Issue Nº397

To celebrate Sri Aurobindo’s 150th birth anniversary, Savitri Bhavan hosted “Blessings”, an exhibition of the photographs of Sri Aurobindo made by Henri Cartier-Bresson.

The following is the first in what may become a series of articles featuring Aurovilians who hold the city deeply in their hearts, even though they may disagree about the details of its manifestation

It is hard to believe that anybody is happy with the present situation in Auroville. We seem to be trapped in a situation in which action inevitably leads to escalating reaction, to the serious detriment of our work, our health and social fabric, as well as to Auroville’s image in the larger world.

Over the past two months, a group of Tamil Aurovilians organised three community gatherings with the intention to bring together the residents of Auroville in unity.

For the early birds it’s a familiar sight: a team of workers fills potholes and equalizes the Auroville dirt roads, using plate rammers, road rollers, lorries, tractors and

I used to call myself a wanna-be hippie who missed the boat. Born in 1964 to a French Canadian father and American mother, it was too late for the Woodstock ride.

On April 15 and 16 Youthlink surveyed the community about road safety. There was a polling board, letterbox for further suggestions and information was given out.

Bhavya grew up in Auroville, and is currently studying Urban Design in Ahmedabad, India. She will continue her studies in Milan, and eventually plans to come back to Auroville with her acquired study, work and life experiences.

The new selection process started in May with a call for nominations/self-nominations for candidates for the following Working Groups: Auroville Council, Auroville Town Development Council, Entry Board, Funds and Assets Management Committee and Working Committee.

The last two months have continued to witness dramatic and, for some residents, distressing events in the community. Here is a brief update, drawn from reports in the public domain.

The images on this page are from experimental photography classes from Future School and from Analogue Photography Workshops at Centre d’Art, Citadines.

In the article “The power of work and possibility” which appeared in the previous issue of Auroville Today, Sigrid’s name was mistakenly omitted from the team of Land for Auroville United (LFAU), of which she is a founder member and for which she remains very active.