Music

Aurovilians Ivar Jenten and Brigitte Vink, both originally from the Netherlands, have been working with village children for many years. In June 2021 they founded Isai Ragam under Auroville’s Auromitra Trust.

Manya Sekar, who came to Auroville in her teens, will soon start pursuing her higher education at Oberlin College in the USA. Here she talks about her experience in Auroville.

On 15 and 16 February, the Auroville Choir, conducted by Nuria, presented songs composed by Ola Gjeilo, Elaine Hagenberg, James Eakin, Eric Whitacre, Jacob Narverud, Don Macdonald, Christopher Tin and Jake Runestad.

The 15th August is always a special day in Auroville, but this 15th was particularly so as it marked the 150th anniversary of Sri Aurobindo’s birth and 75 years of India’s independence.

Pushkar studied at the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education (Pondicherry), where he started studying music. He furthered his musical studies in Spain and at Oberlin College (USA).

The couplets and songs of the fifteenth century Indian poet-saint, Kabir, have been woven into the cultural fabric of north India for centuries.

The occasion was celebrated with song, dance and poetry from around Europe

Sangamam in Tamil means ‘confluence’ or ‘a group of people coming together’ and this was very much the spirit of this year’s gathering on the 4th of March that brought together around 8000 people from Auroville, its beautiful bioregion, and many friends and guests from around the world.

One of the highlights of the Auroville Festival in Chennai was the sound of Chandra’s haunting flute which concluded the inauguration. But such mastery does not come easily.

In 2010, the first ‘ONE ASIA’ event was held in Auroville. It brought together artists and tea masters from various Asian countries to explore and strengthen unity between their cultures, as well as introducing the richness of Asian cultures to Auroville.

Many visitors to Auroville have heard the ‘Russian Singing Bells’, a set of differently sized brass plates of rectangular shape, which are hit with several kinds of mallets.

With over 210 participating Aurovilians, the Auroville Singing Festival 2014 was doubtless the year’s largest cultural event. Spread over two evenings in October, with Bharat Nivas auditorium bursting at its seams, more than 36 groups and soloists showed their talents.

In 2009, the World Bamboo Congress in Thailand declared the 18th of September to be World Bamboo Day (WBD). This day is intended to raise awareness of bamboo, one of the best renewable resources, as one possibility for meeting the growing needs of our global population.