Ilaignarkal Education Centre

Sumitra passed away in the morning of Saturday 12 August at Jipmer hospital due to chronic health issues. She was 54. Sumitra hailed from a Gandhian family of Thengampudur, Nagercoil district.

On February 19th Ellen left her body in her Arati apartment. She would have been 95 in April this year. After a career as a hatha yoga teacher in Germany, Ellen arrived in Auroville in 1996 and was accepted as an Aurovilian the year later.

From August 2-9, the 7th Auroville Children’s Book Fair was held at Ilaignarkal Education Centre in Auroville. This highly anticipated scholastic event showcases no less than 50,000 books in Tamil and English, specially selected for the young student audience.

In the early evening of Sunday 10 September, Aurovilian Kanniappan suffered a road accident between Kottakarai village and the Visitors Centre, resulting in a severe head injury that left him unconscious.

On August 22nd, Aurovilian Karpagavalli Selvanambi left her body in a Madurai nursing home to which she had been taken after a stroke in 2013.

On the evening of February 3rd, Aurovilian V. Gnanavel of the Matrimandir Nursery left his body due to a stroke caused by high blood pressure.

Auroville recently hosted a two-day festival to celebrate Tamil heritage and culture, a first of this scale and vision. The brainchild of Balu from Mohanam Cultural Centre, and Meenakshi from Auroville’s Tamil Heritage Centre and Ilaignarkal School, the festival brought together artisans, performers, farmers, VIPs and visitors for festivities on Auroville land.