ over the Earth.


All by my Lonesome

Solitude or loneliness?

In our big Auroville family, just like everywhere else, loneliness affects all generations and backgrounds, from the misunderstood teenager to the senior in a retirement home, including single parents and people suffering from disorders.


Transformative healing

Sharing a hug in the debris of the former Youth Centre

Since the shocking events of early December, a few people have been working to transform and facilitate the trauma and emotions that were triggered.


“Nobody is ever right against anybody” Collective working and what The Mother said

Dear Auroville Community, I am an avid follower of the Auroville community and its developments, and am a well-wisher for its success, even though I have never lived in Auroville.


Sri Aurobindo, Life and Times of the Mahayog, The Pre-Pondicherry Phase

Sri Aurobindo: Life and Times of the Mahayogimahayogi - bookcover

Manoj Das, who passed away on 27 April 2021, was an inmate of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and a well-known Indian author who wrote extensively in Odia and English.


In the land of majestic giants

Ashwin Ezhumalai's photo exhibition

In early February, Ashwin Ezhumalai presented his photos of the Himalayas at an exhibition in Citadines Centre d’Art. Taken over six years during different treks with other Aurovilians in rarely visited valleys and passes in Himachal Pradesh, they capture the different aspects of this stark yet magical high altitude landscape: deep valleys, rock-strewn glaciers, grassy uplands, sacred lakes, immense starscapes, and stunning snow-capped mountains playing hide-and-seek with clouds.


Becoming and being a Shifu (master)

The graduates of the BnB Shifu programme. From left to right Arun, Sri Bhavani, Santosh, Sivaraman and Narmadha

BnB Shifu is a one-year intensive course in skills of electronics (VLSI) and programming, competencies and inner capacity for the youth started in 2021 by Dr.


Auroville Festival 2022 As part of the Auroville Festival to celebrate The Mother’s birthday and the foundation day of Auroville held from February 21-28, various events have been organized, amongst them were a number of zoom conferences on the themes of Mother’s Birth Anniversary and Charter of Auroville and Auroville as a Future Model for the World; Savitri, Cradle of the Overman; research on the Soul of Nations and National Pavilions; the practical manifestation of the city and the role of UNESCO and GOI; the spiritual significance of Auroville; the Five Dreams of Sri Aurobindo; and Towards Spiritual Education.

Sri Aurobindo’s Gayatri mantra live streamed The Auroville choir and instrumental ensemble live streamed a performance of “Om Tat Savitur”, a composition by Holger on Sri Aurobindo’s Gayatri mantra, on Thursday 17th of February.

Visa recommendations retricted The Secretary Auroville Foundation, who has been authorized to issue letters of recommendation up to periods of five years required for obtaining a visa or stay visa extension, has started to issue recommendations for one year only, including for long-term foreign residents who have received 5-year recommendations earlier without problem.

AV Council report In the latest Auroville Council report, the Council wrote that it is exploring new ways of organising itself. As a first step, it intends to create two specialised subgroups comprised of Council members and resource persons, one to manage all conflicts, the other to oversee the creation, harmonisation and observance of Auroville mandates, policies and guidelines.