Auromodèle community

Founded in 2020, the BORN IN FIRE residency at Phoenix Potteries (Auromodѐle) has become an important space for ceramic artists to refine their skills in anagama (‘cave’ in Japanese, it is a single-chamber, wood-fired kiln, often built into a hillside, known for its unique firing process and the natural ash glazes it produces, creating unpredictable and beautiful results) and wood firing.

In the News in Brief section of the May issue of Auroville Today it was mentioned under “Awards for Auroville architects” that Suhasini Laxman Iyer had won the Indian Institute of Architects IIA National Award 2022 in the category Residential Projects for the Humanscapes Habitat buildings.

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.

Three Auroville architects received awards in the Indian Institute of Architects awards for excellence in architecture 2022. Mona Doctor-Pingel won in the categories ‘Mercantile Retail category for Cottage Showroom’ and ‘Women Architects to the forefront’; Ganesh Bala won in the ‘Adaptive reuse and conservation category’ for an Auromodѐle House; and Suhasini Ayer received a commendation in the ‘Residential’ category for Humanscapes.

Franca Crocetti from Auromodѐle passed away in PIMS hospital on January 8th. Her son Padmanabhan was at her side. She was 86 years old and had been admitted with a respiratory disorder.

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.

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.

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.

Anjalai is an Aurovilian who has worked in Auroville for the last 50 years. She grew up in Kuilaypalayam and has been living in Auroville since about 2000.

Born in Tunis, Tunisia, on the 4th October 1946, Bernard Borg moved in 1961 with his family to Marseille, in France, while he was still a young boy of 15.

Long-term Aurovilian Hervé Millet left his body on August 19th at Marika Home at the age of 75, due to complications of cancer which he had been battling since several years.

In the late afternoon of April 25th, Roma Hira peacefully left her body at her home in Dana due to renal failure. She would have turned 73 in September this year.

Heinrich Karl Weihrauch peacefully passed away in his Auromodèle home on Wednesday December 25th at the age of 81. He had suffered a number of strokes since 2010.

A guidebook has been published on Auroville’s architecture written by Aurovilian architect, Anupama Kundoo, and Y. Joshi. The guidebook includes four Auroville itineraries structured around the experimental township’s Master Plan and a fifth itinerary located in Auromodèle, which is outside the main part of the city.

“Dear Community, this is to inform you of the water scarcity that Auroville is facing. And though there is still water flowing from our taps, it is important to know that many of our supply wells are showing depleted levels, some are already dry.

In November this year, Aurovilian Dr. Mira Aster Patel, in recognition of “her invaluable contribution in developing Auroville”, was awarded the Auro Ratna award from the Overman Foundation in a ceremony in the Hall of Harmony of the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

Cristo has worked for many years on developing collaborations with the local villages. Why does he do it? What are the challenges and the satisfactions?

Tamil Nadu and many other parts of India are currently facing an unprecedented drought. This message was formally delivered by the Chief Minister on January 10th, 2017, declaring Tamil Nadu a drought-hit state.

Louis Cohen, who first came to Auroville in 1971, is one of the original pioneers. He continues to be very active in the development of the town.

On September 26th, Aurovilian Major General Krishna Tewari (ret’d.) passed away in his house at Auromodèle surrounded by his family and friends, at the age of 94.

In 1982, in a small hut in Auromodèle community, a new garment unit was born, Auromodèle, employing three tailors and two helpers. In later years it was renamed Auromode Atelier and in 1985 moved to Auroshilpam in Auroville’s Industrial Zone.

Petra Janko left her body at the age of 55 in Pondicherry’s General Hospital in the early morning of 17 August, hours after having been taken there feeling unwell by Hari, her husband, living in Pondicherry.

Tom worked for many years in Auroville Water Service and later set up Harvest, an Auroville data collection and water management organization that did much work in the bioregion.

Aurovilian of the first hour, Toshi (Santosh) Malik, wife of late Prem Malik, left her body on June 20th after a year’s illness in New Delhi.

Little is known about those early days before Auroville’s inauguration, when land purchase and the first Auroville developments were started by the Sri Aurobindo Society.