Auroville's monthly news magazine since 1988

Issue Nº418

May 2024 (18 months ago)
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New hope for the roads

An interview with Michael Bonke, By Alan and Carel

The Crown Road nearby Kalpana community. A retaining wall is being built to prevent earth from the roadside flushing into Kalpana

Dr. Jayanti Ravi, the Secretary of the Auroville Foundation, recently has looked into the possibility to build the remaining section of the Crown Road with all components being manufactured in Auroville and using Auroville resources for its construction.

The pending court cases

Feature

The Supreme Court of India in New Delhi

There have been many requests for clarity on the background and status of the numerous court cases that are pending in various courts in India, including in the Supreme Court of India, regarding the present situation in Auroville.

A bit of history

Feature

Auroville’s inauguration, February 28, 1968

The earliest mention of Auroville was in the monthly issue of the Sri Aurobindo Society (SAS) Information Letter of March 1965, where its General Secretary Navajata wrote: “You will be glad to know that the Mother has taken up the model township project.

Matrimandir Lake

Editorial

In April this year, concerned residents of Auroville circulated a petition requesting a halt of the excavation of the Matrimandir Lake to evaluate an alternative design proposal and start an integrated development process.

The progress of the Matrimandir Lake

An interview with Michael Bonke, Arjun and Rohan, By Alan and Carel

The ongoing excavation of the second lake stretch. Photo taken on April 23rd, 2024

April 2024. Trucks are driving up and down, day and night, to transport earth dug up from the second section temporary hillock opposite the Town Hall.

An alternative lake design concept

An interview with Suhasini, By Alan

Proposal by Mohan Rao, based on The Mother’s description of the Matrimandir lake, with maximum four meters depth and natural seasonal variations

Recently, as there was widespread concern about what was happening with the Matrimandir lake excavation, a task force was created at a General Meeting to prepare a design brief that would frame the aesthetic, environmental, functional and technical parameters to undertake the preparation of an alternative concept design.

La Boutique d’Auroville closed down

Feature, By Carel

La Boutique d’Auroville

On April 1st, 2024, the Auroville Boutique in Pondicherry closed its operations. More than 50 years ago – the exact date is lost in history – it was started by the visionary André Tardeil who felt that an Auroville outlet cum information office in Pondicherry was necessary.

The Making of BloomO! - The soulful flower card game

Feature, By Chetana and Chandra

BloomO! cards

BloomO! was launched during a warm and dynamically engaging event in Auroville as part of the Auroville week in February 2024, followed by a launch in Pondicherry.

Elevating the lowly

An interview with David Blamey, By Lesley

Going and Coming

David Blamey is an established London-based artist who works in the western tradition of post-minimal and conceptual art. His multidisciplinary practice includes a film, sound, exhibitions and the independent publishing imprint Open Editions.

STEAM Fest celebrates fusion of literature and learning

Event review, By Yuvabe Education and Deepanam School

Children presenting their projects

The annual STEAM Fest organised by Yuvabe Education at Deepanam School in Auroville was held on 6th April 2024. Once again the fest captured the imagination of students and families alike.

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu states his support for Auroville Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Mr. M. K. Stalin has promised in the Puducherry election campaign that “Auroville, an international city caught in the grip of RSS, will be implemented according to the dream of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.”

Local politician alleges mismanagement by Auroville Foundation On April 3rd, 2024, Shri M. Chakrapani, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu representing the Vanur constituency of the Villupuram district, sent a widely circulated letter to the Secretary of the Auroville Foundation alleging Auroville mismanagement over the last two years.

Request to restore community budgets and maintenances On April 9th the Working Committee of the Residents’ Assembly (RA-WCom) sent an email to the Budget Coordination Committee (BCC) demanding that the BCC restore access to the budgets and Financial Service accounts of the working groups and services that have been selected or appointed by the Residents’ Assembly (RA), and to ensure that the maintenances of the RA members and Services are restored through the Auroville City Services Budget.

Request to hand over auroville.org.in domain By letter dated April 9, 2024, the RA-WCom requested the Secretary of the Auroville Foundation to hand over the management and credentials of the domain auroville.org.in and its associated Google workspace to the RA-WCom, which both were set up by members of the Residents' Assembly to enable the Residents' Assembly to fulfil its duties of day-to-day management of Auroville.

Decisions of GB-FAMC not recognized The RA-Working Committee and the RA-Town Development Committee sent a joint note to the community advising to disregard notices sent by the GB-FAMC with the request to vacate at the earliest the Auroville assets they are stewarding to make way for roads or ‘lines of force’.

Censorship of News & Notes The Auroville Council reminded the community that in December 2022, following instructions from the Auroville Foundation Office (AVFO), the Auroville News & Notes (N&N) began censoring the content received from a portion of the Residents’ Assembly.

General meeting on TDC regulations The RA-WCom has invited residents for a General Meeting in Kalabhumi on April 30th, regarding formulating draft regulations about the constitution and function of the Town Development Council (TDC).

TLC closed On April 17th, the SAIIER board informed TLC (The Learning Community) that SAIIER has decided to withdraw all financial support for TLC (facilitators’ maintenances and running budget), to reclaim all assets accumulated over the years, and that the TLC Base Camp has to be vacated by July 2024.

Auroville Fellowships The Auroville Foundation has advertised for 30 fellowships positions: Social-Media (4), General Management (2), IT (6), Medicine and Health Management (2), Agriculture / Forestry / Environmental Engineers (2), Economists (2), Educational Researchers (2), Civil Engineers / Structural engineers (2), Marketing (2), performing artist for music / dance / drama / other art forms (4), and Security Officers (2).

Positive news from Auroville farmers Auroville farmers reported that despite the recent setbacks, they sent 3,128 kilos of 46 different vegetables, 3,301 kilos of 24 sorts of fruit, 19,764 eggs, 6,327 litres of milk, 846 kilos of various sorts of rice and 327 kg of polished and unpolished varagu (the latter procured from the bioregion and processed in Auroville) to FoodLink in March to be distributed to the Auroville community.

Award for Bernard Declercq On the occasion of the 86th birth anniversary of the late Dr G Nammalvar, who was an Indian green crusader, agricultural scientist, environmental activist and organic farming expert, Aurovilian Bernard Declercq was presented with the Vanagam Award for Lifetime Achievement in honour of his consistent efforts, along with those of his wife Deepika, to reforest the barren land of Auroville’s Pebble Garden.

ELLE Sustainability Award 2024 Elle, the Indian edition of the worldwide lifestyle magazine of French origin called Elle, has awarded the ELLE Sustainability Award 2024 to Aurovilian Uma Prajapati for her work in the field of sustainability in the last 20 years.

Awards for Auroville architects In March 2024 it was announced that Suhasini Laxman Iyer had won the Indian Institute of Architects IIA National Awards 2022 in the category Residential Projects for the Humanscapes Habitat buildings.

Auroville Choir 30 years film Auroras Eye Films (an Auroville unit) recently produced a documentary celebrating 30 years of the Auroville Choir. The film can be seen at

YouthLink’s vision: A Vocational Training Centre YouthLink informed the community that it would like to create a Vocational Training Centre to provide for a safe environment where Auroville youth and youth coming to Auroville can explore and develop various skills, and contribute to positive change without the need to leave the community.