Endangered Craft Mela

In the heart of Auroville’s The Learning Community’s (TLC) base camp, where the gentle whispers of the wind were rustling along with the vibrant hum of creativity, a humble spectacle unfolded during the sacred week of Auroville’s Birthday.

As usual, February has experienced a plethora of cultural and other events. These included performances by the Auroville Choir, an international conference on the revival and promotion of Sanskrit, a four day gathering in Unity Pavilion entitled Toward a Collective Awakening: Experiments in Evolution conceived as a follow-up to the Summit held in Auroville in February 2023 to facilitate consciousness change at a collective, The Auroville Festival – a weeklong festival including discussions on diverse topics and daily cultural performances – the Shakti Kumbh event in Unity Pavilion entitled Regenerative Renaissance of Mother India: Revitalising Bharata Shakti, three conferences on the relationship between spiritual and social life organised by the Pavillon de France, yoga activities, chanting and sound meditation in the Matrimandir Amphitheatre, a chanting and bhajan performance at SAWCHU, and a week of events in Mother’s Flower Garden.

Auroville’s second Endangered Craft Mela took place in February, and it was a lively event. For one week, the Youth Centre was transformed into a hive of activity, with 50 craftspeople sharing their skills and 250 excited children being inducted into the pleasure of making objects with their hands