Auroville's monthly news magazine since 1988
Apr 2023 (31 months ago) Download PDF (free download)
Feature — By Alan
Jay Naidoo, former leader in the South African struggle against apartheid, and former minister responsible for Reconstruction and Development in the country’s first democratic government, where he worked closely with Nelson Mandela, recently visited Auroville.
An interview with Claude Arpi — Carel
Claude Arpi is a French-born Aurovilian living in Auroville for the past 49 years. He is well-known as a historian and tibetologist. He is the author of several books on Tibet and on Indo-French relations, and was instrumental in the creation of the Pavilion of Tibetan Culture in Auroville.
In the mid 1960s Roger Anger wanted to know the location of the geographical centre of the city to be. He brought a map to Mother and she indicated a spot.
An interview with Himal Jaiswal — Gita, Amalya B and Piotr
Himal Jaiswal came to Auroville 45 years ago as a seven year old boy. Approximately two years ago he started working in the Matrimandir gardens.
Art review — By Dominique Jacques
Centre d’Art, Monday, three o’clock in the afternoon. About fifteen people are working on the photograph of the Auroville banyan tree which is spread out over seven metres in front of the large picture window.
An interview with Cedric Bregnard — Alan
Through this process, people who had known the Banyan for 30 years or more experienced it in a new way. As an artist, it’s interesting for me to see this happening in Auroville with people who have such an intimate relationship with the tree.
Feature — By Gita
Book review — By Peter
As my partner and I were talking about the history of Auroville’s on-going crisis, she encouraged me to read a specific book chronicling the early days of Auroville.
Reflection — By Bindu
In a few decades, perhaps, it will be clearer to take an account of what did we lose, what did we gain, and overall, what we did learn that will help us to take another small step together, collectively.
Poetry — By Amalya B
When I first saw the tree, I saw a Mother and her many children. Branches reaching out to all directions. Outward, skyward, earthward. The tree had roots that were branches and branches that were rooted.
Tree cutting resumes The FO ATDC announced it would begin assisting the CPWD team in clearing the Crown path, including the cutting of trees, on 9th March in accordance with the authorization given by the Joint Commission as per the National Green tribunal directive.
Legal update On 14th March a ‘miscellaneous petition’ was heard at the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Chennai. The court order, posted on the following weekend, noted the concern of the applicants that the AVFO “is cutting trees even outside the stretch of crown road work/beyond the recommendation of the Joint Committee.”
Crown Road update Following on from his previous report, an Aurovilian has shared a further technical report detailing the progress of the road work. He points out that the concrete slabs delivered to the site so far do not fit together properly, meaning that the contractor has been forced to take remedial action.
Damaging tree roots An Aurovilian arborist is concerned by tree roots being severed during work on the Crown Right of Way. He points out that trees with roots severed one metre from the stem are much easier to push over, and advises that is usually better to dig under tree roots instead of severing them to install cables and pipes.
Minutes of the 60th and 61st meetings of the Governing Board These minutes were only released recently. In the minutes of the 60th meeting, held on 12th July 2022, it was noted that the Board approved a proposal in principle for the construction of studio flats for 1,000 individuals to attract people from various countries to enhance the spiritual activities of the community.
AVI board members meet Secretary On February 18th, the Chairman and International Secretary of Auroville International met with the Secretary. They appreciated the opportunity to discuss and exchange on several important issues.
Peace Table meeting At the Secretary’s invitation, a group of diverse Aurovilians met with Jay Naidoo around the Peace Table. The atmosphere was peaceful. Among the points mentioned were that Aurovilians needed to be assured of safety and security, verbal violence in speech is not acceptable, that everything possible should be done to solve the situation of the young Aurovilian who received a Leave India notice, and that rebuilding harmony between the GB, IAC and RA is vital for Auroville’s progress.
Consul Generals visit to Auroville Recently, Consul Generals from France, Russia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Bangladesh and Thailand visited Auroville. At the Unity Pavilion, they were given an overview of Auroville, its founding vision based on Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and its aims and activities, in a presentation and talk by the Secretary, Auroville Foundation.
News and Notes update The RA Auroville Council and Working Committee announced they were relieving the editors of the News and Notes of their responsibility and looking for replacements as the editors were not “giving a fair representation to the voice of the community”.
Changed land stewardship The FO ATDC announced that “In order to move forward with the development of Auroville City as per the Master Plan and considering that non-ownership is a core value of life in Auroville, going forward all rights for development of the Auroville lands will follow land use as defined in the Master Plan and by the ATDC, and endorsed by FAMC.
General meeting On 16th March there was a General Meeting in Unity Pavilion. Around 300 residents attended. The RA FAMC made a call for resource persons to assist them as they are having difficulties managing their work as they have only a three person team.
Roger Anger centenary On 23th March, on the occasion of Roger Anger’s centenary, L’avenir d’Auroville / ATDC and the 150th Sri Aurobindo year programme group welcomed people to India Space, Bharat Nivas, for a commemorative event in honour of Roger’s work and legacy for Auroville.
Going digital The FO FAMC announced that the Auroville Foundation is keen to follow up the Digital India initiatives within Auroville also. To facilitate the move from cash to digital transactions quickly and effectively, all executives and managers who have yet to adopt digital payments are required now to register with the TalamPay (including point-of-sale UPI QRcodes) developed internally in Auroville by Talam.
Accounts not approved The FO FAMC also reports that the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has not certified the accounts for the year 2021-2022 for Auroville units/ trusts and consolidated accounts of Auroville Foundation because they are not in the Ministry of Education approved format.
Dream Diving series Savitri Bhavan has launched a project called ‘The Dream Divine Series’. The goal of the project is to make Newcomers understand the Aims and Ideals of Auroville, learn about the life and works of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, and the Integral Yoga.
Introductory Volunteer Programme (IVP) The IVP, a programme that will take volunteers on a journey of discovery through Auroville, is being resumed. This five day programme is a unique opportunity for volunteers to experience the diverse realities of Auroville and to meet fellow volunteers & Aurovilians.
In memoriam:
Aurovilian Gérard Arnaud passed away on Thursday, March 17 due to cardiac arrest. Gérard had started coming to Auroville about 10 years ago and had become Aurovilian in 2017.
