Auroville's monthly news magazine since 1988
May 2023 (29 months ago) Download PDF (free download)
A wide-ranging dialogue with Deepti Tewari — Interview conducted by Carel
The fourth volume of Bhavishyate, the Journal of Bharat Nivas, the Pavilion of India, contains two chapters that are of direct interest to Auroville: ‘A model town − a Conscious Collectivity’ and ‘The Soul of a Collective Yoga.’ Auroville Today talked to Deepti, the author, to gain more insight into these topics and their relevance to Auroville today.
In-depth feature
On January 4th, 2022, during a Dreamweaving session, there was a presentation on the concept of Vaastu Shilpa Shastra. Auroville architect Mona Doctor-Pingel introduced the concept by explaining that Vaastu Shilpa Shastra is commonly translated as the ‘Science of Building’, and is a component of the traditional, collective and evolutionary knowledge systems of India. It is multidisciplinary in nature and had been alive for thousands of years as a thriving science before it was largely supplanted by Western approaches about 150 years ago.
A thoughtful note — Story by Peter
Some years ago, when I lived in Hong Kong, I hosted my friend Alan Watson Featherstone when he gave a series of talks on “Restore the Earth’. He mentioned at some point the concept of ‘biophobia’, the hatred or dislike of nature. Initially, I felt uncomfortable with the strength of the word ‘phobia’.
A wide-ranging dialogue with Forest — Interview conducted by Chandra
Forest was born and raised in the countryside outside of Toronto, Canada. He has recently chosen Auroville as his future home and is planning to start his Newcomer process shortly.
Letter to the community
In our previous issue we devoted two pages to the Banyan tree, including a brief historical overview. Since then, a former Matrimandir executive has sent us something that he wrote in 2004, which provides additional details about the tree. As many people have a special relationship with this tree, we publish this to further fill out the historical record.
In-depth feature — Written by Peter
Last October, YouthLink conducted a sexual harassment awareness campaign and recently followed up on that initiative by bringing together all the services within Auroville working on matters related to sexual harassment to create Safety & Boundaries Awareness (SBA). The intention is ‘to increase awareness, build an emotional support network, optimise prevention, and provide education within the community.’ Currently, SBA comprises YouthLink, Chrysalis, Maatram, CRP3 (Conflict Resolution Policy), Auroville Child Protection, AVSST, RA Working Committee, Jump Inward, Auroville Council, and Internal Complaint Committee.
A wide-ranging dialogue with Dr Ananda Reddy — Interview conducted by Carel
On the occasion of Sri Aurobindo’s 150th anniversary, the Sri Aurobindo Centre for Advanced Research (SACAR) in Pondicherry received a grant of Rs.12 lakhs (approx. US $ 15,000) from the Government of India to publish Dr. Ananda Reddy’s commentaries on five major works of Sri Aurobindo. Auroville Today spoke to Ananda, Director of SACAR.
An event in review — Authored by Vishwa
In 2022, Vishwa Chudgar, her husband and daughter spent a month in Auroville, before moving back to the USA. A little over a year later, the family is now calling Auroville home and Vishwa has started the newcomer process. Her daughter was introduced to Deepanam School by a playmate and soon decided she wanted to join Deepanam’s 65 students (age 7-14). Here Vishwa describes her experience of the school’s recent STEAM Fest.
Y20 summit in Auroville From the 4th-6th April, Auroville hosted a three day Y20 (youth) summit as part of India’s G20 presidency...
Tamil New Year YouthLink invited everybody to celebrate Tamil New Year, also known as “Tamil Puthandu” together at the Youth Centre on 14 April, for an evening filled with cultural performances, delicious food, and a traditional pooja...
General meeting on town planning On Saturday 1st April, the RA TDC held a general meeting where they informed the community that an anonymous donor has offered to fund the next steps in town planning in collaboration with the Dream-weaving process and Vastushilpa...
Concerns about maintenances The FO FAMC and FO BCC reported that it has been a challenging time for both groups over the last six months as they have been confronted with a number of problems and issues...
Crown road works update An Aurovilian specialised in construction released another update report on the current status of the Crown Road work...
New executives of Auroville Services Executives of a number of key Services, including SAIIER, Visitors Centre, Security, Eco Service, Auroville Arts Service, ACUR and the Guest House Trust, have been fully or partially replaced with no or minimal notice...
Removal from ROR The FO WC announced that they had received a communication from the Auroville Foundation that since Maёl had received a Leave India Notice, he would be removed from the Register of Residents (ROR)...
Voice of Auroville A new journal, called Voice of Auroville has been released under the supervision of the RA Working Committee...
RA WC files court case against FO WC members The RA WC has filed a case at the Madras High Court against the 7 members of the FO WC for posing as the “Working Committee”...
Auroville International (AVI) Board clarification The Chairman of the AVI Board made a statement clarifying that the Board is not against the development of the City, nor even against the construction of the Crown Road...
Shortage of mentors The Entry Service has issued a call for Aurovilians to offer themselves as mentors of Newcomers...
Land acquired The Land for Auroville Unified (LFAU) group reports that last year 14 new plots were added to Auroville’s Master Plan area, and 2023 kicked off with the purchase of two new plots...
Auroville youth work survey YouthLink has conducted a work survey youth between 18-30 in Auroville...
Jane Bonda Just two weeks prior to the planned performance, Bharat Nivas (BN) Trustees sent a letter to Miraculous Productions (MP) to inform them that they will not allow the play ‘Jane Bonda’ to go ahead at the Sri Aurobindo Auditorium as previously agreed...
CRP3C The ‘CRP3C’ (Conflict Resolution Policy, section 3 Coordination) group reminded Aurovilians to report cases of conflict such as violence or threats of violence, substance abuse (alcohol or drugs), psychological health issues, etc...
Coffee Learning Community takes off On April 22nd, Earth Day, Marc’s Coffee Learning Community opened, established on the newly-built first floor of Marc’s Café on the Kuilaypalayam road...
News & Notes Community Edition As the editors of the Auroville News and Notes had received a message from the AVFO working group instructing them to stop publishing articles from the RA-selected working groups, threatening legal action against the editors if they did not comply, a News & Notes Community Edition has been launched...
In remembrance of
On April 2nd, Dutch Aurovilian Anna Oijevaar passed away. She was a lively, energetic and much appreciated Aurovilian, who came here first in 1988 and was registered as Aurovilian in 1993. She raised five children, Jonah, Jitta, Ofa, Anan and Anadi, and was one of the main initiative takers of the Auroville Lilaloka resource centre for children that came off the ground in 2011. Anna’s children wrote on 2nd April: “This morning Anna from Eternity passed away. She would have been 72 this year. Many years ago Anna had a dream of an Island to raise her family, a place of new awakening. A place of youth that never ages, where children could grow up to be their unique selves. This journey led them to Auroville. When she stepped out of the taxi for the first time in Eternity, she knew this was the place of her dreams. Anna and Yuval raised their 5 children there and, with the family, established a beautiful oasis on the beach. She dedicated her life work to Integral education, to Mother and Sri Aurobindo and the Divine. We are grateful to have had her in our lives and everything she has given to us all. Her family and her extended family in Auroville and around the world will always hold her close to their heart.” Anna’s remains were cremated at the Auroville Burial and Cremation Grounds on April 8th.
Maurice Monier passed away on April 13th in his flat in Citadines. His friends at Citadines wrote: “Maurice was born in Saint-Étienne, France, on June 18, 1938 and would have been 85 in June. In the years 1975-76, he stayed several times at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry before permanently settling in Auroville in 1986-87, where he fulfilled various functions, the main one being to dig wells with the Water Service for the community. Later he participated several years in the Housing Service, after which he actively helped in the development of the unit Aquadyn. His great availability and continuous presence in these services left a lasting impression with those who knew him. Maurice has always been an ardent defender of Auroville and was totally involved in the community. His ability to be attentive, coupled with a humorous look at things, made interactions with him enjoyable and rewarding. His generosity and discretion were rare and precious qualities, which undoubtedly had a positive impact on the people who knew him. His sincerity and inner depth were testifying to an authentic and endearing personality.” Maurice’s remains were cremated at the Auroville Burial and Cremation Ground on April 19th.
Rafael Vázquez Corona, named ‘Mali’ by The Mother, left his body in Spain on April 24th. Mexican by origin, he was an Ashramite and an Aurovilian. With The Mother’s approval, he founded the Utility community. The Sri Aurobindo Center in Barcelona has a video where Mali recites, in Spanish, Sri Aurobindo’s poem ‘The Triumph Song of Trishuncou’. One of the lines is “My spirit shall avoid the hungry tomb…” Knowing Mali’s exuberant energy and undaunting spirit, he may have gone far beyond indeed.
