French language

Born in Istanbul, Cansu has always been driven by a desire to explore diverse cultures through travel and the study of philosophical and mystical texts, shaped by her upbringing in the Sufi tradition.

On December 15th, Mani Jayraman left his body at the age of 54. Mani, as he was known in Auroville, was born in 1969, the year after Auroville was founded.

Bonjour! My name is Nivetha Narayanaswamy, and this is the story of how I came to master French. Growing up in Auroville, I never could have guessed the journey I would be taking when my father expressed his desire for one of his daughters to speak French.

Cristof Alward-Pitoëff, who met Mother in 1969, passed away in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram on 28 February. In the early years, Cristof stayed in Auroville for a short while after which he went to live in the Ashram for good and functioned as head of the French section of the Ashram Press, SAICE professor, translator and theatre director.

Gildo Maria Pivetta left his body on April 5th, in Belgium, surrounded by his wife and children. Gildo (most people know him as Guido) had been quite unwell lately and left Auroville in March 2019 for Belgium where it was found that a terminal cancer had rapidly spread throughout the body.

It was 1985, and I had gone with my mother to seek admission in the Ashram school. Parudi, the Registrar, looked at me and said, “Mother had said that after the age of 14 we do not admit students because their mental formations are already made.”