Auroville's monthly news magazine since 1988

Issue Nº414

Jan 2024 (22 months ago)
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Sculptural research and the city of The Mother

An interview with Jacqueline Lacoste, By Chandra

Roger in his studio in Auromodѐle

Jacqueline Lacoste, Roger Anger’s long term companion and collaborator, came to Auroville in 1970. In a sunlit moment at the Centre d’Art exhibition Roger Anger, l’artiste, she shares insights into Roger's identity, where the lines separating artist and architect dissolve, and reflects on the transformative influence of his spiritual encounter with The Mother.

Roger Anger, the artist

Art review, By Dominique Jacques

Roger Anger, the artist is the first ever exhibition of the work of an artist who, by the age of 40, had won several prestigious architectural prizes, but who never exhibited his paintings or sculptures during his lifetime.

Exhibition, Roger the Artist

Art review, By Laila Lille Khayati

2 Roger art (8)

The Roger Anger Exhibition represents an homage dedicated to the artist's centenary, showing an extensive collection of drawings, collages, and sculptures.

The Adesha I received from Roger Anger

Feature, By Paulette

Closeup of gifted artwork

Once, in later years, I went to see Roger in Auromodѐle, but it was different from the other times I visited him. I cannot recall why I went there, to discuss what.

Exploring the inner being

An interview with Dan Capdeville, Iris and Carla, By Alan

From left: Iris, Dan and Carla

A few months ago, announcements appeared on various Auroville forums and in the News and Notes inviting Aurovilians to share their own experiential journey of seeking their inner/ psychic being.

Divine Comedy or the art of sewing the buttons of your shirt

Reflection, By Samrat

“Midway in the course of our life I found myself within a dark wood, where the right way was lost.” First line of the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

The land exchange debate

Opinion, By Anton, Toby, Renu and François Gautier

Land exchange is very much in the news at present, with Auroville land being exchanged for privately-owned land in AuroOrchard and mooted as a possibility in places like Forecomers and Pebble Garden.

The Chariot of Jagannath: Auroville in the making

Opinion, By Bindu

The three colorful chariots that carry the idol of Jagannatha, his sister Subhadra and his brother Balabhadra, at the Ratha Yatra festival, Puri

As a child, growing up in a Hindu household in Odisha, I was always intrigued by the images of Lord Jagannath and his siblings. Like most Hindu households, an entire room was reserved for the gods, and the main icons from Hinduism’s rich pantheon of reportedly 330 million gods were prominently displayed and revered.

40 Years of Auroville’s Village Action

Feature

Pongal celebration at the AVAG office

In 2023, Auroville’s Village Action Group (AVAG) celebrated 40 years. In this issue of Auroville Today we publish excerpts of the December 2023 newsletter of AVAG, highlighting the transformation AVAG has achieved in the life of women from the surrounding villages.

Empowering women, transforming communities: AVAG's loan initiative

Feature, By Shevaughn Pimenta

AVAG's director Moris addressing a women groups’ meeting

Flour power

Feature, By Nadia Akcadurak

Baked goods

The aroma of freshly baked cakes and the joyous chatter of women learning new skills recently filled the air at AVAG. Over three days, 70 local women from nearby villages participated in an intensive training programme in making millet-based cakes and cookies, organized by Gelato Factory in collaboration with AVAG, the Auroville unit Gastronomica, and COWE (Centre of Women Entrepreneurship).

Rewriting stereotypes

Feature, By Nadia Akcadurak

Long jump

A unique race unfolds in Auroville's bioregion. Forget stopwatches and podiums; these victories are measured in triumphant smiles, forged on dusty tracks and etched in defiance of age and societal norms.

Ikebana and Auroville

An interview with Valeria, By Alan

Valeria preparing ikabana

Valeria has been teaching ikebana, the traditional Japanese Art of Flower Arrangement, in Auroville for over twenty years. Why did she, an Italian, study it for many years in Japan and then decide to teach it here?

Population review 2023

Feature, By Peter

Auroville population summary 2023

‘Soft Self’

Art review, By Chandra

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Lisa Suchanek’s second exhibition at the Centre d’Art, titled Soft Self: Inner Multiplicity and Gentleness, unfolds as a captivating blend of art and introspective research.

Subscription rate increase Due to an increase of prices, the subscription rates of Auroville Today have been amended. The new subscription rates for 12 issues are for India print + digital edition Rs 850, other countries print + digital edition Rs 4,000 equivalent, and other countries digital edition only Rs 3,000 equivalent.

AVI USA donation portal Auroville International USA has included Auroville Today in the list of projects to which one can donate, some of which qualify for an additional donation by AVI USA.

Auro-Orchard land exchange The Working Committee of the Residents’ Assembly (RA-WCom) has sent its concerns and a rebuttal of the recent land exchange involving Auro Orchard land to the Governing Board and the International Advisory Council.

Supreme Court order On December 14, 2023, the Supreme Court of India, in an interim order on the appeal of the Auroville Foundation against the judgement of the National Green Tribunal Southern Bench (NGT) of April 2022 in which, except for the Crown Road, the NGT stayed all constructions in Auroville and directed the Auroville Foundation to prepare a proper township plan and obtain Environmental Clearance for it [see AVToday #394 of May 2022] ruled that it was of the prima facie opinion that this direction was outside the jurisdiction of the NGT, and stayed it till further orders.

Ground clearing Both before and since the Supreme Court stayed the NGT verdict, land clearance, including tree-cutting and transplantation, has taken place across Auroville.

Pebble Garden The AVFO ATDC approval for Auroyali to take a piece of Pebble Garden land for its workshop has been rescinded by the AVFO ATDC after the feedback period.

Update from the Forest Group The Auroville Forest Group circulated a public message to the Auroville community and friends of Auroville about what the group has gone through and its plans for the future.

Maintenance cuts The RA-WCom informed the community that the Funds and Assets Management Committee (GB-FAMC) and the Budget Coordination Committee (GB-BCC) appointed by the Office of the Secretary have recently sent a mail to several residents that their maintenance would be stopped the same day, as the maintenance had not been allocated under an approved City Service budget.

SAIIER and Arts Service cuts At the request of the GB-FAMC and GB-BCC, SAIIER have prioritised the maintenance and budget 2024-2025 of all of SAIIER’s sub-units, which has led to a number of artistic and cultural units and activities having their budgets and maintenances cut.

Petition to the Governing Board (GB) and International Advisory Council (IAC) So far, over 350 concerned Auroville residents have signed a petition to te GB and IAC expressing their profound discontent with the recent actions and policies implemented by the GB-FAMC and their loss of confidence in the GB-FAMC’s ability to effectively manage the community’s finances and assets.

Constitution of the Termination Committee The RA-WCom informed the community that, as the Hon'ble Madras High Court has recently re-affirmed that the Residents' Assembly (RA) is a statutory body and cannot be restricted in carrying out its functions as per the Auroville Foundation Act, the RA has to constitute the “Termination Committee” (aka the Exit Review Group) as specified in the Auroville Foundation (Admission and Termination of Persons in the Register of Residents) Regulations, 2020.

MM lake task force The RA WCom has endorsed the creation of a task force to review the design of the Matrimandir lake. In their announcement on 12th December 2023, they stated that “the review of the present design of the lake is being undertaken to prepare a revised concept as an offering to the community of Auroville”.

Annapurna Duck Project Annapurna Farm, Auroville’s largest rice farm, has started integrating ducks into its paddy fields. The ducks reduce the labour of paddy weeding, fertilize the field, control pests by eating insects and snails, and stimulate rice plant growth by moving around the plants throughout the day, and so increase the rice yields.

Auroville’s first Tamil Literature Festival On 16th-17th December, this festival brought together some of the best Tamil writers, educators, thinkers and philosophers, in the categories of poetry, literature, art, culture and the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

Better birthing conference award Morning Star is a unit of the Health and Healing Trust, made up of midwives and doulas who support pregnancy, childbirth breastfeeding and provide women’s wellness gynecological care in Auroville.

Rainfall news According to Charlie’s (Aurogreen) rainfall figures, by late December Auroville had received 147 cms, which is 5% above the average for the past 34 years.

Death announcements After many years of devotedly writing much appreciated obituaries of Aurovilians and associates, Mauna announced that she was handing over responsibility for death announcements, obituaries and other such notifications to the Farewell team.

PRISMA around the World PRISMA, one of the Auroville units that specialises in publishing and distributing books, has increased its international presence. More than twenty PRISMA books are now accessible in about thirty countries, offering readers a choice between digital and print formats on platforms like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Indigo and more.