Issue Nº392 – News in brief

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.

The Council noted that after the ATDC had expressed concerns late last year about the Appeal Process and questioned the need to adhere to it and to the RA decision, the FAMC have also recently informed the Council that it will no longer cooperate with any appeals until the Appeal Process is reviewed.

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. No reasons have been given.

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. Visit https://youtu.be/Jm7ujTigsQA

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. Many eminent speakers have agreed to join the celebration, including: His Excellency Shri R.N. Ravi, Honorable Governor of Tamil Nadu and Chairman of the Auroville Foundation; Dr. Karan Singh, former Chairman of the Auroville Foundation; Dr. David Frawley and Ms. Dena Merriam, members of the Auroville International Advisory Council; Ms. Ameeta Mehra, former member of the Governing Board of the Auroville Foundation; Dr. Jayanti Ravi, Secretary of the Auroville Foundation, Dr. Soumitra Basu, Dr. Alok Pandey, Dr. Ananda Reddy, Anu Legrand, Manoj Pavitran, Dr. Vladimir Yatsenko, Aurelio, Dr. Don Salmon, Matthew Andrews, Janak Khandwala, Chandresh Patel, Pashi Kapur and others.

Many Auroville residents, however, felt that the ‘Auroville Festival 2022’ is inappropriate at this moment due to the current and ongoing upheaval. Instead, some have been calling for a ‘Silence Festival’.