Alankuppam

J. Jayaraman, Jairam for those who knew him, joined Auroville at a very young age in 1970. He was born in Alankuppam (1959) and his childhood in the village had been a difficult one.

The three-day Pongal festivities began with a colourful celebration at Alankuppam on Monday, January 15, 2024. This was organised by the Mohanam Village Heritage Centre, who put on this festival every year to introduce the traditional practices of the Tamil population living in the villages surrounding Auroville to those unfamiliar with these customs.

Yuvabe team member Vigneshwaran writes about striving for personal growth despite challenges posed by a flawed education system.

Aurovilian Narayanasamy Gopal from Douceur left his body in the afternoon of 21 October at JIPMER due to a heart attack. He was 57 years old.

My mother, Jocelyn of Ravena, was an adventurer. After having me in Berlin, she travelled overland through Europe and Asia, baby in hand, until she reached Pondicherry.

Nammal mudiyam - the “we can” project - is a project of the youth of Edayanchavady. As a step in transforming their village, they organized an alcohol-awareness programme on 28th February in the temple square.

“Compared to many villages in Tamil Nadu, Alankuppam is well-off,” says Moris from Auroville’s Village Action (AVAG), pointing at its clean, pothole-free roads.

Climbing the steps to the roof at Maitreye through a maze of white tiles, one would not expect the lush, verdant explosion at the top. On my first visit in December, there was green everywhere: lettuce seedlings bursting from their small containers, melon plants cascading from horizontal pipes, even a small papaya proudly pushing the other plants out of the way.

On the weekend of Mother’s birthday, February 21-22, the Puducherry Village Heritage Festival was held in the neighbouring village of Alankuppam.